Interpreter's tools

Inspired in true events. I worked as Medical Interpreter for 2 years. I welcome feedbacks. THANK YOU FOR READING. I HOPE YOU LIKE IT.

Interpreter’s log

Tools for a workday are one notepad, beeper and one pen, one pencil (could be black ink or blue). Preferably a cheap pen because it most likely will be “stolen”. Everyone takes them to doctors, nurses, my manager and coworkers. I learned that the first day when I was placed on a  desk and I got distracted and when I looked it was gone. 

It was a gel pen which is not that cheap. I decided to only use those that come with eight pens in a package for a dollar. Sometimes I use my gel pens or the pens that I have from different museums that I have visited around the world. To avoid having them disappear, I rip a small piece of paper, write my name and title, and tape it around the pen. I don't believe they take it on bad faith but out of convenience and if they see it alone they gravitate towards it since it’s something we use the whole day. I bought another cheap pack at the dollar store and brought them to work so anyone can have them. 

The next essential interpreter’s tool is the beeper that your department uses to communicate where they need you and if there is a meeting. They also sometimes use it to reach any other interpreter who needs lunch coverage. 

An interpreter must always have a blank notepad. A vocabulary sheet, in case I forget or someone doesn't understand me because of my thick spanish accent, or I can also add a new meaning if there is another expression in another country as has happened a couple of times. I can use it to explain it to them and show them. It also depends which clinic we’re assigned because they might need three log sheets. I always keep an extra in case any of my coworkers need them. Besides, it’s something I have always carried with me since I started school. 

I have a little obsession with writing tools. One day I will buy a special edition fancy gold writing tool, as they call them. Oh, they are divine. I want them, I know, it’s not essential and it's just me being capricious. It's not my thing and it lasts just for a day, but then I think, they serve the same purpose and if it gets lost or stolen like the cheap ones, I would be very upset. 

Writing tools are extremely expensive but these are rare which makes them as an investment and something to leave behind to my kids. But then I think they are just stuff. The accumulation of stuff makes me more stressed and wastes more money. It doesn't help me get what I desire.  

If I find a pen on the sidewalk, I pick it up, even a pencil doesn't matter, I still do it. For me, it’s sad to leave them behind when I can give them, use them, or donate them. They are not garbage, they define us as the evolution in human race language, expression. I might over think it and give value to something that for other people doesn't represent anything. 

Besides the log sheets, we have a type of sticker for each patient’s information such as birthdate, record number and name. You only find these labels in their charts. Next to it we write the time, type of service, if it was an interpretation for the doctor, nurse, or other provider, and clinic.  Sometimes we rotate around the hospital, since we are understaffed and like it seems we will be forever. We always need to write down the clinic where we were. We also had a letter sized laminated paper with our name, mine was in pink not by choice someone else got purple before me. I took care of it as much as I could. It lasted in good condition for more than a year. Other coworkers had to have theirs replaced  after a couple of months but it’s predictable. 

It’s like the old type of driver’s licence that detached on the corners. I used a magnet, and I placed it outside the door so the staff could find where I am and wouldn't have to call me in the middle of an interpretation or open the door to let me know where I needed to go next. Sometimes it got so overwhelming that after I was done and I opened the door, I saw on my banner a paper with tape and a numbered list with the rooms in order of who requested me. We let the staff know which room we were in so they could know the duration of each interpretation. I also usually had a mint, water, and comfortable shoes, since there is no guarantee that there will be a seat. 

They stated no sneakers but running around the hospital there is no way we are going to be held accountable for not following protocol. Doctors and staff wear sneakers. These were our main wardrobe rules: no jeans, no t-shirts, no hoodies. 

In the beginning, one of the younger new interpreters wore a hoodie and t-shirt. The elder of our group wore black sneakers. I looked for a similar type so I wouldn’t have any problem. As soon as other interpreters saw them, they went and bought them too. It didn’t bother me at all.  

I always carried a book, there was a long ride from the hospital to home and some rare times I had a seat in the morning. If the book was very interesting I would carry it with me to the clinic or take my kindle voyage, which was a gift from my best friend.  Because we have an official website with discounts for the employees, I checked to see if there was a discount for tablets. I decided to buy one so I could watch the videos. 

This tablet was a tool for me while I was traveling. I could watch a video and even download the kindle application or use google books to read. I could also watch movies. So I had it with me, when the clinic was slow. I started taking a course about healthcare and even took a course about translation online. I finished the continuing education in translation course and the United States healthcare system course. I stopped due to the fact that at the time I was taking it, I decided to quit and travel the world. 

   I never had a problem carrying my tablet. Other interpreters used their phones. I always left mine in my locker. It is more professional although sometimes my subconscious bothers me giving me fear that a family emergency can come up and they wouldn’t be able to reach me. My tablet used the hospital internet but for some reason a co-worker warned me about using my tablet after I had a confrontation with our boss or someone else who reported me using it. I thought she might look closer now. 

The truth is that I didn’t care, I have been through real danger. At this point in my life rare situations frightened me. I learned from this job. I learned through the experiences of the patients and the lives of the families. I am constructing a new me, no materials, circumstances or a job should stress me to a breaking point.

Author's Note

FEEDBACK THIS SHORT STORY.

Reviews

[Jean Lagace]

I like the part in that story when you pick pen on the sidewalk, even if it's just a pencil. Such small, modest and gentle instruments that are still crucial in our life.

[tyruswarwick]

Right, thank you for your time.