Medical Interpreter
Through connections at the University of Cincinnati, I was put in contact with the interpreters at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. I was very excited to have both some hands-on experience in medicine and also use my Spanish language skills, which have become quite proficient (to keep myself up to speed, I read the Hunger Games series and other books in Spanish).
Once a week, I walked over to the hospital to the interpretive services desk. The first five times, I was in charge of an experimental program. Often, Spanish-speaking patients would miss appointments. To remind parents of their child's appointment, an electronic machine left a message of when and where the appointment was. There was a problem though, since the machine only left messages in English and not in Spanish. As an unpaid intern, it was my responsibility to call all of the families and remind them of their appointments the next day in an attempt to reduce the number of missed appointments and therefore boost hospital efficiency. I called the families and left messages if there was no answer, but answered simple questions about what building the appointment was, how to get to the location, when the appointment was, and who the interpreter was to be. Sometimes there were cancellations or concerns, and if I knew I answered these, and if not I directed them to the appropriate number. Often, the numbers listed for the family were disconnected or wrong numbers altogether. In these cases I notified interpretive services.
Completing all of the calls took anywhere from an hour an a half to three hours, depending on the number of appointments the next day. After completing these calls, I followed a staff interpreter. I translated small, easy questions while with the staff interpreter for the first few weeks. Once the P.A, N.P, or M.D entered and discussed technical medical terms, I let the staff interpreter do the interpreting while I listened in and took notes. As I am not officially certified above beginner level medical, I cannot interpret without a certified interpreter in the room.
However, by the fifth week the data showed that while there were less Spanish speakers missing appointments, there was not a significant number and that it might be a better use of my time to follow and interpret the whole time I was there. I liked this, because I feel I can express myself and understand better in English and Spanish when I am in person. I then went with the certified interpreters to their daily appointments.
Coming from the role of an interpreter, I had the unique perspective of seeing all members of the healthcare team and how each member played his or her part. I also learned a tremendous amount about medical terminologies and other vocabulary in medical Spanish. Fortunately, much of the technical terminology i similar to that in English (for example, orchidopexy is orquidopexia). Another advantage of being in an interpretive role is that I got to travel all over the hospital in all sorts of departments from mental health to dental health, the neurology to neprhology.
I also learned how important an interpreter is, and what sort of issues can be induced by a language barrier. One day I was translating when I translated a sentence in the way I was taught and according to textbooks is correct. However, the patient's parents were from a country where this phrasing was not used. Fortunately the staff interpreter backed me up and explained the concept in another way. Just as in English, Spanish has many diverse dialects and colloquialisms. Interpreters always have to think quickly and on their feet.
On the other hand, I was able to see how a patient's level of care or experience might have suffered due to this language barrier, and this troubled me greatly especially given my resolution from RAPP. Most medical professionals were very patient and understanding when it came to language barriers, but there were some instances in which assistants mostly would stay quiet or not explain the procedure thoroughly, leaving the patient's family confused.This was probably because the assistants were not comfortable or did not know what to do. This was definitely not the norm, but the fact that these happened while I was in the room bothered me greatly.
Part of the way through the semester, I decided to start coming in on evenings because that worked best with my busy schedule in Spring 2013. The only staff interpreter was in the emergency room, so this is where I spent most of my other volunteer hours. I loved this experience in the emergency room. I would translate for registration and triage, and then depending on the severity the staff interpreter would usually translate when the doctors and specialists entered. If there weren't a lot of patients, the staff interpreter and I would do mock scenarios for extra practice.
Of course being in the emergency room, you never know what to expect. There were a few really severe emergencies, in which case I let the staff interpreter do the interpreting. There were also really mild cases of colds and fevers because the patient did not have a primary healthcare provider. One time, a woman from Guatemala came in with her son who complained of leg and hip pain. Once in a room, we explained to the woman that she had to sign for medical insurance and knowledge of HIPPA. Her signature was very labored, and the staff interpreter and I had suspicions that this woman could not read or write. Sure enough, when we gave her medication directions on paper we asked if she wanted us to read them for her, and she obliged. This opened my eyes a lot, because I never thought to think of illiteracy when giving prescriptions and directions. Fortunately the staff in the ER is a very and and intelligent woman who knew that this woman would be too timid or embarrassed to say she couldn't read or write.
The ideal interpreter is invisible: the flow of the appointment should be as smooth as possible between the patient and the medical professional. My desire to be a bilingual Physician Assistant was bolstered by seeing a drastic change between an appointment with the interpreter and one without. One of the doctors in pulmonology is from Puerto Rico and naturally is bilingual. With myself and the staff interpreter in the room for the English speaking nurses and social workers, there was the natural progression of speaking, pausing for the interpreter, the other person speaking, and more pausing for the interpreter. However when this doctor came in, she started speaking in Spanish right away. I remember being dumbfounded by the change from what I was used to. The sheer interaction between this doctor and the patient's mother flowed very smoothly and everything was direct and trusted. Both understood each other and seemed to be on the same level metaphorically speaking. "This," I thought, "is what I want my patients to experience as a Physician Assistant."
