A National Code of Ethics for Interpreters in Health Care

Abstract

"This document provides a guide to understanding the National Code of Ethics for Interpreters in Health Care. It was apparent from the responses to the survey that not everyone in the field had the same understanding of the concept of ethics, what a code of ethics represented, what this code meant in the course of professional practice, and what the difference was between a code of ethics and standards of practice. Therefore, this document places the code in the context of ethical behavior in general and then discusses each principle in the context of specific issues and dilemmas often faced by health care interpreters. It provides an elaboration and discussion of each principle and the interrelationships among them, acknowledging that controversies still exist while offering the working interpreter a way to think about these controversies. This document is organized around three major sections. The first section offers an explanation of ethics and ethical behavior in general as well as in the context of the profession of health care interpreting. The second section describes the core values on which this code of ethics is grounded. Finally, the third section presents a commentary on each of the principles that makes up the National Code of Ethics for Interpreters in Health Care. "