Page 15 - The Medical Interprete
P. 15

1. An Overview of Medical Interpreting


              Medical Interpreting Errors: An International Problem
              The problem of unqualified medical interpreters is not limited to the United States. It can be found in
              many or most countries around the world. Here is one story.

              British mother Teresa Tarry lost her breasts to an unneeded double mastectomy in Spain eight years ago,
              after a translation error led her doctors to believe she had a family history of breast cancer. According
              to the Daily Mail,

                        She claims doctors believed that both Teresa’s mother and sister had suffered from breast
                        cancer after a translation error ended up on her medical records. Then she struggled in
                        speaking to the doctors.

                        In reality, she has no family history of cancer, so it was unnecessary to remove her breasts.
              The worst part? The lump she originally sought help for wasn’t even cancerous! After losing her job
              and living what she describes as “an eight year living hell,” she is now suing the hospital for €600,000
              in compensation. 6



                Training and professional associations

            During the 1980s and 1990s, the first medical interpreter training programs launched. In 1986,
            the Massachusetts Medical Interpreters Association (MMIA) was founded (in 2008 it became the
            International Medical Interpreters Association, IMIA). The California Healthcare Interpreting
            Association (CHIA) came into being in 1996.

            The National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC) began as a working group in 1994,
            and later became a nonprofit advocacy organization that is still, today, the leading national voice for
            language access in healthcare. The founders felt the need for the specialization of medical interpreting
            that, unlike legal or conference interpreting, could address issues like patient safety, language access
            and positive health outcomes.


            The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), founded in 1964 and
            incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1972, is the largest nonprofit
            interpreting association in the country, with 16,000 members and 58
            chapters in 2016. While RID has many different certification programs,
            none is specific to medical interpreting. However, RID has had a huge
            impact on medical interpreting for signed language interpreters, both Deaf
            and hearing.

            All of these organizations, and many young healthcare interpreting associations
            across the country, have worked hard to professionalize the field. Many passionate
            people have donated time and expertise to create this profession, not only interpreters but advocates,
            policy makers, consumers, healthcare institutions, language services and other stakeholders. Most
            important, they have all helped to make LEP patients safer. Today, thanks to their work, the United
            States is a world leader in the field of medical interpreting.

            6   Retrieved from http://www.k-international.com/blog/medical-translation-gone-wrong-4-devastating-examples/


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