The title of this entry is not mine. I saw it in some interpreter training material, and I used it because every time I see it, it makes me laugh! It might sound harsh, but it is a fantastic way to express the thing that most surprised me about interpreting; how little focus is on the interpreter in a medical encounter. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite things to talk about with new trainees!
My only experience in healthcare before interpreting was working as a patient transporter at a small hospital. My main responsibility was transporting patients from their rooms to other areas of the hospital, and then back. There was constant interaction with the patients themselves, their families, nurses, techs and everyone from the treating team. I had the freedom to be the comic relief, the long-awaited trip out of the cramped hospital room, someone who listened and someone who shared.
I learned right away that healthcare interpreters have a very different role. There are clearly defined professional boundaries, and they’re there for a reason. That doesn’t mean interpreters are antisocial or should isolate themselves. It is very important to build rapport and have a good working relationship with both patients and providers! Interpreters play a HUGE role in office visits, therapy sessions, hospital stays and all the medical experiences they form a part of. But, they do it subtly, gracefully (when possible) and almost invisibly from the proverbial backseat. In fact, it should seem like there is no interpreter at all!
Professional medical interpreters are hired to facilitate communication between patients and providers. We are not on anybody’s side. We don’t have a voice of our own (with a few exceptions). We purposefully use techniques like speaking in the first person, so we are always speaking as someone else, not about them. People are busy! Patients don’t take time off work to go to a doctor’s appointment just to catch up with their interpreters. Providers don’t schedule appointments with patients so that they can chit chat with us. They are there to see each other! And we are there to make sure that the conversation between them is as seamless as possible.
In my opinion one of the highest compliments that an interpreter can be paid is, “I felt like I was talking directly to the other person!” Those words are not easy to come by. Reaching that level of fluidness requires an enormous amount of focus and preparation by the interpreter. There are always variables, distractions and digressions that are confusing even in a monolingual conversation. Working through them in a bilingual conversation and still having it feel natural is much more challenging. But what interpreter doesn’t love a good challenge!
Be the fly on the wall in your appointments. You’re not there, but are fully present. You are completely involved in the conversation, yet not at all. And just remember, nobody wants to talk to you!