Researchers surveyed 76 pediatric residents and found 64 percent were willing to use Spanish with their patients. Following a speaking proficiency evaluation, however, that number fell to 51 percent.
“Residents are working hard and are possibly less likely to take the extra time to get a professional interpreter,” said study author Casey Lion, MD, a pediatrician at the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. Lion said that physicians may forego the use of an interpreter because they want to build a relationship with their patients.
“That’s the thing people don’t want to give up. They don’t want to have to speak through somebody else,” she said.
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