Interprofessional Education for Students of Translation/Interpreting and the Health Professions

In response to the rising need for Spanish-English interpreters in the United States, there has been an increase in translation and interpreting and Spanish for the health professions courses in Spanish language programs (Martinez 2015). However, before Spanish students are exposed to a clinic or hospital context, they may have limited experience interacting with health professionals. Health professions programs encourage their faculty to develop opportunities for students from different professional fields to learn together ("interprofessional education"), but these opportunities do not frequently extend to language programs. In this essay, we present the need for an interdisciplinary approach to addressing health equity for Spanish speakers in the United States and provide practical suggestions for interprofessional education opportunities that allow students in translation and interpreting programs and the health professions to work together. To illustrate our approach to interprofessional education, we describe a patient care simulation activity for Spanish and nursing students. Through interprofessional activities addressing language and healthcare, Spanish and health professions students can gain an awareness of their role in supporting health equity for Spanish-speaking Latinos in the United States and practical experience with collaborating and addressing communication difficulties in healthcare settings.