Professional language providers in medicine or medical interpreters are often described as invisible language facilitators (Angelelli 7). This means that their role is to transmit the meaning in the other language between the parties in the interaction which is accomplished via an intermediary role or a message converter role. The progressive intervention model of interpreting allows interpreters to use a variety of roles, including cultural intermediary and advocate. Advocacy is a role played by an interpreter that ranges from interpreting communication between speakers to taking action on behalf of one of the speakers based on the interpreter's understanding of the speaker's expected outcome ( NCIHC). It is difficult for medical interpreters to decide when to transition from their role as message converters to that of patient advocates and to speak with their own voice on behalf of a patient while maintaining, at all times, standards high ethical and professional standards. When interpreters take on the role of patient advocates, they become visible in the interaction, moving beyond the role of intermediary and becoming co-participants in the triad. What is the ethical role of the medical interpreter as an advocate for the Latino patient? ; When is it appropriate to use advocacy? ; how to make the decision?; What are the consequences of inappropriate use of the advocacy role? What are the limits? To answer all these questions, it is necessary to define advocacy. The meaning of advocacy in medical interpreting is “action taken on behalf of an individual that goes beyond facilitating communication, with the goal of promoting good health outcomes” (NCIHC 3). According to the CHIA standards for healthcare interpreters, "interpreters step into the role of patient advocate...... middle of paper ...... IMIA Interpreters Association http://www.imiaweb .org/uploads/pages/376_2.pdfHsieh, Éléine. “Health Literacy and Patient Empowerment: The Role of Medical Interpreters in Bilingual Healthcare.” Reducing health disparities: communications intervention. M. Dutta and G. Kreps, 2013 (p. 35-58). New York: Peter Lang. [guest contribution] Web. November 1, 2013, at http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/H/Elaine.K.Hsieh-1/download/Hsieh2013-Dutta%20Chapter.pdfInternational Medical Interpreters Association & Education Development Center, Inc. Standards of Interpretation Parctice Medical http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/pages/102.pdfThe National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCHIC). A national code of ethics for health care interpreters. July 2004. The web. September 15, 2013. http://www.ncihc.org/assets/documents/publications/NCIHC%20National%20Code %20of%20Ethics.pdf