M1C9 Checkpoint 1

During a session using a walker, the patient slips and appears about to fall. The interpreter, who is closer to the patient than the physiotherapist, reaches out to break the patient’s fall. After steadying the patient’s balance, the interpreter resumes interpreting. What is the most appropriate action for the interpreter in this situation?

 One day you open your front door and a police officer hands you a subpoena. You open the document and find out it is about an assignment that you did almost 18 months ago at the police station. You remember the assignment well as it was 4 a.m. in the morning and you normally do not do assignments at the police office.

What should you do upon receiving the subpoena?

As he begins to give his testimony, the accused starts to complain loudly that the interpreter is incompetent and does not understand what he is saying. During the ensuing encounter between the crown attorney, defence counsel, the accused and the judge, the interpreter becomes annoyed by the allegations. In a moment of frustration, the interpreter turns to the accused and begins to dispute the man’s unfair criticism.

How should the interpreter handle this situation?

During a meeting with a mother and child in the living room of the family home, the Children’s Aid Society worker goes to the kitchen for a few moments to speak to the child’s father, who speaks English. The mother follows, leaving the interpreter sitting alone with couple’s 9-year-old child. As the interpreter sits in the living room waiting for the adults to return, the boy turns to the interpreter and raises his shirt, saying, “See these burn marks? My Daddy made these. I’m afraid he’s going to do it again.” The interpreter is very troubled but does not tell the CAS worker. Instead, immediately after the session, the interpreter contacts the interpreting agency to get advice on what to do.

What should the interpreter do next?

You have accepted an assignment at Changing Ways for group counselling. The group consists of 12 men who meet for 15 consecutive weeks and you work with one non-English speaker. After a few weeks of counselling, your home requires some plumbing work to be done and you call a company. When the plumber arrives you recognize him immediately as a participant of the group. He recognizes you too and plays the upper hand by “making himself comfortable in your home”.  What is the most appropriate action?

You are early for your assignment at the doctor’s office and are asked to sit in the waiting area. After a few minutes the nurse is walking up to you with the non-English speaker and her husband. She introduces you to them and leaves.

What should you do next?

After interpreting accurately for 30 minutes non-stop, the interpreter starts to feel tired and make minor errors. As the group therapy session continued, the interpreter realizes she is falling behind and making more serious mistakes. Even though she tries several times, the interpreter cannot get the therapist to slow down or stop for a break.

What is the best action to take?

It is Friday, early afternoon, and the interpreter has been preparing for her son’s birthday party, which begins at 4:00 p.m. Across Languages calls with an urgent, last-minute assignment at Women’s Community House. Since the party preparations are nearly done, the interpreter agrees to go, given the urgent nature of the request. When the interpreter arrives, the woman, a victim of domestic violence, who is schizophrenic, is screaming and flailing her arms. The shelter worker decides that she needs to visit the hospital’s crisis clinic. They call a taxi and ask the interpreter to go as well. It is already 3:30 and the interpreter is conscious that those 20 nine-year-olds will be arriving on the doorstep of her home within the hour, and her son will have to greet them on his own.

What should the interpreter do?

The assignment is with Ontario Works at the home of an elderly woman who cannot use the bus to come to the office.  The caseworker and the interpreter arrive together at the apartment of the elderly social assistance applicant. Three adult relatives of the applicant are also present. It is evident that some of them speak English.

What should the interpreter do next?

Last week you accepted an assignment at the police station. The assignment ended up being very short as the accused was able to communicate confidently with the police officers in English. You were released by both parties and left the station. A few days later you receive a voicemail from the accused at your home. He got your number from a community member and would like to talk to you, could you please give him a call back. He leaves you his number. What should the interpreter do?

During a long and emotionally charged session at a women’s shelter, the resident’s toddler climbs onto the interpreter’s lap. This interpreter continues to interpret accurately, but holds and comforts the child as the session continues. What is the most appropriate action for the interpreter to take in this situation?

