Cantonese Medical Interpreter (On-Call)

About the position

Asian Health Services, founded in 1974, provides health, social, and advocacy services for all regardless of income, insurance status, immigration status, language, or culture. Our approach to wellbeing focuses on 'whole patient health,' which is why we provide more than primary care services, including mental health, case management, nutrition, and dental care to more than 50,000 patients in English and 15 languages: Korean, Lao, Burmese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Mien, Karen, Mongolian, Karenni, Tagalog, Khmer, and Vietnamese. We offer medical, dental, and mental health services for all ages. The position is located at the Frank Kiang Medical Center. With supervision from the Clinic Site Manager, the role involves providing medical interpretation and translation and performing additional related duties as a member of the non-medical support services team. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM, and you must be able to work at least 2-3 days per week.

Responsibilities

• Provide interpretation and written translation services for licensed health care providers, professional staff, and other front-desk and back-office personnel, as requested.
• Interprets for patients and providers during the patient visit, conducting the task in an accurate, thorough, and sensitive manner.
• Interprets/translates and explains health care procedures to patients and provides instruction related to the patient’s visit and treatment plan.
• Interprets and explains cultural differences, customs, or practices to the patient and provider when appropriate; communicates any special needs of the patient.
• Assists in providing translation for phone triage and drop-in clinic.
• Interprets over the phone, on occasion, for other medical organizations or private doctor’s office.
• Assists when appropriate in the following work areas as requested by the supervisor: telephone reception, front-desk reception, medical records, and triage/nurse.
• Performs other duties and projects that are requested by other clinic managers whenever possible and if appropriate.

Requirements

• High school diploma or GED.
• Five years of professional medical translation experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Specific language requirement as required for the specific interpreter position - Cantonese.

Nice-to-haves

• Commitment to working in the Asian community, to community health care with familiarity with community health clinics.
• Knowledge of medical terminology.
• Providing interpreting services for patients.
• Computers and common software programs.
• Working under pressure and in a team environment; ability to work weekends.
• Demonstrating excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both oral and written.
• Work independently with minimal supervision.
• Ability to work evenings.
• Interact sensitively with patients and providers.
• Exercise sound judgment and make decisions appropriate to the scope of authority and practice.
• Collaborate with other members of the health care team on an ongoing basis.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.
• Advance professionally with more formal training and exposure to other tasks.
• Ability to perform a variety of duties within the scope of the job with the ability to change from one task to another of a different nature, as necessary, without loss of efficiency or composure.
• Ability to communicate effectively, get along with coworkers and management, and deal effectively and professionally under pressure.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, Vision premiums 100% paid by AHS.
• 12 Vacation Days.
• 12 Sick Days.
• 13 Holidays and 3 Floating Holidays.
• 3% 403B Employer Contributions and up to 2% Employee Match Contribution.
• Transportation Benefit Paid by AHS.
• FSA/Dependent Care Assistance.
• Long Term Disability.