CLAS Standards in Medicine - Essay Example

There are two types of medical translation; literal and “meaning” oriented translation. Meaning-oriented translation allows patients to speak in a block of thoughts and is more comfortable when used in conversation between the health care provider and the patient. It reduces linguistic misinterpretations because it allows the medical interpreter to hear the whole story before translation. However, “meaning” oriented translation allows interpreter bias and false fluency (Polanco, 2009).

On the other hand, literal is boring and uses confusing expressions that alter the meaning of ostensibly straightforward comments. In many instances, people do not like to be interrupted while telling a story, which is the case in literal interpretation. Unlike “meaning” oriented interpretation, lateral interpretation requires the patient to start every sentence with translations. Since language differs significantly from region to region, the medical interpreter should ensure that the patient understands what he or she is talking about (Polanco, 2009).

This is because the patient may say agree to everything that the interpreter talks about, which may have detrimental implications if the patient agrees to take prescribed medication which may be harmful to her or him. Sometimes when the patients do not apprehend what is being said, they may ambiguously agree to whatever they are being told through nodding. This is because; in some cultures, it is considered rude not to agree. Therefore, the interpreter should ensure that the patient understands and should not assume that they have understood (Polanco, 2009).

There may be scenarios where patients are non-English and not provided qualified language interpretation. On many occasions, such scenarios arise due to medical interpretation errors. Numerous errors exist in the practice of medical interpretation. Such errors include addition, substitution, editing, false fluency, and omission. These errors can result from incompetent or incomplete translations. In particular, false fluency may be a scenario where the interpreter employs incorrect words or phrases, or phrases and words which do not exist in that language (Polanco, 2009).

This primarily occurs with medical terminologies which the interpreter uses incorrectly. Another scenario may arise when the interpreter omits or adds words that may not be used in that language. The key ethical principles to be considered in the scenarios include the principle of the common good, the principle of distributing justice, and the principle of human dignity. The patient stands to benefit from the principle of the common good. Under this principle, an individual is entitled to the basic needs of an individual such as food and education.

In this regard, the patient should acquire education in the English language through the medical translator. In addition, the patient stands to benefit from the principle of distributive justice which notes that all individuals have a responsibility when an individual is in need and that everyone is entitled to equal access to basic health care. Through the principle of human dignity, the patients will have a right to basic needs which surpasses all social orders (Ascension Health, 2013). In this regard, the patient will have the right to qualified language interpretation.