Partnering With Interpreter Services: Standardized Patient Cases to Improve Communication With Limited English Proficiency Patients

INTRODUCTION

As the number of patients with limited English proficiency grows, there is increasing awareness in the medical community about disparities in health outcomes for this population. The proper use of professional medical interpreters improves communication between physicians and patients with limited English proficiency. Typically, however, little curricular time in medical training is devoted to this competency.

METHODS

We developed a two-station objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) in which learners worked with interpreters to conduct medical interviews with Spanish-speaking standardized patients (SPs). Cases were designed for use with residents from any medical specialty and to have personal and emotional richness in keeping with the real-life circumstances of many patients. Twelve residents from six medical specialties completed a session evaluation and were assessed by faculty, SPs, and interpreters using existing validated instruments and case-specific checklists.

RESULTS

All residents reported that the cases mimicked real patient encounters. The checklists were well received and easy to use. While scores varied between residents, deficiencies were identified in basic communication skills for interacting with a non-English-speaking SP through an interpreter, including maintaining proper eye contact and open body posture with patients and introducing and clearly articulating the role of the interpreter.

DISCUSSION

A two-station OSCE utilizing professional medical interpreters and Spanish-speaking SPs was well received by all participants. Residents' scores helped identify common skill gaps in their work with interpreters. Based on the success of the pilot deployment, we plan to target educational interventions at these common deficiencies and offer the OSCE to more trainees.

Respiratory syncytial virus activates epidermal growth factor receptor to suppress interferon regulatory factor 1-dependent interferon-lambda and antiviral defense in airway epithelium

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) persists as a significant human pathogen that continues to contribute to morbidity and mortality. In children, RSV is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections, and in adults RSV causes pneumonia and contributes to exacerbations of chronic lung diseases. RSV induces airway epithelial inflammation by activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a tyrosine kinase receptor. Recently, EGFR inhibition was shown to decrease RSV infection, but the mechanism(s) for this effect are not known. Interferon (IFN) signaling is critical for innate antiviral responses, and recent experiments have implicated IFN-λ (lambda), a type III IFN, as the most significant IFN for mucosal antiviral immune responses to RSV infection. However, a role for RSV-induced EGFR activation to suppress airway epithelial antiviral immunity has not been explored. Here, we show that RSV-induced EGFR activation suppresses IFN regulatory factor (IRF) 1-induced IFN-λ production and increased viral infection, and we implicate RSV F protein to mediate this effect. EGFR inhibition, during viral infection, augmented IRF1, IFN-λ, and decreased RSV titers. These results suggest a mechanism for EGFR inhibition to suppress RSV by activation of endogenous epithelial antiviral defenses, which may be a potential target for novel therapeutics.