Divorce the Word, Marry the Meaning
You're feeling good!
You just finished an eloquent interpretation of the nurse’s discharge instructions when the nurse turns to you and says, “Why did you say pecho? I know pecho means chest, and I didn’t say anything about the chest.” You quickly compose yourself and briefly explanation that dar pecho is a way to say breastfeeding. Conflict averted. But they're not all that easy to navigate.
What about all the other times when medical providers use strange phrases and expect you to seamlessly interpret?
Phrases like:
Hop up onto the table.
Give it a go, and let’s see what happens.
Let me wipe this gunk off your belly.
The little peanut sure does like his nook!
You swallow hard before interpreting each of these phrases, and you do your best to convey the phrase in a way that captures the meaning. All the while you ask yourself, “When will someone say all the medical terms that I worked so hard to memorize? Give me an easy phrase like the esophagogastroduodenoscopy shows that you have a duodenal ulcer and esophagitis!”
Your medical interpreter training program prepared you for the anatomy and physiology, but the colloquial expressions are challenging!
You wish you had the skills to navigate these tricky expressions confidently and without interrupting the flow of communication. This course is designed to help you build these skills! In this interactive session healthcare interpreters discuss examples from their own experiences and learn strategies to uncover the full meaning of the spoken message. You’ll be more comfortable interpreting in these sticky situations when you learn to divorce the word, and marry the meaning.
Learning Objectives:
Analyze the meaning of a speaker’s message
Practice and strengthen discourse analysis skills
Explain strategies for effective communication flow
Analyze the meaning of common colloquial phrases
Course Details:
2-hour class
Live, instructor-led online classroom
Instructor: Erin Rosales
Registration fee: $98.00
Related Blog Posts:
“It’s a strange world of language in which skating on thin ice can get you into hot water.”