[Flaviane Wronski]

The video Mental Retention Workshop was very dynamic and informative. It explained several techniques that medical interpreters can use to improve their memory and performance, including visualization and association, note taking, idea mapping, vocabulary techniques, and the importance of diet and exercise.

I found the visualization and association techniques especially interesting. The video explained how the brain remembers images better than words alone. Creating mental images can make the information more vivid, concrete and easy to remember. Association is another great technique. For example, if an interpreter needs to remember a list of symptoms, such as sweating, anxiety, fatigue and exhaustion, he can use the first letter of each word and associate it with SAFE. The video also gave the example of adenine as “add a knee” imagining a person with three knees. I thought that was genius! Another technique was the backwards drill, which helps interpreter recall information by working from the last thing they heard.

Note taking is also important, especially for numbers, names, medicines, dosage, dates and times. However, writing everything down is not practical, interpreters can create symbols, abbreviations and images to record the most important information.

The idea mapping creates a map to have a full picture of the patient’s case. The reason why patient is seeking help shall be in the center of the map, and the relevant information is added as branches, creating a clear picture of the patient’s situation. The vocabulary techniques were also helpful, especially using pictures and backward reading to remember medical terminology.

Finally, the video discussed how diet and exercise can support the brain health and memory. Eating a balanced healthy diet with brain healthy food, along with staying physically active can help improve cognitive function.

Overall, I really enjoyed the video because it presented practical techniques that medical interpreters can use in their daily work in a fun and engaging way.

[Flaviane Wronski]

Do you still remember how your memory was 20, 30 years ago? Pardon me, my younger colleges and instructors, but the old lady here remembers that “back in the day”, we had to memorize everything: directions, phone numbers, birthday. There was no social media to remind you, no agenda on your phone to click or GPS to take you to places, We had to rely on our memories to perform everyday tasks. How many people can you call today from the top of your head?

The statement in this week’s manual says” Memory is like a muscle: if you don’t use it, you lose it” and that’s a very inconvenient fact. Although memory and mental retention are not the same, good mental retention depends on effective memory functioning. Mental retention is the ability to keep information in memory for a period of time so it can be used later. Several factors can interfere in this ability.

1) Lack of Sleep and fatigue: Insufficient or poor-quality sleep interferes with attention, learning and memory consolidation. Fatigue makes it harder to keep information in mind while listening.
2) Stress and Anxiety: An interpreter who is worried about making mistakes may have less attention available for the speaker.
3) Distraction and poor attention: When attention is divided, information may not be coded properly, making it harder to retain.
4) Information overload: Trying to process too much information at once can exceed working memory capacity.
5) Multitasking: Interpreting itself requires simultaneous demandas, unnecessary distractions are especially unhelpful.
6) Lack of understanding or background knowledge: Information that is unfamiliar, poorly organized, or difficult is harder to understand.

Good mental retention is a very important skill for an interpreter, since it improves accuracy, fluency and the ability to transfer the speaker’s intended meaning. An interpreter with good mental retention is more efficient in processing information, can spend less time trying to remember what was said earlier, making them feel more in control. The interpreter can focus on understanding the speaker better than worrying about forgetting details. Therefore, in a profession when daily habits can affect performance, adequate sleep, retention practice, regular exercise and balance diet, meditation and omega-3 rich foods should be part of the interpreter’s routine to contribute to their success.

[Flaviane Wronski]

Hi Marjetta,

I really like your perspective on learning medical terminology. I agree that understanding prefixes, roots and suffixes is much more practical than trying to memorize every medical term individually. Breaking words into smaller parts can make unfamiliar terms less intimidating. I think a good idea is taking some time every day and study some prefixes and suffixes; this skill will definitely grow with practice and experience.

[Flaviane Wronski]

Hi Marjetta,

I really liked you brought up Oreo in your discussion! I was researching its medical interpreter regulations and found the distinction between qualified and certified medical interpreters interesting. I knew that Oregon has the stronger formal regulatory structure for medical interpreter, a central registry where they can check interpreter status, but I wasn’t aware that Oregon has these 2 different pathways for medical interpreter.

Thank you for sharing that with us!

[Flaviane Wronski]

For a medical interpreter, understanding prefixes and suffixes is helpful because it allows us to “break down” medical words that we might not be familiar with, helping us understand their meaning more quickly and accurately.
I see the prefix as the part that often tell whats is happening, the word root identifies the body part or main subject, and the suffix usually describes the condition, process or the procedure.
For example, in the word tachycardia:
Tachy – is the prefix and means fast.
Cardi – is the word root and means heart.
-ia – is the suffix and means condition.
When you put all of this together, tachycardia is a condition of a fast heartbeat.
As time goes by, as we become more familiar with prefixes and suffixes, and our ” memory bank” grows, the process of analyzing words by their parts becomes quicker and more efficient.

