Medical Interpreter (English/Spanish)

SUMMARY:

Conducts medical and general interpreting and translation services for patients, family members, and hospital staff for Spanish speaking individuals. Develops and translates written documents for Tucson Medical Center’s departments & units and assists with simultaneous interpretation at educational events. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Provides interpretation services and translation services to various departments and areas of TMC.

Interprets and translates patient and family educational information.

Ensures all care teams are providing proper communication with LEP patients by rounding on LEP patients and care units daily.

Serves as liaison, advocate, and interpreter between TMC units and departments on behalf of patients with such areas as: case management, accounting, admissions, physicians, nurses and other members of the healthcare team.

Assesses and monitors patient understanding of information conveyed.

Keeps records of translation requests, status and completions, and communicates with appropriate parties.

Provides translation services to the communication team.

Formulates and develops plans, procedures and programs to meet staff language needs.

Develops and provides assessments to evaluate Spanish language proficiency of Bilingual Employees and Language Assistants and maintains accurate record of these team members.

Provides education and training to team members on regulatory compliance and provides notice and guidance on the availability and proper use of language resources, including live interpreters, technical resources, and documents.

Coordinates and schedules outside interpreters when required for languages other than Spanish.

Works closely with Direct Admissions, Emergency departments, physicians, unit managers and ambulance companies for patient care needs.

Assists in research and development of topics related to language educational services and language acquisition.

Adheres to TMC organizational and department-specific safety, confidentiality, values, policies and standards.

Performs related duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION:   Bachelor’s degree with courses on medical interpretation and translations skills, or an equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.  

LANGUAGE: Bilingual (English/Spanish) capabilities required.

EXPERIENCE:   Two (2) years of related interpreting experience required.

CERTIFICATION:   Medical Interpretation Certification (CCHI). 

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:  

·         Knowledge of medical terminology in English and Spanish.

·         Ability to fluently read, write and speak English and Spanish. 

·         Ability to read and translate medical records, general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.

·         Skill in maintaining records and files of activities for easy access and reference.

·         Skill in effectively presenting information and responding to inquiries or complaints from employees, patients and/or their representatives, and the general public.

·         Skill in developing and presenting training and educational programs.

·         Skill in the use of Microsoft Office Products including outlook, PowerPoint, EXCEL and Word.

·         Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals.

·         Ability to interpret an extensive variety of instructions and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.