MedInt: Development of a Curriculum for Medical Interpreters

Project overview

Project period:	2007 - 2009
Financed by:	EU Grundtvig (Lifelong-Learning Programme)
Project leader:	Department of Translation Studies, University of Graz. Contact: Mag.Dr. Sonja Pöllabauer
Project partners:	Uni for Life - Seminarveranstaltungs-GmbH, University of Graz (project coordinator) University of Mainz in Germersheim, School of Translation Studies, Linguistics and Cultural Studies (Germany) University of Ljubljana, Department of Translation and Interpreting (Slovenia) University of Tampere, School of Modern Languages and Translation Studies (Finland) Styrian Hospital Corporation - Steiermärkische Krankenanstaltengesellschaft (Austria) Zebra - Intercultural Centre of Counselling and Therapy in Graz (Austria)

Project summary

Communication between healthcare providers and patients who do not speak the majority language is inadequate in many countries. The availability of trained medical interpreters can help bridge communication barriers in medical settings and ensure more equal service provision, better patient compliance, and higher cost efficiency.

To improve the situation, the MedInt project team developed a curriculum and materials for the training of medical interpreters, as well as a brochure with guidelines for interpreter-mediated communication for service-providers. They also published a collection of articles addressing different challenges of healthcare interpreting.

Project leader in Graz

Campusplan

Bibliothekszentrum Wall