I was asked to interpret!!

society's_child

society's_child

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A deaf person (not a friend but i know him) contacted me and told me that he had an appointment at the eye doctor and asked me if i could interpret for him. My reaction was: :ugh:. I told him that I've been only signing for 2 years and besides that, i've no special qualifications for interpreting, especially anything related to medicine. He didn't seem to care. IMO, I think he just didn't want to pay for a professional interpreter. Had to tell him flat-out, NO! Geez, was that strange..:shock:
 
Yep ADA and probably MD state law require the doctor to find and pay the interpreter. Been the law for over 10 years now.

smile
 
society's_child said:
Is that so? I'm so clueless. Yet another reason i'm the last person anyone should ask to interpret. :P
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S'sC, now that you know, perhaps you can contact this guy and explain the situation to him.....that he can contact the interpreter org there in MD...
 
Deaf people never pays for the interpreter - that's our law in Australia.
 
JClarke said:
Deaf people never pays for the interpreter - that's our law in Australia.
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There are situations where deaf folks have to or should be paying for their own interpreter. It isn't all a gimmie, gimmie world.
 
I work for a major clinic here in Washington State and we have an Interpreting company that we are contracted through. The patient just has to show up no fees to pay.
 
SouthFella said:
Yep ADA and probably MD state law require the doctor to find and pay the interpreter. Been the law for over 10 years now.

smile
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they don't pay just anybody who can sign right? you still need some sort of qualification for it in order for the doctor to pay for it, right?

society, was this appointment an emergency? were they squeezing this person in at the last minute? what's the law in washington that states how long a doctor has to find an interpreter for an appointment? do they need to provide one on the spot, or do they have the opportunity to wait a few days in advance? i'm curious because if the doctor is really busy, s/he might want to use that ability to wait a few days to schedule the 'easier-to-schedule' patients, and this person you know might just want to avoid any hassle of waiting.
 
Esp in medical or legal situations, the interpreter need and should be qualified at a level consistent with the situation. If a deaf person show up with their own interpreter , then the deaf person have to pay for it out of pocket.
 
Just a word of advice, if it is medical, legal don't do it unless you are certified. Doesn't matter who pays terp, stay away from these 2 areas unless you are certified and trained. I agree with you, he prob didn't want to have hassle of getting terp in on appointment, sometimes it is hard to schedule that when terps previous appt runs late or over.
 
verasch said:
they don't pay just anybody who can sign right? you still need some sort of qualification for it in order for the doctor to pay for it, right?

society, was this appointment an emergency? were they squeezing this person in at the last minute? what's the law in washington that states how long a doctor has to find an interpreter for an appointment? do they need to provide one on the spot, or do they have the opportunity to wait a few days in advance? i'm curious because if the doctor is really busy, s/he might want to use that ability to wait a few days to schedule the 'easier-to-schedule' patients, and this person you know might just want to avoid any hassle of waiting.
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I can tell you from both the physician and patient perspective, it is sometimes harder to schedule the terp than it is to find an opening in the physician's schedule. We have had situations where a terp doesn't show up (late from a previous appointment, forgot to schedule, illness, etc.). In those situations typically the Deaf client is offered the option of seeing the doc with whatever alternate communication method they prefer, or re-scheduling when an interpreter can be re-booked.

At least in Ohio, there is no requirement for medical certification, but additional training in medical terminology is strongly encouraged. However I have worked with terps who had this training, yet have been somewhat clueless about the terms they are interpreting, and have provided bad or wrong information as a result.

SC, one can speculate why this person contacted you, but the best you can do is ask him why, and help inform him of the laws that he might not be aware of. While it's flattering to be asked, it also places you in a difficult situation if there is a misunderstanding or misinformation on either part. I think you handled the situation well.
 
Thanks for the advice/responses, everyone.

This wasn't any kind of an emergency. Just your average run-of-the-mill eye examination. And I am very aware of the seriousness of medical interpreting. It's a whole 'nother thing, I'm sure.
 
society's_child said:
Thanks for the advice/responses, everyone.

This wasn't any kind of an emergency. Just your average run-of-the-mill eye examination. And I am very aware of the seriousness of medical interpreting. It's a whole 'nother thing, I'm sure.
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There's also the liability aspect of medical interpreting. Professional terps carry liability "malpractice" insurance for that reason.

Even a "run-of-the-mill" examination can in a flash become serious. That's why it's best to have a qualified terp for medical appointments.

Also, for medical appointments, you better be ready to hear, see, and smell TMI. :giggle:
 
Reba said:
There's also the liability aspect of medical interpreting. Professional terps carry liability "malpractice" insurance for that reason.

Even a "run-of-the-mill" examination can in a flash become serious. That's why it's best to have a qualified terp for medical appointments.

Also, for medical appointments, you better be ready to hear, see, and smell TMI. :giggle:
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It sounds like the laws for interpreters to be licensed vary from state to state. For instance, an unlicensed interpreter caught working an AA meeting will be subject to fines/jail time here in Missouri. Just wondering...
 
Beowulf said:
It sounds like the laws for interpreters to be licensed vary from state to state. For instance, an unlicensed interpreter caught working an AA meeting will be subject to fines/jail time here in Missouri. Just wondering...
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It does vary, state to state.

Also, one has to be careful to check the wording of each state's laws.

Certified.

State certified.

Levels of certification.

Nationally certified.

Licensed.

Qualified.
 
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