Empathy as embodied in medical interpreting: a case study of medical interpreter-trainees' turn-taking management

Abstract

Despite the ever-increasing need for patient-centred, multilingual communication in the healthcare setting, research and practices in this field remain scarce. Little is known about the intricacies of empathic communication in an interpreter-mediated medical encounter. This chapter examines two video-recorded interpreter-mediated medical consultations in simulated scenarios that involve a doctor played by a medical professional, a patient played by an experienced interpreter, and a student-interpreter who interprets for the two parties consecutively. The focus is placed on the student-interpreter’s non-verbal cues in empathic communication. Results from this study show that student-interpret..