CASLI Medical Interpreting 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When interpreting for a Deaf physician who is treating a hearing patient, the interpreter's role is:
- To advocate for the Deaf physician's clinical decisions
- To facilitate communication between the Deaf provider and the hearing patient without role reversal (Correct answer)
- To assist the Deaf physician in documenting the encounter
- To serve primarily the hearing patient's communication needs
Correct answer: To facilitate communication between the Deaf provider and the hearing patient without role reversal
Regardless of who holds the professional role, the interpreter facilitates bidirectional communication equally between both parties.
Question 2: A CASLI medical interpreter encounters a term for a new pharmaceutical drug with no established ASL equivalent. The best approach is to:
- Invent a new ASL sign on the spot and use it consistently
- Fingerspell the drug name and coordinate a descriptor or initialized sign with the Deaf consumer if appropriate (Correct answer)
- Use the English word orally without any visual representation
- Omit the drug name and describe its function instead
Correct answer: Fingerspell the drug name and coordinate a descriptor or initialized sign with the Deaf consumer if appropriate
Fingerspelling establishes the term accurately while collaborating with the Deaf consumer on a working representation respects linguistic agency.
Question 3: Which factor most directly affects processing time (lag) during ASL medical interpreting?
- The interpreter's personal familiarity with the patient
- The syntactic and conceptual density of the source message (Correct answer)
- The proximity of the interpreter to the Deaf consumer
- The length of the medical appointment
Correct answer: The syntactic and conceptual density of the source message
Syntactic complexity and information density require longer processing time to achieve accurate target-language production.
Question 4: A hospital employs a bilingual hearing staff member to interpret for Deaf patients ad hoc. Under CASLI standards and ADA guidance, this practice:
- Is acceptable if the staff member is bilingual in English and another spoken language
- Is problematic because untrained staff interpreters may lack the skills to ensure effective communication (Correct answer)
- Is preferred over contract interpreters because of staff familiarity with the facility
- Is required by the ADA when a qualified interpreter is unavailable
Correct answer: Is problematic because untrained staff interpreters may lack the skills to ensure effective communication
Ad hoc staff interpreters typically lack the specialized training to ensure accurate, complete, and ethical medical interpretation for Deaf patients.
Question 5: When a Deaf patient's family member volunteers to interpret during a sensitive gynecological exam, the certified interpreter should:
- Step aside and allow the family member to interpret to respect cultural preferences
- Inform the provider of the conflict of interest and confidentiality concerns, and recommend the qualified interpreter be used (Correct answer)
- Allow the family member to supplement the interpretation
- Ask the patient privately whether they prefer the family member
Correct answer: Inform the provider of the conflict of interest and confidentiality concerns, and recommend the qualified interpreter be used
Family members create confidentiality breaches, role confusion, and accuracy risks; the provider must be informed so a qualified interpreter can be retained.
Question 6: The concept of 'dynamic equivalence' in medical ASL interpreting means:
- Producing a target-language message that has the same effect on the Deaf consumer as the source had on the hearing audience (Correct answer)
- Keeping the ASL output structurally identical to English source syntax
- Replacing technical terms with commonly understood signs at all times
- Ensuring equal speaking time between the provider and patient
Correct answer: Producing a target-language message that has the same effect on the Deaf consumer as the source had on the hearing audience
Dynamic equivalence prioritizes equivalent impact and meaning on the target audience over structural or lexical correspondence.
Question 7: After a difficult medical interpreting assignment involving trauma disclosure, a CASLI interpreter experiences vicarious trauma symptoms. The recommended professional response is:
- Immediately return to work to avoid dwelling on the experience
- Seek supervision, peer support, or professional counseling and practice self-care strategies (Correct answer)
- Request that future assignments exclude all mental health or trauma-related appointments
- Document the experience in the patient's medical record
Correct answer: Seek supervision, peer support, or professional counseling and practice self-care strategies
Vicarious trauma is an occupational hazard; professional standards recommend supervision, peer support, and self-care as appropriate responses.
CASLI Medical Interpreting 5
When interpreting for a Deaf physician who is treating a hearing patient, the interpreter's role is: