Working With Interpreters as a Team in Health Care (WITH Care) Curriculum Tool Kit for Oral Health Professions

Date of Review: November, 2020

The WITH Care (Working With Interpreters as a Team in Health Care) curriculum is a 3.5-hour simulation-based training for oral health and interpreter trainees. It has been delivered as both an elective and required training for dentistry and other oral health profession students, and to train interpreters and oral health professionals to work together as a health care team, with the goal of improved communication and high-quality care for low English proficiency (LEP) patients. The 3.5 hour training begins with separate 60-minute orientations for students and for interpreters/standardized patients (SPs), followed by groups of students rotating between 4 stations (25 minutes each; total 100 minutes) of simulated interactions with interpreters and SPs. The training concludes with 30 minutes of summary reflection discussions. Strengths of the training include the evaluation outcomes showing improvements among students, and the depth and breadth of the training materials; the MedEd publication includes many appendices with detailed instructions for all aspects of the training. Limitations include the staffing requirements (particularly the interpreters and SPs) to carry out the training, and the fact that its content is not easily translatable to other health professions students. –Dave Liss, PhD, NCEAS

Corresponding Author’s Email:

wollx003@umn.edu

Institution:

University of Minnesota

Where was the Curriculum Implemented:

Minneapolis, MN

Source of the Curriculum/Resource:

MedEdPORTAL

Outcomes that Have Been Reported for the Curriculum:

Self-reported learner knowledge

Self-reported learner behavior in simulated setting

Outcome and Study Design:

Pre/post

Level of Learner Assessment:

Demonstration of skill in a controlled environment (OSCE, Simulation)