While I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have, if I am with a patient, my focus is on that patient and facilitating communication between healthcare providers and the patient. Part of the medical interpreting codes of ethics is completeness, which means any utterance that occurs in the presence of the patient must be interpreted. This ensures transparency and fosters trust between myself and the patient, which is absolutely essential for them to feel comfortable to talk about topics that are often personal and sometimes uncomfortable.
In addition, my schedule is sometimes very tight. Even though I would love to speak with you after the patient leaves, I am usually pressed for time to make it to my next assignment. Being an independent contractor, my schedule isn’t always ideal, and sometimes I have one assignment in another county immediately afterwards. Rest assured I greatly appreciate your interest in our profession and my language pair, and because of that I’ve done my best to answer every question as thoroughly as possible here on this website.
