In light of the global pandemic, viruses have been in the news and on our mind – and while it certainly has brought viruses into the spotlight, they actually existed 3.5 billion years before humans evolved on Earth! Viruses are also most numerous microbes on earth – there are more viruses than bacteria and there are more viruses than all forms of life put together, including humans and animals! Aside from COVID-19, there are many more viruses that medical interpreters may encounter: from HIV and HPV to measles and hepatitis. I put these resources together to supplement a class I deve ..read more

This is the second post devoted to note-taking for medical interpreters. The first post provided some links to resources on basic-note taking skills and provided materials for structured note-taking practice, including the key terminology worksheet and transcripts. This post contains practice materials for next step in note-taking practice. It contains longer recordings split into segments for interpreters to practice their note-taking skills. There is no list of key terms or a transcript to make the practice more challenging and to give interpreters an opportunity to focus on the aspects of n ..read more

Whether you are a medical interpreting student preparing for medical interpreter certification exams or a working medical interpreter looking for a quick refresher on the respiratory system in order to prepare for an interpreting assignment, this collection of resources on respiratory health and respiratory diseases is here to help. Alternatively, you can skip to the end of the article where you’ll find some videos with medical dialogues to help you keep your interpreting skills sharp. In this post, I put together resources related to anatomy of the respiratory system, as well as diagnosis an ..read more

This blog post is a collection of practice activities meant both to accompany my webinar on Interpreting Idioms and Cultural References and also provide opportunities for self-study. If you haven’t attended my webinar, read this blog post which will provide you with an overview of strategies for interpreting idioms:Idioms for Medical Interpreters. Step 1: Glossary Download the idiom glossary and complete it with equivalents/translations in your working language(s). Since this is an editable document, you can use it indefinitely to record all the idiomatic expressions and figures of speech you ..read more

I’m very excited to share with you this very special post –  the first guest post on the Medical Interpreter Blog! The idea for it came about when I was attending the California Healthcare Interpreting Association’s 20th Educational Conference conference in San Diego, California.  I attended many excellent workshops and presentations that day, but one presentation, Humor and Jokes: Who has the Last Laugh? was particularly enjoyable, not least because the team presenting it was also from Seattle!  So when I approached Tamas Farkas and Michaela Kiley of the Cross Cultural Health C ..read more

I’m not sure where this drawing is from but from time to time it makes rounds in various interpreter groups on social media. Aside from being funny, the image captures the true nature of the interpreter profession: it’s a highly-skilled job. Being a good interpreter involves well-developed listening and speaking skills, a strong memory, note-taking skills, sound knowledge of the code of ethics in your chosen field(s) – and being the proverbial embodiment of a walking dictionary. It’s certainly true that no one can know ALL of the words related to a particular subject – after all, the English ..read more

Sometimes, it can be hard for interpreters and translators to meet in person. My friend and a fellow interpreter Angelika and I work for many of the same agencies and often take appointments at the same hospitals, and so we often joke that our favorite meeting place is hospital parking garages – because that’s where we often meet and snatch a few minutes of hurried catch-up before running off to our respective assignments. There are, of course, conferences and other events put on by professional organizations and associations – I’m a proud member of NOTIS (The Northwest Translators and Interpr ..read more

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