Medical or Community Interpreting: Which is the Best for You?
Medical Interpreter Training Vs. Business & Community Interpreter Training
Professional interpreting can be a rewarding career path. Specialization fields like Medical, business and community interpreting are in great demand today, especially with the onset of multicultural diasporas to and around the country. While all three are conceptually similar, their real-world applications and skills are vastly different. Read on to learn about the differences between them so you can decide which is the best for you!
What is Involved in Medical and Community Interpreting?
Medical interpreting is applicable to any healthcare related work, and ranges from interpreting during a simple doctor’s appointment, to interpreting during emergency medical procedures. Community interpreting is applicable to any public service, and ranges from interpretation in the DMV to banking services. A medical interpreter certificate is the way to go if you’re fascinated by the medical field. If your passion is social work, then the community interpreter certificate might be a better fit for you. Both choices are emotionally rewarding careers. Being able to ease language barriers and help alleviate physical and emotional stress provides unmatched job satisfaction.
Why Choose Certified Medical Interpreting?
In major cities with a diverse population, such as Boston, New York, San Francisco etc. or places bordering neighboring countries, medical interpreters are in great need due to the unmatched importance of bi/multilingual speaking abilities. However, not every bi/multilingual person can be an interpreter. Just because an individual speaks multiple languages doesn’t ensure that he/she is a good interpreter. Hospitals and clinics often use bilingual employees as in-house interpreters, which can be a downright dangerous practice. Uncertified “interpreters” can make severe miscommunication mistakes due to lack of formal training, including, but not limited to having a lax attitude towards interpreting word-for-word, sentence-for-sentence. They can hinder patients from communicating accurately with doctors, and thus reduce their likelihood of receiving the correct treatment/prescriptions. If you are a practiced, professional who can perform certified medical interpretation, you can help patients and medical caregivers avoid all of these unpleasant scenarios. Your work will deeply enhance the quality of life for many, many people.
Why Pick Community Interpreting?
Community interpreting largely pertains to public services like education, public health and safety, social security, etc. Unlike medical interpreting, you won’t be restricted to one industry and instead can be a versatile career option. Certified community interpreters from a training program such as Language Connections’ Community Interpreting Certificate Program can be a valuable asset to minority communities around the country. Interpreters who hold a community interpreting certificate are in great demand in municipal, state and federal agencies. They can facilitate communication with the LEP (Limited English Proficiency) population of a country, state or county. Obtaining public services like social security, driver’s license, etc. is a challenge for people with limited English skills. As one of the in-demand Certified community interpreters, you’ll be able to help people in accessing basic public services. In similar fashion, providing community interpretation lets you help with social work and by non-governmental agencies. For example, community interpreters are needed by LEP labor union representatives to get their voices heard. They’re important for social workers to communicate with the LEP population of an area in the event of natural/manmade disasters. Choosing this path can allow you to do some very fulfilling work for communities that will definitely appreciate it.
Get the necessary, in person training to become a competent professional interpreter. Register now for one of our interpreter training programs: Medical Interpreter Training, Legal Interpreter Training or Community & Business Interpreter Training.
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