Working With Interpreters as a Team in Health Care (WITH Care) Curriculum Tool Kit for Oral Health Professions.

Introduction: Limited English proficiency (LEP) patients face multiple care barriers and disproportionate risks for communication errors. Working with trained interpreters as a health care team can improve communication and drive high-quality care for LEP patients. Simulation and interprofessional education provide key strategies to address the critical training gap that exists at the intersection of patient safety, interprofessional practice, and cultural competence. Methods: Using action research principles across 16 months, we created a 3.5-hour simulation-based training for oral health and interpreting learners. The curriculum included profession-specific orientations with didactic and experiential content, three immersive simulations using start-stop-rewind methodology, virtual scenarios, and summary reflection discussions. A comprehensive tool kit facilitated curriculum implementation and standardization. Results: Forty-nine students from dentistry (first- through third-year predoctoral), dental hygiene, and dental therapy participated in this elective training during the 2017-2018 academic year; as required training, 126 third-year dental students participated in fall 2018. Students' familiarity with provider and interpreter best practices, appreciation of challenges faced by LEP patients, and confidence in skills working with spoken language interpreters increased. For all evaluation parameters, pre- and postsurvey ratings were statistically significant (chi-square tests, p < .001). Discussion: The curriculum efficiently and effectively develops oral health and interpreting learners' abilities to work as a team with LEP patients. Curriculum design and resources address key barriers to feasibility and sustainability. The curriculum informs communication across all patient populations, revealing that getting by with partial understanding can be insufficient for any patient and any health care team.

Creating and Evaluating Skills-Based Training in Working with Spoken-Language Interpreters for Oral Health Professions Students.

In a multicultural society, the ability to work effectively with spoken-language interpreters is a critical skill for oral health professionals. The aims of this study were to design and evaluate training for oral health professions students to work effectively with interpreters as a health care team. A total of 89 University of Minnesota dental, dental hygiene, and dental therapy students and 41 Century College translating and interpreting students participated in the elective three-hour training from 2016 to 2018. The 89 oral health professions participants were invited to respond to a seven-item survey about working with interpreters and patients who are limited English proficient (LEP), along with a comparison group of an additional 462 oral health professions students who did not participate in the program. Of the oral health professions participants, 49 responded to the survey, for a 55% response rate; and 245 of the comparison group responded, for a 53% response rate. A qualitative focus group with 11 program participants and inductive analysis provided further insights. The differences between participants' pre and post self-ratings were statistically significant (p<0.001) for each of the seven survey questions. After training, students were more familiar with provider and interpreter best practices and the context for patients who are LEP, as well as more confident in their skills to work effectively with interpreters. Student focus groups identified training relevance and necessity and learning format as the most significant success factors. This project highlights the process and value of creating these experiences for and with students and the value of simulation to develop knowledge, skills, and confidence.