Spanish Interpreter

University of Rochester•City of Rochester, NY

2d•$22 - $31•Onsite

About The Position

The Spanish interpreter provides interpreting services for all clinical and professional University of Rochester Medical Center staff, patients and family members/significant others who are with the patient. All Interpreters on staff generally provide these services at the Medical Center, Outpatient Clinics, and Hospital Affiliates. The role involves managing the flow of communication autonomously and efficiently between source and target language during medical and non-medical healthcare encounters across URMC’s diverse and numerous clinical specialties in inpatient and ambulatory settings. Interpreters carry a pager assigned by the hospital and respond to all pages, providing services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week over varied shifts. On-call interpreters are minimally expected to work two weekend coverage shifts of four hours apiece, or one shift of eight hours. Interpreters interpret all assignments, whether prescheduled or received via pager, in a timely and professional manner in accordance with hospital policy. They weigh the goals of each encounter in collaboration with clinical healthcare providers and non-clinical hospital staff to determine the situational context of the patient interaction, choose appropriate communication ground rules and methods, inform all parties of the role of the interpreter, and brief healthcare professionals on any knowledge possessed by the interpreter regarding the patient or encounter. The role also involves assessing and recommending the most effective communication method for patients with barriers to communication, altered mental status, or other special communication needs, verifying patient’s preferred language, and proposing the most suitable service delivery modality (in-person, video, telephone). Interpreters debrief with healthcare professionals after the encounter, as necessary, to optimize understanding and provide linguistic and cultural insights, monitor for linguistic misunderstandings, and recommend adjustments to formality and style. They prioritize, triage, and respond in a timely and appropriate manner to multiple service requests in order of critical urgency and patient acuity. The role supports cultural responsiveness by assessing for cross-cultural impact on communication, monitoring for cultural misunderstandings, and devising appropriate interventions. They facilitate understanding of cultural differences, promote direct communication, and inform patients of available supports. Interpreters act as integral members of healthcare teams, providing interdisciplinary education for effective communication and facilitating meaningful access to URMC health programs for patients with limited English proficiency to ensure compliance with various legal mandates. They identify interpreting service needs, inform program leadership of recommendations for service enhancements, and apply established national healthcare interpreter code of ethics and standards of practice. Adherence to Joint Commission Standards, department policies, safety protocols, and infection control standards is required, along with completing service provision documentation in the electronic medical record. Interpreters disclose and justify any potential limitations, conflicts, or need for recusal appropriately and timely, support and uphold patient confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA, and intervene impartially and transparently when necessary. Maintaining interpreter performance-based skills, enhancing skills through professional development activities, and completing scheduled training and other required staff activities are also key aspects of the role.

Requirements

Associate's degree required
Medical Interpreter Training Course, Minimum of 40 hour accredited in-person or online course required
Fluency in reading, writing and speaking both English and the target language required
Ability to independently travel to offsite locations required

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree strongly preferred
Experience in a health care setting preferred
One year interpreting in a healthcare setting strongly preferred
Knowledge of human anatomy, physiology, pathology, clinical tests and procedures in working languages strongly preferred
Strong customer service and communication skills strongly preferred
Certification in healthcare interpreting through CCHI or IMIA strongly preferred at time of hire or within 18 months of hire preferred
Translation certification preferred

Responsibilities

Manages flow of communication autonomously and efficiently between source and target language during medical and non-medical healthcare encounters across URMC’s diverse and numerous clinical specialties in inpatient and ambulatory settings.
Responds to all pages assigned by the hospital in a timely manner.
Interprets all assignments, whether prescheduled or received via pager, in a timely and professional manner in accordance with hospital policy.
Weighs the goals of each encounter in collaboration with clinical healthcare providers and non-clinical hospital staff to determine the situational context of the patient interaction.
Chooses appropriate communication ground rules and methods, informs all parties of the role of the interpreter, and briefs healthcare professionals on any knowledge possessed by the interpreter regarding the patient or encounter.
Assesses and recommends most effective communication method for patients with barriers to communication, altered mental status, or other special communication needs.
Verifies patient’s preferred language is correctly identified.
Selects appropriate mode for optimal flow of communication (consecutive, simultaneous, sight‐translation).
Proposes most suitable service delivery modality (in‐person, video, telephone) based on the needs of the patient, and in the event of unforeseen communication barriers.
Debriefs with healthcare professionals after the encounter, as necessary, to optimize the understanding of the conversational content and provide linguistic and cultural insights.
Monitors for linguistic misunderstandings where they exist and recommends adjustments to level of formality and style as needed.
Prioritizes, triages, and responds in a timely and appropriate manner to multiple service requests in order of critical urgency and patient acuity.
Supports cultural responsiveness by assessing for cross-cultural impact on communication (verbal and nonverbal) between patients and healthcare providers during highly complex interpersonal encounters.
Monitors for cultural misunderstandings where they exist and devises appropriate intervention as needed to empower the patient to participate in decisions related to their care.
Intervenes by confirming with all parties if a possible cultural misunderstanding has occurred by culturally mediating order to avoid assumptions, disrespect, or immediate harm.
Facilitates the understanding of cultural differences and promotes direct communication to build trust and enhance patient satisfaction.
Informs patients of available supports as appropriate (Social Worker, Case Manager, Care Coordinator, Financial Coordinator, Chaplain, etc.).
Promotes inclusive and equitable communication during interactions with all parties.
Contributes as integral member of clinical and non-clinical healthcare teams, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week as the specialist in language and culture.
Provides interdisciplinary education to all team members for effective communication, as needed, during encounters, patient trainings and teachings.
Facilitates meaningful access to URMC health programs for patients with limited English proficiency to remain compliant with various legal mandates.
Identifies interpreting service needs based on patient/provider dynamics, best practices, and effective communication, and informs program leadership of recommendations for service enhancements.
Applies established national healthcare interpreter code of ethics and standards of practice.
Adheres to Joint Commission Standards, department policies, safety protocols and infection control standards, and completes service provision documentation in electronic medical record.
Discloses and justifies any potential limitations, conflicts or need for recusal appropriately and timely.
Supports and upholds patient confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA.
Intervenes impartially and transparently, when necessary, acting within appropriate professional boundaries to protect autonomy, dignity, and safety of all parties.
Maintains interpreter performance‐based skills assessed either at time of hire or through direct observation.
Enhances skills by participating in activities for professional growth and development through interpreter webinars, conferences, annual trainings, and self‐directed learning.
Completes scheduled training and other required staff activities.
Completes all documentation, paperwork and administrative duties.
Other duties as assigned.