Role conflict among 'culture brokers': the experience of native Canadian medical interpreters.

This paper examines the role conflicts among Cree and Saulteau language-speaking interpreters working in two urban hospitals providing tertiary medical care services to Native Canadians from remote northern communities. Over an 18 month period, participant-observation and analysis of videotaped clinical consultations were utilized to develop an inventory of roles and situational contexts characterizing the work of Native interpreters in urban hospitals. Sources of role conflict were found to be associated with cross-pressures in their roles as language interpreters, culture-brokers and patient advocates.