Need Health Care? Can't Speak Japanese?

The continually increasing international population in Japan is resulting in language and cultural gaps that have created ever-expanding needs for interpreting services in health care settings. It's for this reason that more and more people are getting interested in becoming interpreters. Some of you might be telling yourselves "Yeah, but I want a real job! I don't want to be just a volunteer. I have good English and Japanese skills and I want to use my skills in my career!" Good news, there's a growing need for PROFESSIONAL interpreters and so there's a push going on now in Japan to create training programs to fulfill this need.

To become a good health care interpreter, a candidate needs to be properly trained and to have various specialized skills.

Here, I'll introduce you to the roles and skills of health care interpreters so that you can catch a glimpse into this world and decide for yourself if you think you've got what it takes to really open up your career options and actually use those language skills you've worked so hard to improve.

What's a health care interpreter?

So, what's a Health Care Interpreter anyway?

The National Council on Interpreting in Health Care in the United States defines health care interpreting as: "The interpreting of different languages that takes place in health care settings of any sort." Typically the setting is an interview between a health care provider and a patient.

What are the roles of the health care interpreter?

What roles do you think are required for health care interpreters?

The fundamental purpose of health care interpreting is to facilitate communication between two parties who do not speak the same language and do not share the same culture. Various obstacles to cross-cultural communication include language complexity, differences in cultural norms, as well as organizational or systemic barriers facing the foreign patient. So, the roles of health care interpreters include the following:

This is the very basic role for interpreters. In this role, interpreters are required to convert the meaning of all the messages from one language to another, without additions, deletions, or changes in meaning. It's necessary to interpret in the first person, not the third person, in order to foster natural communication between doctors and patients. Interpreters must also include very utterance, as well as sighs and the like.

In the message clarifier role, interpreters should interpret in such a way that the listener can understand. They should change the level of the speech for easier understanding. For example, if a doctor says, "You'll need to be detained overnight," in Japanese, you should tell the patient, "You'll need to stay at the hospital for a night" in English. Interpreters should also identify possible words or concepts that might lead to misunderstandings, which should be explained simply. And it's important to check for understanding.

The culture clarifier role goes beyond message clarification. When there is evidence that any of the parties may be confused by cultural differences, interpreters need to be aware of the cultural gaps and interrupt the communication process and identify cultural concerns that could be impeding mutual understanding. They must also assist each party in explaining the cultural concept. When requested, interpreters need to explain cultural customs and patient's common beliefs with respect to health. They should restrict themselves to cultural explanations only and resist the temptation to try to resolve problems. These should be left up to the doctor and the patient.

Patients who can't communicate effectively in Japanese, find it difficult to obtain the same level of care as native speakers, so interpreters are often the only ones in a position to recognize a problem and advocate for the patient. However, this active supporting role should be optional. Interpreters need to recognize that they are NOT medical social workers. They should leave the health care to the health care professionals.

Health care interpreter skills

To play all these roles effectively, the interpreters need special skills. What skills do you think you need to become a world-class health care interpreter? The following ten components are essential in determining whether or not a candidate is qualified to be a good health care interpreter.

* Basic Language Skills

* General Interpreting Skills

* Code of Ethics

* Familiarity with Cultural Issues

* Medical Knowledge and Health Care Terminology

* Session Management Skills

* Sight Translation Skills

* Effective Communication Skills

* Personal-Care Skills

* Personal-Development Skills

Skills Development Activities in Japan

There are some training programs overseas, such as "Bridging the Gap", the most famous training program for health care interpreting in the United States that is very useful. I've taken the course and I'm continuing my study of their materials. It is beneficial to learn from their extensive expertise in this field. There are some training programs in Japan as well, but no standardized one. Therefore, J.E. regularly provides training courses for those interested in medical English interpreting in Hokkaido, Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka.

With continued effort, cooperation, and teamwork, the health care interpreting field will grow and develop into an essential well-respected profession. I hope many of you get interested in this field. If you are interested in attending the training course in Japan, please don't hesitate to contact us.