Rosa Molina, 37
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Title: Medical interpreter
Employer: Rush-Copley Medical Center, Aurora
Salary range: $25,000 to $35,000 (depending on experience)
Q. How did you get involved in this field?
A. I started as a volunteer at the hospital. I was a stay-at-home mom and the hospital is across the street. That led to a part-time position as a medical interpreter. Then a job was created for the evening shift–from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m. They didn’t have anyone to work that shift, so I started to. That was about three years ago.
Q. What educational background did you need to become a medical interpreter?
A. When I started three years ago, you just had to be fluent in Spanish, and you had to take the hospital’s medical terminology test. There was no school, no class. I had interpreted for my family as a child, so I could pick up many things because I was fluent in Spanish.
I also had a medical dictionary that I used as we walked through the hospital. I had to make sure I said things in the proper way.
The state of Illinois doesn’t require certification–only two states do. But a medical translator at our hospital now is required to be certified. You have to get formal training, which I’m going through.
On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I go to school at Waubonsee Community College in Aurora and I work Thursday evenings.
I’m taking one medical-terminology class and a lab where we do a lot of training for consecutive and simultaneous interpretation.
Consecutive interpretation is when a doctor asks you something and then you ask the patient–you have time to go back and forth.
Simultaneous interpretation is done on the spot–for example, in the ER. It is when you’re speaking at the same time as the doctor–when your voice is echoing off the doctor’s.
These things are important because I have to be able to say things quickly and accurately–I can’t miss a thing.
Sometimes I have to clarify–to stop the doctor so I can make sure I understand what’s being said and then explain it to the patient.
Q. Describe a typical day.
A. When I get to the hospital, I go straight to the ER to see if they need me there. I have a pager that I carry and it can go off anywhere–maternity, ICU, cancer care.
I’m typically up and down, back and forth, all over the hospital. I’m the only interpreter working in the evening.
Q. What do you like best about your job?
A. I feel like I’ve helped a patient and doctor communicate–that I’ve helped get across what both need to know. This gives me a great deal of personal satisfaction.
Q. What do you like least?
A. Seeing the sick patients. But it helps when I get a point across so a patient gets medications and whatever else he or she needs to get better.
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Q. What three attributes are essential to doing your job well?
A. I have to be able to retain the message that’s being said and make sure I’m translating it accurately.
I have to be able to identify cultural beliefs and differences and inform both parties of those differences. Someone might come to me with the belief that they should take teas to help their ailment and a doctor might not understand. Another belief might be that they should massage their stomachs with leaves.
Another thing that I have to be able to do is to interpret not only verbally but also with facial features. For example, if a doctor is angry because a patient is not taking his or her medications, I have to express that. The entire expression must be interpreted with the same vocal inflection and emotion [that the doctor uses].
Q. What advice do you have for someone who is interested in becoming a medical interpreter?
A. I suggest they not consider it just because they’re bilingual. They need some kind of medical knowledge. They should take a class and get the proper training.