[Flaviane Wronski]

The current regulations in medical interpreting, in my opinion, are a good start, but when you consider the importance of this profession and the serious consequences that a misunderstanding can cause, I would think the regulations would be much clearer and specific and not rely on interpretations or personal opinions to define the medical interpreter competence.

Executive Order 13166 basically says,” If a person cannot communicate effectively in English, the government and federally funded programs need to take reasonable steps to help that person access the service.” For a medical interpreter, that’s great because it shows that a medical interpreter is not a courtesy, but a right, opening up a lot of work opportunities.

In Massachusetts, I saw this order in practice all the time, in different clinics and hospitals. Although Executive Order 13166 was revoked in 2025, which is very concerning to me, I believe it’s strongly connected with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act os 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in programs receiving federal financial assistance. So, honestly, I think that even though it was revoked on paper, it won’t affect much on a day-to-day basis.

Medical interpreting is a very complex profession. Ensuring clear communication between a provider and a patient who speak different languages, who can have different educational levels and cultures, demands a great deal of responsibility. I would expect that in a profession where a mistake can lead to a life-changing situation in someone’s life, or even death, the regulations should be more concrete, with guidelines to evaluate the interpreter in a less interpretational way.

Massachusetts has strong protections and requirements around medical interpreting, but it also says that hospitals have the responsibility to hire competente interpreter. Define competente? National certification already exists and gives the interpreter credibility. But the creation of licensure for medical interpreters would provide standardization, accountability and recognition, improving the safety and quality of medical interpreting.

[Flaviane Wronski]

Great point! What may seem like extra time spent can actually save time later, and for sure lead to more efficient, complete, and thoughtful care.

[Flaviane Wronski]

Hi!
I agree this is a classic example! Another example that comes to my mind is cervical cancer screening. In Brazil, it is very common to women to have Pap smear once a year, so Brazilian women who move to the U.S feel uneasy and concerned when they learn the screening intervals are much longer here. How about it something is being missed? It’s important that the medical interpreter explain the difference to the provider and the patient, allowing the doctor to reassure the patient that she’s still receiving appropriate and safe care. I personally got very upset when I learned that.

[Flaviane Wronski]

Thank you for your kind feedback Marjetta, I really appreciate it. Last week, you also pointed out a very important issue, the fact that appointments now usually take 15 minutes, so accommodating and additional pre-session when time is already limited might be challenging, but it would make a big difference in many cases.

[Flaviane Wronski]

During a medical encounter, interpreters are expected to perform important functions to facilitate the communication between health care providers and patients. The four main roles are: Message Convert, Message Clarifier, Culture Broker and Patient Advocate.

The first and more common role is the message convert. The interpreter simply transfers the speaker’s message from one language to another, without adding omitting or changing anything. The interpreter stays on the background, adopts first person, matches the speaker’s tone. For example, if a doctor tells a patient, ” You need to take this medication twice a day”, the interpreter will communicate the same message direct to the patient.

In the second role, the interpreter acts like a message clarifier, alerting for possible words or concept that might cause misunderstanding, linguistic barriers or confusion that can affect accuracy. The interpreter shall interrupt the conversation and shift to third person to express his concerns. The professional can say something like: “The interpreter needs to clarify what the provider means by “colonoscopy”, and ask the provider to explain the term.

The Cultural Broker role can be used when the lack of communication isn’t caused by language but a cultural misunderstanding. For example, in South America, women avoid drinking cold water and eating raw food for the first 40 days after giving birth. If an immigrant with these beliefs has a baby in the U.S, when the nurse brings her a salad, and an ice water to avoid dehydration, the refusal from the patient can make the nurse consider a patient uncooperative. In this scenario, the interpreter steps out. ” The interpreter would like to make a cultural clarification…” then he explains the cultural differences and with this explanation, the nurse can find an alternative, such as a warm tea, to maintain hydration.

The last main role is by far the most invasive and sensitive role, the patient advocate. The goal is to defend the patient’s basic health, well-being or human dignity when systemic barriers or discrimination put them at risk. It’s more challenging for Limited-English-Proficient patients to advocate for themselves, interpreters are often the only individuals to recognize the problem and advocate on behalf of the patient. Let’s say like if a patient is about to be give a medication that he’s severally allergic to, and the doctor is ignoring the patient’s attempt to speak, the interpreter can actively intervene. It’s important though to mention that CHIA (California Health Interpreter Association) suggests that patient advocate role is optional for each individual interpreter, to pursuit it, the interpreters shall consider their experience, advocacy skills and potencial risks and benefits.

