The IMIA Viewpoints Online Newsletter was developed to provide members with a forum of ideas and viewpoints that can be recorded, to keep you thinking about the topics that affect our life as medical interpreters. Members can expound on their ideas by writing brief 200-600 word essays of reflections on any topic related to medical interpreting.
Viewpoints Newsletter can includes interesting facts, trends and profiles of people building their interpreting careers. You’ll see winning personal essays about what makes medical interpreting a profession of choice for many members. Some topics that can be included are:
* Technology, what does it mean to interpreters?
* Career Development
* Patient Safety
* Interpreter Safety
* Mental Health
* Mentoring
* Work Ethics
* Continuing Education
Viewpoints Newsletter is meant to be both informative and fun to read. This free online newsletter provides personal reflections, a few tips, and some useful ideas to help you engage in a more personal journey of satisfaction as a medical interpreter.
To send submissions just email them to info@imiaweb.org
2013 IMIA Essay Contest - Winning Essays
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Essay%20winners%202.pdf
2013 IMIA Essay Contest - Winning Essays
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/2013_IMIA_Winning_Essays.pdf
2011 IMIA Essay Contest - Winning Essays
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/2011_IMIA_Winning_Essays.pdf
2010 IMIA Essay Contest - Winning Essays
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/2010_IMIA_Essay_Contest_Winning_Essays.pdf
It’s more than just a document…. It’s recognition of an individual’s devotion to a selfless profession.
By Erin Kouknas American Translation Partners Inc.
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/More_than_just_a_piece_of_paper.pdf
Interview with Barbara McCarron, Operations Manager of Inlingua Institue of America Inc.
by Cynthia Schenk, IMIA Board Director, ISP IMIA ISP Division Journalist, CEO Medical Interpreters of the North Shore
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Inlingua_Institute_Interview.pdf
Self-Defense: Preventing Late Pay For Interpreter Services to Private Clients
By Marcella Alohalani Boido, M. A.
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Self_defense_Marcella_Alohalan_Boido_MA_2.08.2010.pdf
Journey to a Place Where Medical Interpreters Don’t Exist
By Edurne Chopeitia and Ann-Marie Bumbalo-Moreno
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Journey_to_a_Place_Where_Medical_Interpreters_Don't_Exist_Uruguay.pdf
Technology in the Global Village
by Claudia Brauer
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Technology_in_the_Global_Village,_Claudia_Brauer.pdf
The American Health Care System
by Claudia Brauer
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/The_American_Healthcare_System,_Claudia_Brauer.pdf
Spanish – speaking Medical Interpreters working in Speech Language Pathology Sessions
Interpreting for monolingual and partially bilingual patients, their families and SLPs with various degrees of bilingualism
By Constantina Fronimos-Baldwin, CMI*
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Spanish_Speaking_Medical_Interpreters_Working_In_Speech_Language_Pathology_Sessions.pdf
Interview with Marli Viljoen, Project Manager of Folio, a South African Interpreter Service Provider
By Cynthia Schenk, IMIA Board Director, ISP Division, CEO Medical Interpreters of the North Shore
March 2012
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/IMIA_Interview_Folio_130112.pdf
Interview with Amelia Rodriguez, CEO of Vocalink
By Cynthia Schenk, IMIA Board Director, ISP Division, CEO Medical Interpreters of the North Shore
April 2012
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/IMIA_Interview_Vocalink_3.28.2012.pdf
Interview with Timothy Worster, President of A+ Interpreters LLC from Vienna, VA
By Cynthia Schenk, IMIA Board Director, ISP Division, CEO Medical Interpreters of the North Shore
May 2012
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/A_Plus_Interview_May2012.pdf
Interview with Angela Frentress, Manager of Interpreter and Translation Services at Yale New Haven Hospital
by Cynthia Schenk, IMIA Board Director, ISP IMIA ISP Division Journalist, CEO Medical Interpreters of the North Shore
June 2012
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/YNNH_Interview.pdf
Interview with CEO Michelle Scott and COO Carlos Pava of Voices For Health
by Cynthia Schenk, IMIA Board Director, ISP IMIA ISP Division Journalist, CEO Medical Interpreters of the North Shore
July 2012
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Voices_for_Health_Interview_July2012.pdf
Confidentiality in Healthcare
By Claudia Brauer
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Confidentiality_in_Healthcare.pdf
Interview with Susan Prieto, Interpreter Services Coordinator of Mt. Auburn Hospital, in Cambridge Ma.
by Cynthia Schenk, IMIA Board Director, ISP IMIA ISP Division Journalist, CEO Medical Interpreters of the North Shore
August 2012
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Mount_Auburn_Interview.pdf
Interview with Barry S. Olsen and Katharine Allen of InterpretAmerica
by Maria C de la Vega
August 2012
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Interview_with_InterpretAmerica.pdf
First published on April 28 at
http://mariacristinadelavegamusings.wordpress.com.
