Join the ITI Medical Network for another lunchtime presentation – this time on Monday 17 February 2025 at 13:00 GMT, from interpreter Maria Dunkley on The Mental Health of the Medical Interpreter–Before, Now and Beyond.
Medical interpreting is vital to ensure that patients with limited English proficiency and healthcare professionals can communicate effectively. However, interpreting in healthcare settings presents a wide range of challenges for interpreters, and with the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changing the way in which people live and work in the UK, interpreters have been faced with a whole new set of challenges. Despite this, there is a general lack of research on how the challenges faced by interpreters in healthcare settings impact their mental health.
During her MA, as she prepared to delve into the world of professional interpreting, Maria discovered the multitude of issues that surround medical interpreting. Her 2022 dissertation, which won the University of Surrey’s prize for best dissertation in interpreting and translation, focused on the impact of medical interpreting on the interpreter’s mental health and the strategies and support interpreters use to look after their well-being. It also analysed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and changing practices on the medical interpreter’s work and subsequently their mental health.
In this session, Maria will present the findings from her research, how we can provide support to interpreters in the vital work they do, and look into the future of medical interpreting.
Maria Dunkley is a freelancer translator, interpreter and live subtitler based in Glasgow, Scotland, who works from French & German into English. She holds a BA in Modern Languages and an MA in Translation and Interpreting, and specialises in the medical sector.
Book your place for the workshop here, free to existing members (see the event announcement email for the code to enter at checkout) and £5.00 for non-members.