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The Remote Interpreter
Chapter 1: An Overview of Remote Interpreting

This story shows why the world of interpreting shifted almost immediately to remote interpreting.

I’m a medical interpreter working primarily onsite, and as an independent contractor, I
work with several local agencies. And just like with virtually all other jobs, mine has also
been affected by COVID-19.

My schedule has always been unpredictable. However, starting in mid-March [of 2020], just
as the first stay-at-home order was issued in my state, there was nothing but cancellations
and no-shows.

Then the appointments stopped coming. Although one agency was still sending me requests,
they were mostly at the local hospital where all the COVID-19 patients were being taken
at the time.

Every time I received a request, part of me wanted to take that job—after all, I still needed
to make a living, and this might be the only job I’d get that day. I also worried that if nobody
was going out there to interpret, patients would be left without adequate language access.

On the other hand, I was wondering whether that one-hour fee was worth the risk I was
taking coming into the hospital when much was still unknown about the virus and universal
mask wearing wasn’t yet adopted.

This dilemma became even more pressing the following week. An agency called me, asking
if I could take a last-minute appointment for an MRI [magnetic resonance imaging] scan
at a local hospital. As I arrived at the hospital, I put on a cloth mask a friend had made for
me and headed for my destination—which to my utter shock turned out to be the COVID-19
isolation unit.

The nursing staff had to wear HAZMAT-style suits and helmets with air pumps to enter
the patient’s room—and here I was in a handmade flowery cloth mask. In the end, even
though a nurse found a face shield and a surgical mask for me, I didn’t need them as the
procedure was cancelled.

This assignment brought up so many questions:

• How do I stay safe when I’m working?
• As a freelance interpreter, how do I make sure I have access to PPE [personal
protective equipment], such as masks?

• Is it irresponsible for me to keep taking onsite appointments and risk bringing the
virus back to my family?

• What will happen if I get sick?
• And if neither I nor my fellow interpreters take that appointment, will the patient
still receive interpreting services?
Those few interpreters who continued to provide services on the ground in hospitals faced a new
set of challenges. This same interpreter continues her comments on the next page:

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