CHI cheat sheet

Mode selection rule: use consecutive for dialogue and informed consent discussions; use simultaneous (whispered/chuchotage) only when the speaker will not pause and accuracy is not compromised; use sight translation for short written items read aloud during the encounter.

First-person rule: render the provider's and patient's utterances in the first person ("I have pain"), never "he says" or "tell him," to preserve speaker ownership and avoid shifting responsibility.

Positioning rule: sit or stand where you can see both parties' faces and lips, keep eye contact as a cue for turn-taking, and use the provider's direct address to the patient rather than speaking about the patient in third person.

Register decision rule: match the speaker's register and reading level; if the provider uses plain language, do not upgrade to technical jargon, and if the provider uses a technical term, render the equivalent technical term rather than a vague paraphrase.

Message-completeness rule: interpret everything said in the encounter, including side comments, asides, and small talk, because omissions can carry clinical or legal meaning; flag any intentional omission to both parties.

Clarification rule: when an utterance is ambiguous or a term is unknown, request clarification from the original speaker before rendering; never guess at a diagnosis, medication, dose, or number.

Role-boundary rule: do not answer questions addressed to the patient, do not give medical advice, and do not summarize or edit content; redirect the question to the provider and interpret the exchange.

Number and unit rule: interpret numbers, dosages, frequencies, and dates exactly as stated and repeat them back for confirmation; never round, convert units, or approximate.

Nonverbal and paralinguistic rule: convey tone, emotion, hesitation, and emphasis in the target language; do not neutralize distress or add reassurance the speaker did not express.

Definition rule: sight translation is the oral rendering of a written text in the target language, performed on the spot; it is distinct from translation (written output) and from consecutive interpreting (spoken input).

Pre-reading rule: scan the whole document first to identify structure, headings, numbers, and unfamiliar terms before beginning oral rendition; do not start reading aloud cold.

Chunking rule: read ahead in meaningful phrase units and render clause by clause; avoid word-for-word rendering that produces ungrammatical target-language syntax.

Number and unit rule: read figures, decimals, dates, and units exactly; in languages using different decimal or thousands separators, state the value unambiguously rather than converting silently.

Completeness rule: render all content in the document, including headers, footers, checkboxes, and instructions; note any illegible or missing text to the requester rather than inventing content.

Terminology rule: for unknown or ambiguous terms, use the most neutral accurate equivalent and flag the term to the provider; do not substitute a guess for a medication name, diagnosis, or legal term.

Pacing rule: maintain a steady pace and pause at sentence or section boundaries so the listener can absorb content; do not editorialize, summarize, or add explanations inside the rendition.

Document-handling rule: keep the document visible to the listener when appropriate and indicate position (section, paragraph) so the listener can follow along and verify.

Scope rule: translation produces a written target-language text; it requires accuracy of content, terminology, and formatting, and is distinct from sight translation's oral output.

Fidelity rule: translate meaning-for-meaning, not word-for-word; preserve all information, including negations, qualifiers, conditions, and warnings, since omissions or additions can create clinical or legal risk.

Terminology rule: use established target-language equivalents for medical terms and standardized code sets; when no standard equivalent exists, use the accepted loanword or a descriptive equivalent and document the choice.

Number and unit rule: preserve all dosages, concentrations, frequencies, dates, and identifiers exactly; do not convert units unless the client requests it, and if converting, show the original value alongside.

Formatting rule: preserve layout, headings, tables, checkboxes, and order of items so the translated document maps to the source; note any layout changes to the client.

Proper-noun rule: do not translate names of people, institutions, or brand-name medications; keep them as in the source and transliterate only when required by target-language script conventions.

Back-translation rule: for high-risk content (consent forms, instructions, discharge summaries), a back-translation or independent review can verify accuracy; flag content that fails review rather than delivering it as final.

Confidentiality rule: treat all source documents as protected health information; do not retain, reuse, or disclose content beyond the translation task.

