• Sarah Peters, Erin Peebles, and Matthew Carwana.
• Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, UBC Faculty of Medicine Rm 2D19, 4480 Oak Street, BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, BC V6H 3V4, Canada.
• Postgrad Med J. 2024 Jun 28; 100 (1185): 504511504-511.

BackgroundLack of communication in a family's preferred language is inequitable and results in inferior care. Pediatric residents provide care to many families with non-English or French language preferences (NEFLP). There is no data available about how Canadian pediatric residents use interpreters, making it difficult to develop targeted interventions to improve patient experience.ObjectivesOur purpose was to assess translation services in pediatric training centers and evaluate resident perception of their clinical skills when working with NEFLP patients and families. This survey represents the first collection of data from Canadian pediatric residents about interpreter services.MethodsEligible participants included all pediatric residents enrolled in an accredited Canadian pediatric training program. An anonymous survey was developed in REDCap© and distributed via email to all pediatric residents across Canada. Descriptive statistics were performed in STATA v15.1.Results122 residents responded. Interpreter services were widely available but underused in a variety of clinical situations. Most (85%) residents felt they provided better care to patients who shared their primary language (English or French), compared with families who preferred other languages-even when an interpreter was present. This finding was consistent across four self-assessed clinical skills.ConclusionsResidents are more confident in their clinical and communication skills when working with families who share their primary language. Our findings suggest that residents lack the training and confidence to provide equal care to families with varying language preferences. Pediatric training programs should develop curriculum content that targets safe and effective interpreter use while reviewing non-spoken aspects of cultural awareness and safety.© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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