通譯員－－搭起醫護人員與外籍病患溝通的橋樑

The Interpreter: Crossing Communication Barriers between Healthcare Providers and International Patients

因應全球化效應，跨種族與跨文化的婚姻己是普遍現象。日益快速增加的移民人數，顯示台灣社會將面臨泛文化衝擊，也為醫護人員及病人帶來許多挑戰。溝通於醫療體系中是非常重要的一環，醫護人員與病患之溝通障礙，會影響醫療照護成效，耗費大量的醫療成本。為搭起醫護人員與跨種族／文化病患溝通的橋樑，通譯員是目前普遍使用的媒介，然而通譯員的訓練關係其通譯品質，進而直接影響醫療照護成效。因此建立通譯員完整的訓練課程內容，及如何監測通譯品質為未來臨床研究應探討之方向。

As a result of the effects of globalization, cross-racial and cross-cultural marriages have become common phenomena in Taiwan society. The rapid increase in the number of immigrants coming to Taiwan has created a society that will need to confront the impact of the arrival of people from different cultures and the problems associated therewith. These challenges must also be faced by healthcare providers and patients. Since communication is a crucial aspect of healthcare situations, the cost of medical care can be very high and treatment may be of limited effect if communication between patients and healthcare providers is not sufficiently comprehensive. The use of an interpreter is therefore a popular solution to facilitate communication between healthcare providers and patients. The quality of interpretation, however, depends on the training of the interpreter, and will have a great influence on the outcome of health care. Without effective communication, the quality of health care cannot be improved. The question of how to provide continual monitoring of the quality of interpretation and establish a comprehensive training course for interpreters should therefore be further investigated in clinical research.