NIC Professional Ethics 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the NIC ethical framework, what does 'professional discretion' primarily require of interpreters?
- Choosing which assignments to accept based on personal values
- Using judgment about what information to share outside of assignments (Correct answer)
- Deciding how to interpret ambiguous messages
- Selecting the most appropriate sign for each English word
Correct answer: Using judgment about what information to share outside of assignments
Professional discretion means exercising careful judgment about disclosing any information related to interpreting assignments.
Question 2: An interpreter who is Deaf themselves is working a platform interpreting assignment. A hearing consumer makes an offensive remark about Deaf people. The interpreter should:
- Refuse to interpret the offensive remark
- Interpret the remark faithfully and address it after the assignment if appropriate (Correct answer)
- Stop the session to educate the hearing consumer
- Alert the Deaf consumer before interpreting the remark
Correct answer: Interpret the remark faithfully and address it after the assignment if appropriate
Interpreters render all messages including offensive ones, and may address concerns through appropriate channels after the assignment.
Question 3: What is the ethical rationale for requiring NIC-certified interpreters to engage in ongoing professional development?
- To increase billing rates for specialized assignments
- To maintain competence and serve consumers effectively (Correct answer)
- To qualify for additional RID certifications
- To meet state continuing education mandates
Correct answer: To maintain competence and serve consumers effectively
Continuous learning ensures interpreters remain competent and provide high-quality services to all consumers.
Question 4: A court interpreter is asked by the defense team to coach the Deaf defendant on how to appear more credible during testimony. The interpreter should:
- Provide coaching if it improves accuracy of the testimony
- Decline, as coaching exceeds the interpreter's professional role (Correct answer)
- Check with the judge before providing coaching
- Offer only linguistic coaching, not behavioral advice
Correct answer: Decline, as coaching exceeds the interpreter's professional role
Coaching a witness or defendant crosses professional role boundaries and could compromise the integrity of proceedings.
Question 5: When an interpreter encounters a term with no direct ASL equivalent, the most ethical approach is to:
- Omit the term to avoid confusion
- Fingerspell the term and provide a contextual explanation (Correct answer)
- Use the closest approximate sign without clarification
- Ask the speaker to use simpler language
Correct answer: Fingerspell the term and provide a contextual explanation
Rendering the term through fingerspelling with clarification maintains accuracy and transparency about linguistic challenges.
Question 6: Which scenario represents a violation of interpreter impartiality?
- Interpreting a Deaf consumer's angry tone accurately
- Softening a Deaf consumer's responses to avoid upsetting the hearing party (Correct answer)
- Using a formal register in a legal setting
- Requesting clarification from a speaker during an assignment
Correct answer: Softening a Deaf consumer's responses to avoid upsetting the hearing party
Softening or altering a consumer's message to manage others' reactions is a clear impartiality violation.
Question 7: An interpreter working in an educational setting learns a student's confidential IEP details. At a community event, a teacher asks about the student's progress. The interpreter should:
- Share general progress information since the teacher works with students
- Decline to discuss any information from the assignment (Correct answer)
- Confirm only publicly available information about the student
- Suggest the teacher contact the school counselor
Correct answer: Decline to discuss any information from the assignment
All information from assignments, including IEP content, is protected by confidentiality regardless of who is asking.
NIC Professional Ethics 4
Under the NIC ethical framework, what does 'professional discretion' primarily require of interpreters?