Shared Brokering: The Development of a Nurse/Interpreter Partnership

In North America, health care providers are facing an increasingly complex health care system with an increasingly culturally diverse client population. Therefore, it is imperative that care providers are able to work with interpreters who are able to interpret both language and culture. A grounded theory study of nurses' experiences (N = 27) in working with Vietnamese clients provided evidence of the shared brokering concept. Nurses in four major cities in North America were interviewed for approximately 1.5 hours using a semistructured guide. Data were analyzed using dimensional analysis and the constant comparative method. Shared brokering was one concept that emerged within a larger theory of cultural discovery. The shared brokering concept, as described by nurses, provided a framework for providing complex, effective, and efficient care for clients who speak Vietnamese and live within the Vietnamese cultural worldview. Criteria necessary for the development of a shared brokering relationship are described. Further research is needed to develop the conditions and criteria for shared brokering.