Characteristics of the Review Sample
Table 1 summarizes the characteristics of studies included in the current review.
In terms of methodologies, 9 of the retained articles (69%) were qualitative research studies and 4 (31%) were opinion pieces. The 13 articles came mainly from English-speaking countries, including the United States (US; n=9), Australia (n=2), the United Kingdom (UK; n=1), and New Zealand (n=1). Across these 13 articles, it was found that medical student interpretation services were provided in over 35 languages. Five studies (38%) described and evaluated the content, assessment, and effectiveness of interpretation training programs targeted at medical students that speak a language other than English. One article (7.7%) introduced an initiative which connects multilingual medical students with patients in need of translation services. Three articles (23%) surveyed graduating medical school cohorts to determine the frequency at which students acted as untrained ad hoc interpreters during their clinical rotations. In the four opinion articles (31%), authors expressed their perspectives on using medical students as ad hoc interpreters in various clinical settings. Most included studies (70%) discussed both advantages and disadvantages of medical students acting as interpreters. Interestingly, five studies (38%) emphasized the legal and ethical concerns associated with this issue. The experiences of hospital staff, patients, and medical students have also been documented in 7 of the articles (54%).