[Flaviane Wronski]

Although pre-session in medical interpreting is not mandatory, in my opinion, the practice is fundamental to ensure an accurate, efficient, legally compliant and yet human, thoughtful and empathic encounter.

When doing a pre-sessio with themselves, the medical interpreters have a chance to active their vocabulary and medical terminology. It’s like a mental warm up I’d say. The brain gets a momento to shifts gears from a regular everyday language and starts to get ready for a bilingual medical communication. In addition, the interpreters can use this opportunity to center their emotions to remain professional, and to clear their minds of personal assumptions, ensuring a transparent conduct.

Regarding pre-session with patient, it’s extremely important that the interpreter clearly explain their roles, obligations and ethics standards. The CEEF protocol (Confidentiality, Everything, Flow and First Person) when explained, helps to prevent misunderstandings and interruptions in the interpreting processing. When an interpreter educates the patient about confidentiality per example, the patient will know that his personal won’t be disclosed, making him feel more comfortable. this creates Rapport and reduces anxiety. Letting the patient know that everything spoken is going to be translate to the provider, defines the interpreter’s neutral role. it prevents and over-comfortable relationship patient-interpreter. the Flow and the First Person will inform the patient how the conversation will be done and how to procede. During this meeting, the interpreter can also assess language and dialect match, ensuring no linguistic misunderstanding during the examination.

The pre-session with the provider brings many advantages. It establishes ground of rules. It’s important to mention that, while a lot of LEP (Limited English Proficient) patients deal with interpreters on regular bases, healthcare providers may not have as much experience with interpreters. The pre-session allows the providers to brief interpreter on the nature of the visit, helping the interpreter mentally prepare for specific terminology or emotional tone.

In my opinion, pre-session with providers should be mandatory, especially in cases when the nature of the visit involves difficult or sensitive discussions, like delivering a cancer diagnosis or managing end-of-lefe care. This would give the interpreter an opportunity to prepare himself mentally and emotionally to bring the news to the patient in the most supportive and thoughtful way that reality allows.

[Flaviane Wronski]

Hi Laura!

Thank you for sharing your story with us. I’m not going to lie, I’m a little bit jealous that you’re in Brazil right now, especially with the winter around the corner.

When you mentioned your dream of becoming a volunteer interpreter, it really touched me. The world feels a little heavy right now, and meeting people who are still working hard to make a difference in this world is truly a dose of hope.

Congratulations on your initiative!

[Flaviane Wronski]

Hello Marjetta,

What a fascinating story! I can’t imagine what it must have been like to witness Nelson Mandela’s release firsthand-that must have been an unforgettable experience.

I’m sorry to hear that you’re facing some health challenges. They can certainly be difficult, and I really admire the way you’re handling this situation-finding new ways to navigate life’s changes while continuing to make a difference in the life of others.

Your story is truly inspiring. Thank you for sharing with us!

[Flaviane Wronski]

Although interpreters and translator have very different careers, they have one thing in common: they are professionals who are fluent in at least two language whose goal is to break down language barriers and connect different cultures. This similarity can be a cause of misconception, leading to the incorrect idea that both professionals perform the same job.

The first main difference that comes to my mind is that translators work with a written text. They have time to research terms, check their work many times, and make corrections before submitting. Translators also usually work in one direction, which means they received the text in one language and translate into the other.

Interpreters, on the other hand, work with spoken languages. They work on spot, interpreting simultaneously while someone speaks or right after they stop. There is no time to research or check terms. Interpreters also work in both directions between two languages.

The two professionals also differ in the skills they are expected to have and the settings in which they work. While translators are required to present good writing and editing skills, interpreters need to have quick thinking, good memory and strong listening comprehension. Translators often have the flexibility to work remotely or from a home office, while interpreters most likely need to work on-site.

Understanding the difference between these two professionals is critical because hiring the wrong professional can lead to communication problems, compromised projects, and even costly legal issues. Both translators and interpreters play an important role in connecting people from all parts of the world, but they have different skills, abilities and those differences need to be considered.

[Flaviane Wronski]

Boa tarde Art!

I have a feeling that these 10 weeks are going to be an intense, fun and exciting learning experience. I’m glad to be here!

Flavi

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