Validating professional standards and codes

This article presents a focus group study on the validation of the California Standards for Healthcare Interpreters produced by the California Healthcare Interpreting Association (CHIA) in 2002. The reactions of healthcare interpreters to the Standards, and their opinions and thoughts on its provisions are reviewed and analyzed. The article first addresses the issues and problems healthcare interpreters encounter when implementing the Standards, and highlights the challenges they face when trying to balance their professional mandate with the reality of their working environment. In particular, it describes the difficulties of defining the interpreter’s role in the system. The final section of the article draws attention to the need for bridges between research and practice as a means of guaranteeing that the field of interpreting will continue to develop.