Mode selection rule: use consecutive for dialogue and informed consent discussions; use simultaneous (whispered/chuchotage) only when the speaker will not pause and accuracy is not compromised; use sight translation for short written items read aloud during the encounter.

First-person rule: render the provider's and patient's utterances in the first person ("I have pain"), never "he says" or "tell him," to preserve speaker ownership and avoid shifting responsibility.

Positioning rule: sit or stand where you can see both parties' faces and lips, keep eye contact as a cue for turn-taking, and use the provider's direct address to the patient rather than speaking about the patient in third person.

Register decision rule: match the speaker's register and reading level; if the provider uses plain language, do not upgrade to technical jargon, and if the provider uses a technical term, render the equivalent technical term rather than a vague paraphrase.

Message-completeness rule: interpret everything said in the encounter, including side comments, asides, and small talk, because omissions can carry clinical or legal meaning; flag any intentional omission to both parties.

Clarification rule: when an utterance is ambiguous or a term is unknown, request clarification from the original speaker before rendering; never guess at a diagnosis, medication, dose, or number.

Role-boundary rule: do not answer questions addressed to the patient, do not give medical advice, and do not summarize or edit content; redirect the question to the provider and interpret the exchange.

Number and unit rule: interpret numbers, dosages, frequencies, and dates exactly as stated and repeat them back for confirmation; never round, convert units, or approximate.

Nonverbal and paralinguistic rule: convey tone, emotion, hesitation, and emphasis in the target language; do not neutralize distress or add reassurance the speaker did not express.

Definition rule: sight translation is the oral rendering of a written text in the target language, performed on the spot; it is distinct from translation (written output) and from consecutive interpreting (spoken input).

Pre-reading rule: scan the whole document first to identify structure, headings, numbers, and unfamiliar terms before beginning oral rendition; do not start reading aloud cold.

Chunking rule: read ahead in meaningful phrase units and render clause by clause; avoid word-for-word rendering that produces ungrammatical target-language syntax.

Number and unit rule: read figures, decimals, dates, and units exactly; in languages using different decimal or thousands separators, state the value unambiguously rather than converting silently.

Completeness rule: render all content in the document, including headers, footers, checkboxes, and instructions; note any illegible or missing text to the requester rather than inventing content.

Terminology rule: for unknown or ambiguous terms, use the most neutral accurate equivalent and flag the term to the provider; do not substitute a guess for a medication name, diagnosis, or legal term.

Pacing rule: maintain a steady pace and pause at sentence or section boundaries so the listener can absorb content; do not editorialize, summarize, or add explanations inside the rendition.

Document-handling rule: keep the document visible to the listener when appropriate and indicate position (section, paragraph) so the listener can follow along and verify.

Scope rule: translation produces a written target-language text; it requires accuracy of content, terminology, and formatting, and is distinct from sight translation's oral output.

Fidelity rule: translate meaning-for-meaning, not word-for-word; preserve all information, including negations, qualifiers, conditions, and warnings, since omissions or additions can create clinical or legal risk.

Terminology rule: use established target-language equivalents for medical terms and standardized code sets; when no standard equivalent exists, use the accepted loanword or a descriptive equivalent and document the choice.

Number and unit rule: preserve all dosages, concentrations, frequencies, dates, and identifiers exactly; do not convert units unless the client requests it, and if converting, show the original value alongside.

Formatting rule: preserve layout, headings, tables, checkboxes, and order of items so the translated document maps to the source; note any layout changes to the client.

Proper-noun rule: do not translate names of people, institutions, or brand-name medications; keep them as in the source and transliterate only when required by target-language script conventions.

Back-translation rule: for high-risk content (consent forms, instructions, discharge summaries), a back-translation or independent review can verify accuracy; flag content that fails review rather than delivering it as final.

Confidentiality rule: treat all source documents as protected health information; do not retain, reuse, or disclose content beyond the translation task.