8. Continuing Professional Development
Principle: Interpreters engage in continuing professional development in order to achieve and maintain the highest levels of performance and to successfully adapt to changing circumstances and technology.
Objective: To maintain and enhance professional competence throughout one's career in healthcare interpreting.
Standards of Practice
8.1 Actively pursue continuing development of linguistic, sociocultural, and subject-specific knowledge, relevant to the communities we serve.
Prompt: How do I identify gaps in my knowledge about the languages, cultures, or specialized topics relevant to my work, and what resources can I explore to fill those gaps?
Example: Interpreters actively seek to understand and use respectful and appropriate terminology for all communities.
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8.2 Continue developing interpreting skills, ethical judgment, and reasoning skills.
Prompt: How do I transform what I've learned into effective action?
Example: Interpreters reflect on their work to polish their professional practice.
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8.3 Participate in ongoing learning activities.
Prompt: How can I stay curious about language, culture, and ethics, and topics that might affect my interpreting work?
Example: Interpreters familiarize themselves with respectful terminology related to diverse identities, such as LGBTQ+ terminology. Interpreters learn terms that describe languages, such as dialect, creole, and use them correctly.
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8.4 Seek and welcome feedback from trustworthy colleagues, providers, patients, and their families.
Prompt: How can I thoughtfully consider new perspectives about my work to grow professionally?
Example: Interpreters welcome input from bilingual patients or providers.
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8.5 Support the professional development of fellow interpreters.
Prompt: What opportunities can I create to exchange knowledge and experience with colleagues?
Example: Interpreters promote opportunities in their organization to participate in mentoring relationships with colleagues.
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8.6 Participate in professional organizations and contribute to the growth and development of our profession.
Prompt: How can I use my skills and experiences to support initiatives within professional organizations that strengthen the interpreting community?
Example: Interpreters regularly attend events and conferences to stay connected with their professional community.
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8.7 Stay informed about advancements in technology and assess how these developments may influence our work, tools, and professional practices.
Prompt: How might technology change the way I approach my work in the near future?
Example: Interpreters learn about the AI technologies providers employ, including documentation tools.
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8.8 Regularly evaluate our own performance, identifying strengths and areas for improvement to guide ongoing development.
Prompt: How do I critically reflect on my work to uncover areas for additional learning?
Example: Interpreters review challenging sessions and plan targeted growth activities.
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8.9 Develop skills to engage in effective collaboration with clinicians, social workers, and other professionals.
Prompt: How do I build collaborative relationships that enhance communication and service quality?
Example: Interpreters participate in interdisciplinary training to deepen their understanding of medical contexts and communication goals.