Medical Interpreter?

[Jacq]

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I'm interested in finding out about being a medical interpreter (I did a search on the forums, but couldn't find much.) I speak Spanish & Portuguese fluently so I thought it might be a good, yet different, way to get clinical exposure at the hospital. Does anyone have any experience doing this? Did you get certified? Have you seen any cool stuff during your translating experiences?
I found some local Med. Int. courses, but they range from $300-$1500...pretty steep investment.😱 How much can a Med. Int make? I know there's always the volunteer option, but after spending that kind of money on a certification, it'd be nice to recoup some.

Thanks in advance!!🙂

 

[Faze2]

I would think that would be a pretty good job as far as patient contact. Plus, they would be telling you all of their symptoms/pain/history in detail, and you would translate back what the doctor was telling them, which would probably help you learn a lot.

 

[Bibi7365]

I use to be a medical intepreter (for about 3 years), it was a great experience-- just loved it. Now, depending on where you work your experience is going to vary. For example, I worked in the ER of one hospital and what you saw there was very different from when I use to work out in the clinics (of the same hospital). In the ER you experienced everything, saw everything and gained a great deal of knowledge. Working out in the clinics (I use to float around clinics) depending on the clinic I was in (whether it was pedi, geriatrics, internal med., etc) you would pretty much see the same thing over and over again to the point where you memorized the questions some of the PAs and MDs would ask patients. Overall, I enjoyed the ER a lot more since it was so fast-paced, graphic, and just picked up so much, however, the clinics were more relaxed and I had more time for myself and picked up some clerical work experience.
As far as pay is concerned, it just depends on your experience. To be certified many hospitals/clinics have contracted an outside company where you are sent to take an exam to see if you are qualified to interpret (the last exam I took, took 3 hours and it was in both Spanish and English). I took three exams (since I worked in 3 different hospitals) and each exam pretty much consisted of the same thing: 1. a general part that tested your language/grammatical skills (make sure you could pretty much read and identified the grammatically correct sentence), 2. a definition part where they give you a medical term and you define it, 3. listening part where you listen to a short message that then asks you a question and you choose the correct answer on your test (m/c), and finally an oral portion where you are asked simple questions (your name, where you work, how to give directions, etc), to identified some body parts or give the definition to some medical terms, and lastly give instructions on how to take a particular medication (I had to be able to explain the instructions to follow when using a nasal spray). Depending on your score you would be either a Level I or II interpreter (with Level II being the higher pay).
Finally, depending on where you work is how much you will get paid. Larger hospitals tend to pay well and are in more need of interpreters than clinics. In Dallas, Tx (where I worked) the average pay for a Level II interpreter was anywhyere from $16-$22 depending on experience. No experience will most definately guarantee you the lower pay. (Level I pays anywhere from $13-$17). Also, not all hospitals list their interpreters under the title of Interpreters, at one hospital I worked for we were called Guest Relations Representatives, in another Translators and finally Patient Advocates. I wish you luck and I know you will enjoy being an interpreter it is so fulfilling and rewarding.

 

[Bibi7365]

I forgot to mention, I took a couple of courses while in college that were specific to medical terminology and was able to volunteer for two semesters which helped a lot. Right after graduating from college I went to work for a major hospital as an Interpreter. Not sure how to get certified as a general interpreter other than just passing the hospitals certification.

 

[Jacq]

Thank you so much for the info! I'm in Boston so there are tons of hopsitals, but I just looked into a couple and they ask for min. of 1-2 years experience...maybe i'll be able to volunteer atleast. Keep your fingers crossed for me please!😀

 

[ExtremeUnderdog]

I have been working as a professional interpreter (part-time) for over 10 years (both legal and medical). As the above poster mentioned the amount of exposure varies from place to place. In the world of professional translation/interpretatio, languages are generally classified as common or exotic. Spanish is a common language and the pay for common language translators/interpreters is usually lower (sometimes significantly) than for the exotic language interpreters. I am not sure if Portuguese is an exotic language (how a language is classified also depends on your location).

As far as certification, it depends on the entity hiring you: some hospitals and clinics have contracts with language service agencies (and the agency hires/contracts with interpreters and sends them whenever the hospital/clinic makes a request), some hospitals have their own list of interpreters whom they call when the need arises, some hospitals have a full-time Spanish interpreter on staff (depends on location, of course), many hospitals now use telephone interpretation services (you call a number, give the language and are instantly connected to the appropriate interpreter). So the credentials/certification required for working as an interpreter will vary.

Many states have an organization/association of professional interpreters and you may be able to get some helpful information specific to your state from them.

Feel free to PM me if you need more specific information or have specific questions.

 

[RisingSun]

I would think that would be a pretty good job as far as patient contact. Plus, they would be telling you all of their symptoms/pain/history in detail, and you would translate back what the doctor was telling them, which would probably help you learn a lot.

I want to echo this. I became interested in medicine after volunteering at a hospital in Japan and becoming the de factor interpreter whenever there was an English-speaking patient. It was great experience, because I got to see everything that the physicians did. It really was a great window to the physican-patient relationship. All of my interviewers were interested in my experience as an interpreter.

If nothing else, I am sure that you could volunteer at a hospital as an interpreter, and that would help you gain experience as well as give you something great to talk about in interviews. I can't stress enough how much of a plus this was for me and how it helped make my interviews go smoothly.

 

[Guillo]

Keep in mind that in order to become a staff member as an interpreter at a hospital you'll need more certifications than "knowledge of Spanish" in order to get hired. I make some money doing translations, and the pay isn't that great either, though interpreters may do a little bit better. It is, however, a good experience for a med student. May be! Keep in mind that many hospitals will have Spanish speaking staff anyways, depending on the area.

 

[murfettie]

this thread is like... 4 years old.