Page 146 - Reading Between the Sign Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters

The Impact of Cultural Differences on Interpreting Situations 131

Scenario 5
Hearing Doctor: (looking at his watch and walking toward the
door) Okay. That’s all for today. Bye.
As mentioned in chapter 3, there is a difference in the
pace of leave-taking in the American Deaf and hearing
cultures. In hearing culture most leave-takings tend to
be brief. Additionally, in today’s health care environ-
ment, the doctor’s time is commonly broken down into
ten- to fifteen-minute sessions. He or she, therefore, is
probably already behind and wondering how to make
up the extra time that was spent working through the
interpreter.
Deaf Patient: (repeating what has already been established) So
I will take these pills three times a day—at breakfast, lunch,
and dinner—with a glass of water, three pills a day. But I didn’t
tell you about my foot problems, and should I still take those
other pills when I can’t sleep, and when should I come to see
you again?
The Deaf patient may not expect an abrupt end to his
or her appointment, because of the longer leave-taking
process in Deaf culture. He or she may want several
repetitions of the instructions regarding medication to
make sure that no communication problem has led to
a misunderstanding. The physician, who may have bro-
ken off eye contact with the patient and is walking to
the door while checking his or her wristwatch, thinks a
clear nonverbal signal has been sent that the appoint-
ment is over, a signal to which the Deaf person seems
oblivious. What is happening, however, is that they are
operating within different value systems. The time pres-
sure felt by the doctor is not shared by the Deaf person,
to whom face-to-face communication is of paramount
importance. Compartmentalization applies, in this in-
stance, not only to time but to area of specialization as
well. The Deaf patient may feel that this is a good op-
portunity to discuss all of his or her physical complaints
with a doctor, not realizing that in many HMOs one
must usually make a separate appointment to deal with
each part of the body.

06 MINDESS PMKR 131 10/18/04, 12:01 PM