CINCINNATI---If you’ve ever needed something translated or needed an interpreter for an out-of-town guest, you’ve learned that being proficient in the language is just not enough. Equally important is the interpreters understanding of the subtleties of those cultures they are bringing together.
Affordable Language Services in Blue Ash (a suburb of Cincinnati), is hosting ‘Bridging the Gap,’ the leading medical interpreter training program in the US this fall.
“I first took this course in 2002 and it completely changed my view on what a properly trained medical interpreter’
Elfers requires all medical interpreting staff (for common languages such as Spanish) of Affordable Language Services to take this course; something no other translation or interpretation agency in the area does.
“We are the only licensed agency in Cincinnati,”
Data shows that untrained interpreters make lots of mistakes creating more possible liabilities.
“Sometimes, these mistakes lead to a mistrial in a legal setting, or even to something that endangers a patient’s health,” said Elfers. “When we send our interpreters out to a job, they are as highly trained as possible.”
Many hospitals and medical offices cannot afford to keep full-time medical interpreters on staff. As a result, untrained bilingual employees often end up as the go-between in interactions between doctors and patients.
“The reality is, it’s just not safe to do that; for both the patient and the medical facility,” said Elfers. “There are some English medical terms that don’t have an equivalent in another language, and that’s the sort of knowledge you gain through Bridging the Gap.”
Bridging the Gap focuses on developing medical terminology, interpreter ethics and boundaries, with an emphasis on culture and its role in communication.
Affordable Language Services is offering two Bridging the Gap training sessions. The first runs from May 29 – June 7, 2009 and the second runs from September 25 – October 4, 2009 and costs $450. The cost includes the Bridging the Gap manual, all class materials and a language readiness assessment.
