RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Interpreting Medicine: Lessons From a Spanish-Language Clinic
JF The Annals of Family Medicine
JO Ann Fam Med
FD American Academy of Family Physicians
SP 473
OP 474
DO 10.1370/afm.1661
VO 12
IS 5
A1 Benjamin P. Brown
YR 2014
UL http://www.annfammed.org/content/12/5/473.abstract
AB Caring for patients is an act of interpretation: we labor to understand the significance of a particular symptom and, when we have reached a diagnosis, we convert our medical jargon into plain language for the benefit of the patient. Caring for patients of limited English proficiency—a population that needs a very literal form of interpretation—underscores this lesson. Working with predominantly Spanish-speaking patients has shown me the importance of bearing witness to patients’ struggles and has brought me to realize that good physicians must work to forge a common language with all their patients, not only with those who do not speak English.