The interpreter has been interpreting for a Crown Attorney and a woman whose husband has been charged with assaulting her. The assault happened some time ago and it is the morning of the trial. The Crown Attorney is meeting with the woman to review her statement with her. As the Crown is reviewing the woman’s statement, the woman claims not to remember any of the details of the assault. Even though the Crown provides her with police documentation, which the police gathered, she is adamant that she doesn’t remember. The Crown Attorney becomes increasingly frustrated with the woman, however, the woman does not change her mind and the Crown Attorney finally gives up.  As the interpreter and the woman are leaving the Crown’s office, the Crown Attorney asks the interpreter to remain and asks, “Why is the woman acting this way? Is it because of her culture? Is she afraid of what the community might think?” How should the interpreter respond to the Crown Attorney’s question?

You did an assignment with a community agency and are about to leave when the service provider asks you for your name and number. He would like to give you a call and check your schedule for any follow up appointments with his client. What should you do in this situation?

A long and very difficult labour in which the communication with the mother was crucial to a safe and healthy outcome ended happily with a successful delivery. In a spontaneous gesture, a member of the labour and delivery team handed the newborn to the interpreter to hold. The interpreter accepted the newborn into her arms for a brief moment.  How should the interpreter handle the situation?

Sometime after a counselling session at a sexual assault centre, the interpreter realized she had misplaced the binder where she kept all her interpreting assignment details and notepad. She called the centre, but the binder was nowhere to be found. She was fairly certain that nothing in the binder identified the woman or the counsellor. She decided to keep the incident to herself.  What is the most appropriate action for the interpreter?

The interpreter has been called to interpret for a patient in the Emergency Department. When s/he arrives it is very busy and chaotic. The physician arrives to do the examination. The interpreter heard that this physician is quite rude and disrespectful toward anyone who was not born in Canada and that she has quite an intimidating presence. This physician has never worked with an interpreter before. The interpreter begins to introduce her/himself to the physician, who interrupts and says she is in a hurry and that the interpreter should just start “translating”. The interpreter introduces her/himself to the patient, who is looking very scared and fearful. The physician starts to ask questions of the patient and when the Non English Speaker answers, the interpreter realizes that the patient speaks a dialect that s/he has a limited understanding of.  What is the most appropriate way for the interpreter to handle this situation?

You have accepted an assignment at the hospital. You start your assignment with the nurse, an English speaking volunteer from a church group, and the patient. The patient is in a lot of pain and is not coherent. At a certain moment the nurse leaves the room and you are left with the volunteer and the patient. While you continue to interpret for the volunteer, the patient becomes increasingly agitated and starts cursing at the volunteer and you. At a certain point he even tries to get out of bed to what appears to you an attempt to hit the volunteer. When the nurse comes back into the room, the patient immediately settles down and you continue to interpret for all parties.

What is the most appropriate action for the interpreter to take?

While walking into the office of Drivetest, the non English speaker approaches the interpreter and offers to pay the interpreter for the answers. The non English speaker indicates that he was an ambulance driver in his own country and knows very well how to drive but is just unfamiliar with the concept of testing and is very nervous and might fail the test because of that and not because he does not know how to drive…. “No harm would be done” if the interpreter just helps him out a bit, it would allow him to find a job and provide for his family.

What should the interpreter handle the situation?

The interpreter is working with the police and a woman who experienced domestic violence to take a “statement” of the incident. The police officer is asking the questions and the interpreter has been providing the interpretation for both parties. The police officer asks the woman, “Is this the first time that your husband has assaulted you?” The question is interpreted. The victim looks at the interpreter and says to the interpreter, “He has done this in the past, but don’t tell the police, please, he will kill me if he knows I am here now.” How should the interpreter handle the situation?

The Interpreter is called to go to an assignment at the hospital, where the service provider at will be counselling a young woman who has been sexually assaulted. In the course of the assignment, the interpreter learns that the medical staff will be providing information on, and suggesting that the victim of sexual assault consider taking the morning after pill. The interpreter feels that this advice is morally harmful. What should the interpreter do?