Description: 

In this webinar we will look into the evidence that has emerged from the in-depth analysis of authentic video-recorded medical consultations and semi-structured interviews with patients, doctors and professional interpreters and we will discuss the ways in which this evidence can be translated into education and professional practice. We will begin with a brief introduction to empathic communication in (multilingual) healthcare communication and we will identify a number of factors that contribute to or hamper the co-construction of empathic communication in interpreter-mediated clinical encounters. We will do so by drawing on the actual patient-interpreter-doctor interaction and on their perceptions of it. At the end of the webinar participants will have gained a thorough understanding of the complexity of empathic communication in interpreter-mediated clinical encounters and will be able to make better-informed decisions at the level of interaction by reflecting on their own, the patients and clinicians’ communicative behaviors. Being able to effectively co-construct empathic communication in clinical encounters is of paramount importance as empathy is a basic component of therapeutic relationships, it has demonstrably improved patient enablement and doctor satisfaction, and it may be a precondition for patient-centered decision making.

Learning Objectives:

• Distinguish between facilitating and hampering communicative behaviors in the co-construction of empathic communication in interpreter-mediated clinical encounters.
• Reflect on the interpreter, as well as the patient and clinician’s communicative behavior in interaction in the co-construction of empathic communication in interpreter-mediated clinical encounters.
• Assess the impact of the interpreter, as well as the patient and clinician’s communicative behavior in interaction in the co-construction of empathic communication in interpreter-mediated clinical encounters.
• Demonstrate specific communicative and interactional strategies for co-constructing empathic communication in clinical encounters to interpreter students.

 About the Presenter:

Demi Krystallidou is a postdoctoral research fellow at KU Leuven (Belgium). She specializes in multilingual healthcare communication. She is a trained conference interpreter and interpreter educator. She has published extensively in interpreter-mediated communication in healthcare. Her research focuses on empathic communication, interprofessional education, cancer communication and digital healthcare technologies in multilingual healthcare.