Yey! I like this one and I'm hoping to meet other linguists in medicine.
I'm fluent in:
Italian (professional level)
Spanish (native level)
English (native level)
French (intermediate-advanced, and I've been neglecting this one)
More than 10 years ago I began working as a medical interpreter to help pay for college in northern California. A lot of doctors dislike having to use interpreters, and I don't blame them, but I liked being paged from one department to the next, since being in the hospital room with the doctor and the patient has given me a unique insight into medicine.
Right now I'm balancing books and translations (staring at 38 pages from Bristol-Myers Squib due Wednesday, and an Italian cancer research study due tomorrow) while I volunteer in the "developing world" as the non-profit calls it, and though I recently resigned from my volunteer position in a free clinic, they haven't been able to find someone to replace me, and I'm still here. My responsibility is to help the non-profit communicate with Germany, since they don't speak Spanish, and interpret for the 2 specialists, a neurology physical therapy specialist and a neurosurgeon, which includes patient consults at the free clinic, training local volunteers to give physical therapy, and even talking to local reporters (tv and newspapers) to reach patients who may have been in accidents, strokes, and have brain damage. There are local doctors doing this too, but I only work with the Europeans volunteering here.
About 75% of the patients are turned away since there's no more room, and I'm surprised at how much need there is, I'm surprised at how young the patients are (motorcycle accidents) and I'm surprised how many people here don't understand the importance of treatment. Some feel if they're paralyzed (like hemiplegia or hemiparesis) after brain damage that their life is over, and they stay in bed, staring at the ceiling, counting their days, waiting to die, and the volunteers find out about cases through word of mouth and the specialists visit them at home, sometimes hours away in an isolated ranch to tell them that there are options. I've already seen patients regain mobility, and the smile in their face when they take their first steps is gold.
I'm hoping to start medicine in Europe in a couple months. I was already accepted a couple years back, but I didn't have the savings and final embassy documents that I finally have. I was sent to the beginning and I have one last test to take, and I'm studying hard, while I work and volunteer, and if all goes well, I start medical school in September.
Learning languages took me down roads I would have never imagined. I'm hoping I can continue to work abroad in global health ---but I doubt it, at least, I don't know how yet. Then again, global health is pretty much what a lot of US hospitals face already, just ask the doctors who walk into the exam room, only realize they can't communicate with their patient.
This is longer than I would like, but this is something I love with a passion, but I've learned to not talk about in real life, and I'm hoping there's a niche out there I don't yet know about...