Interview with Karen Murphy, Administrator of The Boston University Center for Professional Education
By Cynthia Schenk, IMIA Board Director, ISP Division, CEO Medical Interpreters of the North Shore
Otcober 2012
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/BU_Ctr_Interview_Oct2012.pdf
The Use of Intuition in Interpreting
By Miriam C. Delgado, JD
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Use_of_Intuition_in_Interpreting_Delgado.pdf
“Utility” vs. “Eloquence” for measures of Quality
by Claudia Brauer
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Utility_Vs_Eloquence_Claudia_Brauer.pdf
Interview with Luis Echeverry, CEO of Continental Interpreting Services, Inc.
by Cynthia Schenk, IMIA Board Director, ISP IMIA ISP Division Journalist, CEO Medical Interpreters of the North Shore
November 2012
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Continental_Interpreting_IMIA_Interview.pdf
The Ten Commandments for a Professional Interpreter
By Cesar Pena
January 2013
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/THE_TEN_COMMANDMENTS_FOR_A_PROFESSIONAL_INTERPRETER.pdf
The Maya Health Toolkit for Medical Providers
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/The_Maya_Health_Toolkit.pdf
Invisibility vs. Transparency
By Maria M. Rivera
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Invisibility_vs_Transparency_Jan_2013.pdf
Professionalism: Code of Ethics, Standards of Practice, Commitment to Privacy & Confidentiality
by Claudia Brauer
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Professionalism_Claudia_Brauer.pdf
The Maya Project regarding Language - Part 2
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Maya_Project_2nd_part_VIEWPOINTS.pdf
The Maya Project regarding Language - Part 3
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Maya_Project_3rd_part_VIEWPOINTS.pdf
Interview with Doug Reed of Accipio Interpreter Services in Lexington Kentucky
by Cynthia Schenk, IMIA Board Director, ISP IMIA ISP Division Journalist, CEO Medical Interpreters of the North Shore
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Accipio_Language_Services_Interview_4-9-13.pdf
Meeting with interpreters and translators in Cuba
By Linda Joyce, IMIA State Chapter Chair, WV and Certification and Testing Director for the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters (National Board)
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Article_on_Cuba_trip_May_2013.pdf
Interview with Idolly Fajardo Director of Arch Language Network in St. Paul Minnesota
by Cynthia Schenk, IMIA Board Director, ISP IMIA ISP Division Journalist, CEO Medical Interpreters of the North Shore
http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/docs/Arch_Language_Network_5_25_13.pdf
Dear Colleagues Interpreters,
The purpose of this is to inform from my own experience about the difficulties using the new technology VRI (Video Remote Interpreting).
Two months ago I decided to sign in with a company in California that does VRI for different medical providers. My thoughts were to explore this media as a member of the Interpreters United Bargaining Team in order to know more about it as well as for myself as Interpreter.
This company, as well as any other, require interpreters to have all the equipment, so interpreters need to invest in state of the art equipment, which include Wireless Headset with microphone, a good camera and upgrade High speed Internet, with a high end computer.
Once the Interpreter has all the necessary software and equipment installed, the company will do a brief training for the Interpreter, and he or she has to sign in for available hours to be on call. The company does not pay availability for interpreters; they will pay just
for the minutes of communication. So, in this way Interpreters are required to use the wireless headset with microphone around their heads at all times they commit to be available.
Even considering all of these limitations, I was already into a “giving this a try” mode, and see what happened. So, I started very excited and enthusiastic to be on board with the latest technology for Interpreter services.
I have 12 years experience as a Medical Interpreter and I have been doing face to face, as well as telephonic interpreting for the last three years. I never had any communications problems. All the experiences I had with VRI were excellent whenever I got a call from
the agency from one of the dispatchers. But, whenever I was contacted from a Hospital provider, all kinds of communication problems always happen systematically.
So, either sound or image was not very good, or in some cases very poor, or occasionally the sound was initially OK but then started to go off, or the image started to crack down, etc. Also, sometimes the patient was located too far from the communication devices and then it was impossible for me to understand him/her.
These kind of communication trouble produce frustration not only for Interpreters but of course for providers and clients/patients as well. These difficulties in sound and image persisted consistently every time the Hospital providers tried to connect using VRI with me.
I discussed this issue with 3 different experts in Information Technology, and all of them concurred in that the wide band Internet system of hospitals is shared simultaneously by too many computers resulting in very poor sound and image for VRI users. Thus, it is
possible that VRI requires a technical level of communication that it is not yet available to most Hospital providers.
After learned this fact I decided to quit doing VRI, since it is nothing that I could do in my end to improve communication. My intention to spread the word in our field is to prevent providers and interpreters in getting involved in this new technology frustrating for everybody until a solution is find for this technical problems.
In the meantime I advocate a 100% face to face interpreting and telephonic for emergency, urgent cases and when a face to face interpreter is not available.
Sincerely and best wishes to all.
Interpreter United Bargaining Team Member
Washington State Anonymous view posted in Interpreted United Listserve on May 18 2011