Once a week, I walked over to the hospital to the interpretive services desk. The first five times, I was in charge of an experimental program. Often, Spanish-speaking patients would miss appointments. To remind parents of their child's appointment, an electronic machine left a message of when and where the appointment was. There was a problem though, since the machine only left messages in English and not in Spanish. As an unpaid intern, it was my responsibility to call all of the families and remind them of their appointments the next day in an attempt to reduce the number of missed appointments and therefore boost hospital efficiency. I called the families and left messages if there was no answer, but answered simple questions about what building the appointment was, how to get to the location, when the appointment was, and who the interpreter was to be. Sometimes there were cancellations or concerns, and if I knew I answered these, and if not I directed them to the appropriate number. Often, the numbers listed for the family were disconnected or wrong numbers altogether. In these cases I notified interpretive services.
Completing all of the calls took anywhere from an hour an a half to three hours, depending on the number of appointments the next day. After completing these calls, I followed a staff interpreter. I translated small, easy questions while with the staff interpreter for the first few weeks. Once the P.A, N.P, or M.D entered and discussed technical medical terms, I let the staff interpreter do the interpreting while I listened in and took notes. As I am not officially certified above beginner level medical, I cannot interpret without a certified interpreter in the room.
However, by the fifth week the data showed that while there were less Spanish speakers missing appointments, there was not a significant number and that it might be a better use of my time to follow and interpret the whole time I was there. I liked this, because I feel I can express myself and understand better in English and Spanish when I am in person. I then went with the certified interpreters to their daily appointments.
Coming from the role of an interpreter, I had the unique perspective of seeing all members of the healthcare team and how each member played his or her part. I also learned a tremendous amount about medical terminologies and other vocabulary in medical Spanish. Fortunately, much of the technical terminology i similar to that in English (for example, orchidopexy is orquidopexia). Another advantage of being in an interpretive role is that I got to travel all over the hospital in all sorts of departments from mental health to dental health, the neurology to neprhology.
I also learned how important an interpreter is, and what sort of issues can be induced by a language barrier. One day I was translating when I translated a sentence in the way I was taught and according to textbooks is correct. However, the patient's parents were from a country where this phrasing was not used. Fortunately the staff interpreter backed me up and explained the concept in another way. Just as in English, Spanish has many diverse dialects and colloquialisms. Interpreters always have to think quickly and on their feet.
On the other hand, I was able to see how a patient's level of care or experience might have suffered due to this language barrier, and this troubled me greatly especially given my resolution from RAPP. Most medical professionals were very patient and understanding when it came to language barriers, but there were some instances in which assistants mostly would stay quiet or not explain the procedure thoroughly, leaving the patient's family confused.This was probably because the assistants were not comfortable or did not know what to do. This was definitely not the norm, but the fact that these happened while I was in the room bothered me greatly.
Part of the way through the semester, I decided to start coming in on evenings because that worked best with my busy schedule in Spring 2013. The only staff interpreter was in the emergency room, so this is where I spent most of my other volunteer hours. I loved this experience in the emergency room. I would translate for registration and triage, and then depending on the severity the staff interpreter would usually translate when the doctors and specialists entered. If there weren't a lot of patients, the staff interpreter and I would do mock scenarios for extra practice.
Of course being in the emergency room, you never know what to expect. There were a few really severe emergencies, in which case I let the staff interpreter do the interpreting. There were also really mild cases of colds and fevers because the patient did not have a primary healthcare provider. One time, a woman from Guatemala came in with her son who complained of leg and hip pain. Once in a room, we explained to the woman that she had to sign for medical insurance and knowledge of HIPPA. Her signature was very labored, and the staff interpreter and I had suspicions that this woman could not read or write. Sure enough, when we gave her medication directions on paper we asked if she wanted us to read them for her, and she obliged. This opened my eyes a lot, because I never thought to think of illiteracy when giving prescriptions and directions. Fortunately the staff in the ER is a very and and intelligent woman who knew that this woman would be too timid or embarrassed to say she couldn't read or write.
The ideal interpreter is invisible: the flow of the appointment should be as smooth as possible between the patient and the medical professional. My desire to be a bilingual Physician Assistant was bolstered by seeing a drastic change between an appointment with the interpreter and one without. One of the doctors in pulmonology is from Puerto Rico and naturally is bilingual. With myself and the staff interpreter in the room for the English speaking nurses and social workers, there was the natural progression of speaking, pausing for the interpreter, the other person speaking, and more pausing for the interpreter. However when this doctor came in, she started speaking in Spanish right away. I remember being dumbfounded by the change from what I was used to. The sheer interaction between this doctor and the patient's mother flowed very smoothly and everything was direct and trusted. Both understood each other and seemed to be on the same level metaphorically speaking. "This," I thought, "is what I want my patients to experience as a Physician Assistant."