Most challenging classes to interpret

I don't truly believe that the evolutionist laureate's dead! He orchestrated to fake his own death so he could work on his magnum opus to re-revolutionze evolutionary theory. I just know it. Soon, he'll emerge from his solitary cocoon and blow our minds away with his insightful ideas! JUST WAIT AND SEE!


Yes, I know the guy has been dead for a few years. So is Edward Said. I was making a point, silly, and don't give me that hackneyed "I was just giving you a hard time" excuse again.
 
Oh, but, Miss, I was indeed just "giving you a hard time."

Stephen Jay Gould has reincarnated, and his name is Pat Robertson. Oh, the irony!

I think Edward Said has an interesting face.
 
Would you like to take this outside, Endymion?

How do we know you're not Pat Robertson himself?
 
me_punctured said:
Would you like to take this outside, Endymion?

How do we know you're not Pat Robertson himself?
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Because I'm Oprah Winf---.
 
me_punctured said:
Is medical interpreting part of a certified interpreter's training, or does one have to take additional training for it, like court interpreting?
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It kinda depends on what you mean by "medical interpreting." Agencies will send certified freelance interpreters to routine doctor's appointments with clients. However, if an interpreter wishes to be hired by a hospital as an on-call or on-site interpreter, further training is usually required, but unfortunately often hard to find.

If I were seeking an interpreter for a medical appointment I would probably want to find out what kind of training or experience my interpreter has in that area. I really don't know how vigilant agencies are about that, and it certainly varies from interpreter to interpreter as to whether they will turn down a job they're not qualified for.

I would have killed to interpret for Stephen J. Gould but only with about three months' prep time. :lol:
 
Interpretrator said:
It kinda depends on what you mean by "medical interpreting." Agencies will send certified freelance interpreters to routine doctor's appointments with clients. However, if an interpreter wishes to be hired by a hospital as an on-call or on-site interpreter, further training is usually required, but unfortunately often hard to find.

If I were seeking an interpreter for a medical appointment I would probably want to find out what kind of training or experience my interpreter has in that area. I really don't know how vigilant agencies are about that, and it certainly varies from interpreter to interpreter as to whether they will turn down a job they're not qualified for.

I would have killed to interpret for Stephen J. Gould but only with about three months' prep time. :lol:
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From personal and professional experience with on-call certified freelance interpreters in hospital settings, I would say that it is a tremendous benefit for everyone if the interpreter have had relevant training. I was fortunate to know one who was a former crisis intervention counselor in domestic violence and sexual assault; she was an ideal interpreter for SART (Sexual Assault Response Team) investigations. Unfortunately, I've also known another one who showed up in the middle of a SART investigation, just as the team was giving the survivor a pelvic exam. Upon seeing the spreaded legs of the survivor, the interpreter freaked out and split. Nice, huh?

But what kills me is that most survivors have to wait at least an hour for an interpreter to show up before they can go through with the SART investigation. One of the fundamental differences between a rape kit (available in general hospitals and can be only done in emergency rooms) and the SART is that the latter is a specialized program made up of trained professionals working together as a team who can see the survivor immediately. Imagine how long Deaf survivors will have to wait for an interpreter to show up, especially in the middle of the night. Sometimes they even go ahead without one.
 
ayala920 said:
Wow, Endy. Thank g-d I'll never have to interpret for you. :)
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You raise an interesting point. I assume there are certain Deaf/HH clients which interpreters dread voice-interpreting for? :)

I should know, having seen it first hand. :)
 
I had no specialized medical training when I worked in hospitals and medical centers. Most of the time it wasn't necessary - but then, I never had to interpret for surgery, childbirth, etc. I mostly got the patients who were post-surgery, post-childbirth, etc. Plus the routine medical appointments, which weren't usually more than "cough please" stuff.

One thing that might have helped, though, was exposure to injury and trauma before going in there. I had to work in a shock trauma unit on two separate occasions, and both times I nearly passed out. The first time, the patient was the deaf one, and she was sleeping. The nurse just noticed I was quite pale, and she brought me some juice and cookies. The second time, the patient was hearing but her adult children were deaf, and I was interpreting a conversation between them and the nurse when I started feeling like I was going to pass out. Both the deaf and hearing clients asked me at the same time "are you okay?" and I got the juice and cookies again. 15 minutes later we were able to continue the conversation, but I think if I had been exposed to a shock trauma unit before I might not have wilted at prolonged exposure to lots of machines and so forth. (Same for the one time I was in an emergency room situation...I kept my cool that time but it would have been helpful to have "tagged along" on previous E.R. work before jumping into it myself.)

My only funny medical interpreting story is when I was interpreting for the deaf parents of a hearing toddler who was sick. Routine medical appointment, so the Dr. is asking the usual questions. He says "does it sound like she has a wet cough?" I had that split-second "uh-oh" feeling but I interpreted it, and the parents looked at me like "you're kidding, right?" Then they politely explained to the Dr. that they had no idea what the girl's cough sounded like!
 
Eyeth said:
I assume there are certain Deaf/HH clients which interpreters dread voice-interpreting for? :)
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Yup. I've got two in this building, only one of whom do I interpret for regularly. But mostly I get that feeling anytime I walk into a situation where I've never met the client before and there is going to be voicing involved. I always have my fingers crossed.
 
Eyeth said:
You raise an interesting point. I assume there are certain Deaf/HH clients which interpreters dread voice-interpreting for? :)

I should know, having seen it first hand. :)
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I think the largest amount of anxiety I have related to interpreting is associated with voicing. I usually don't have too much of a problem, but it's certainly unnerving. Teenage boys tend to be the hardest for me, since they tend to sign the way hearing boys speak: Quickly, and in a series of "mumbles."
 
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