Moses Rain is a busy man.  In the morning he works for the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) as an assistant employment specialist in the New Arrivals Employment Services department and in the afternoon as a parent educator in the early childhood development services.  He also works for Portland Public Schools as an on-call interpreter outside regular business hours and, as a leader in the Burmese community, he is available around the clock to help when and where needed, especially in medical emergencies.

In February, Rain devoted 16 hours of weekend time to attend IRCO's free healthcare interpreter training class.  The two-day class is considered a first step in the process of becoming a certified healthcare interpreter, and is offered to people who are bilingual in English and an Asian, Pacific Island, or African language.  The training is offered by IRCO's Hepatitis B/HIV Prevention and Education Project and includes information about the medical interpretaion field and requirements for certification.

Rain has no plans to become a certified healthcare interpreter, however.  Why would a job coach, parent educator, and interpreter take a healthcare interpreter class that does not provide a professional certification?

"Often [medical providers] can't find interpreters for the dialects from our country," Rain answers.  "Or the provider uses tele-interpreters, but they don't understand the dialects our clients speak, so the provider asks me to do it.  In those instances, I am forced to act in the role of healthcare interpreter.  This training is essential for folks not certified as healthcare interpreters but whose job as a case manager, or even whoe position of leadership in their community, frequently forces them to act in that role."

Rain has been in the U.S. for only 11 months.  Prior to arriving, he lived in a refugee camp on the Thailand-Burma border for eight years, where he worked unofficially with the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, especially as an interpreter.  In the camp he saw situations where insufficient medical knowledge on the part of interpreters put lives at risk or forced patients to sign consent forms with insufficient understanding of what they were consenting to.

The most important thing about IRCO's training, he stressed, is learning the ethics of healtcare interpretation.

"Case managers and community helpers or leaders act in dual roles," Rain said.  "Not only medical interpreting, but also family and community care.  Before taking this training, I mixed up the situations.  Sometimes I act for the entire group.  In healthcare interpretation, from the start tot he end, I have to focus solely on the client/patient."

In the U.S. Rain has found himself in many situations where serious medical situations could arise as a direct result of insufficient English.  For instance, many pharmacies do not use interpreters.  Without an unofficial interpreter, a person may be unaware of risks associated with medicines.  A person receiving two or more bottles of medication may mix them up and take them at the wrong times or in the wrong doses.

"Before the training, I interpreted like normal conversation and used the third person: 'she said' or 'he said'.  The training taught me to use the first person only," said Rain.  "It's more effective and causes no confusion for the provider.  First person makes it clear it is the patient speaking.  When not interpreting but explaining cultural issues to the provider, I have to make the distinction that it is me speaking, not the patient."

Small clinics may not have interpreter services available, and those that do offer interpretation during the week frequently do not offer it on weekends.  This often elaves English-speaking community members in a position of responsibility.

"It's not just the transliteration of the words," Rain said.  "You also must put the concept into terms the client can understand.  It may even require calling the client the night before the surgery to remind him that he can't eat anything after dinner," siad Rain.

IRCO holds the free interpreter trainings frequently.  The next session takes place July 25 and August 1 from 9:00am to 5:00pm at the Asian Family Center, located at 4424 N.E. Glisan Street in Portland.  The program typically hosts about 10 people.  A recent class had attendees with backgrounds ranging from an Iraqi who had been in the U.S. for one month to serveral people who have been here for 30 years.

The Asian Reporter

July21, 2009

To learn more, or to register, call Teresa at (503) 235-9396.

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