A Call for the Professionalization of Medical Language Education to Prevent Misuse of Limited Language Skills and Ad hoc Interpretation

Abstract

In an increasingly global society, medical language courses present an opportunity to teach physicians the clinical communication skills needed to provide high quality care for patients who speak non-English languages. Yet, despite a growing number of medical language programs, most courses are missing the professional framework that typically characterizes medical education. Specifically, a lack of standardized proficiency assessment and feedback, paired with unclear institutional guidelines around interpretation and bilingual care, paves the way for communication errors and disparities in healthcare for linguistic minorities. Within the context of the hierarchy in medicine, medical trainees are potentially vulnerable to overstepping the limits of their language ability in an effort to impress their supervising physicians or to save time by attempting to communicate with patients on their own using partial language skills instead of seeking a medical interpreter. In this commentary, the authors use the case of medical Spanish in the United States to provide a framework for the professionalization of non-English language education in medical education settings, identifying three key opportunities: (1) equip learners to accurately self-assess language skills, (2) provide individualized performance feedback to learners, and (3) develop clear institutional policies regarding safe use of bilingual skills and partnership with medical interpreters.