Olonilua Benedicta O, Snyder Natalie, Croce Julia, Papanagnou Dimitrios
Department of Medical Education, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, USA.
Department of Otolaryngology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, USA.
Cureus. 2025 Jun 3;17(6):e85290. doi: 10.7759/cureus.85290. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Communication and cultural differences render d/Deaf patients vulnerable to poorer health outcomes when compared to their hearing peers. Interventions designed to address these inequities are a growing focus in medical education, with virtual platforms (e.g., Zoom) becoming increasingly popular. This article describes the implementation of a one-hour virtual patient panel with an interactive question-and-answer session between a certified Deaf interpreter (CDI) and second-year pre-clerkship medical students at the authors' institution. Following this discussion, students were encouraged to share one or two key takeaways from the session through a survey link. These results were analyzed using generative artificial intelligence to summarize key themes. There were 41 respondents, with a response rate of 15%. The key themes that emerged are grouped under the following thematic headings: role of interpreters and communication; insights about d/Deaf culture; challenges and experiences; and suggestions for improvement. Students' takeaways emphasized themes of communication, cultural competency, and access to care. Student reflections highlighted the novelty and clinical applicability of lessons learned from the panel for their future practice. Further work in medical education is needed to adequately expose healthcare trainees to Deaf culture, particularly how to work with interpreters and CDIs in the clinical environment.
与听力正常的同龄人相比，沟通和文化差异使失聪/重听患者更容易出现较差的健康结果。旨在解决这些不平等问题的干预措施在医学教育中越来越受到关注，虚拟平台（如Zoom）越来越受欢迎。本文描述了在作者所在机构开展的一场为时一小时的虚拟患者小组活动，活动中有一名认证聋人翻译（CDI）与二年级临床前医学生进行互动问答环节。讨论结束后，通过调查链接鼓励学生分享该环节的一两个关键收获。使用生成式人工智能对这些结果进行分析，以总结关键主题。共有41名受访者，回复率为15%。出现的关键主题归为以下主题标题：翻译和沟通的作用；对失聪/重听文化的见解；挑战和经历；以及改进建议。学生的收获强调了沟通、文化能力和医疗服务可及性等主题。学生的反思突出了从小组活动中学到的经验教训对其未来实践的新颖性和临床适用性。医学教育需要进一步开展工作，以使医学生充分接触失聪文化，特别是如何在临床环境中与翻译和认证聋人翻译合作。
