Through the Looking-Glass: Reflections of/on empathy in healthcare interpreter education

The paper investigates empathic conduct in the context of healthcare interpreter education. Drawing on the concepts of dispositional and interactional empathy, activity frames, roleplaying vs. role-taking, and situated learning, the study attempts to answer four research questions: How far does (un)empathic disposition correlate with (un)empathic behaviour in simulated interaction? Does the didactic frame have an inhibiting effect on students’ expression of empathy? Can empathy be suitably developed in the classroom environment? Is empathic responsivity a desirable educational goal for healthcare interpreters? A research protocol was set up, and implemented on a sample of 15 postgraduate student interpreters. It entailed the administration of a dispositional empathy test, the videorecording of role-play data, and the collection of post-simulation feedback. The role-play script was based on an authentic healthcare encounter addressing the highly sensitive issue of elective abortion. The following are the key findings from the combined analysis of the three data sets. No systematic correlation between the study subjects’ dispositional and interactional empathy levels could be established. The influence of the didactic frame, albeit undeniable, did not turn out to be a major obstacle to the subjects’ manifestation of empathy. In the classroom environment, empathic skills can be acquired through the combined use of a variety of tools, with reflective and interactive learning activities being fundamental to unravel the complex interplay between rapport-building and other motives for action. Empathic responsivity and, even more significantly, awareness of its effects on interaction may be valuable learning achievements in healthcare interpreter education, as they enable students to contribute to the provision of humane medical care while keeping within the boundaries of professional ethics.