[Alejandra Gana]

what I noticed was that the interpreter did not translate the meaning of CT in Spanish
she did not excuse the doctor when he was getting a call and did not translate what he was saying either.
the interpreter retained information that the patient told her, never ever do that!
interpreter did not explain properly what the procedure was going to be like.

[Alejandra Gana]

I think the most common areas of medicine for interpreters would be.
Primary care, Family medicine
Emergency medicine.
obstetrics, Gynecology.
pediatrics.
Mental health, Psychiatry

once I know which medical specialties use interpreters most often, it can shape the study strategy. I can focus on what will be most useful in real clinical encounters
my approach would prioritize common areas.
master the essential vocabulary.
prepare for high stakes communication.
use practical scenarios.
develop cultural and emotional awareness.

[Alejandra Gana]

one of the areas I find challenging is Anesthesiology. it can be nerve wracking when the doctor tells you something can go wrong; they have you sign a consent form that literally says if you lose your life, you knew ahead of time.

it can be challenging as an interpreter translating this to a patient.

the other area for me would be giving a patient a diagnose, particularly when its cancer related. me been someone that lost her mom to cancer knows how it is and spent months at hospitals with translators since my mom didn’t speak any Inglish. it’s hard been in that spot of having to tell someone in your own language that you have cancer and when there is not much they can do its heartbreaking.

[Alejandra Gana]

The alveoli are tiny air sacs in the lungs; they are essential for breathing because they are the primary site where gas exchange occurs.

importance of the alveoli= it allows oxygen to pass from the air we breathe into our bloodstream and let carbon dioxide move from your blood into the lungs to be exhaled.

Alveoli are crucial because they make breathing effective, without them, your body couldn’t get the oxygen it needs or remove carbon dioxide efficiently.

there are about 300-500 million alveoli in the human lungs. together they create a surface area roughly the size of a tennis court, greatly increasing the amount of gas that can be exchanged at once.

Alveoli are coated with a thin layer of fluid and a substance called surfactant that prevents them from collapsing making it easier to breath.

[Alejandra Gana]

there is 3 layers of skin.

Epidermis= top layer of skin and does not contain blood vessels.
epidermis also consists of melanocytes, which produce melanin, the dark pigment that gives skin its color, Merkel cells, which are thought to be involved in touch reception and Langerhans cells.

Dermis= middle layer of skin, and has two layers.
first layer called the papillary layer consists of the loose connective tissue.
second layer called reticular layer, is the deep layer of the dermis and consists of dense connective tissue.
the dermal layers provides a site for the endings of blood vessels and nerves. the structures for hair are in this layer of skin.

Hypodermis= also called subcutaneous tissue. is the deepest layer of the skin.
helps insulate the body and cushion internal organs.
blood vessels, lymph vessels, nerves and hair follicles also run through this layer of skin.

[Alejandra Gana]

differences between male and female reproductive system.

male reproductive system consists of two mayor parts: the testes and the penis.
testes are carried in an external pouch known as the scrotum.

female reproductive system include the clitoris, labia minora and labia majora.
female reproductive system also include the vagina and uterus which the male reproductive system doesn’t have.
female reproductive system has fallopian tubes and uterus.
male reproductive system carries sperm and the female releases and egg.

[Alejandra Gana]

A nerve cell, or neuron, is the basic unit of the nervous system. it sends and receives messages throughout the body.
The cell body controls the neurons activities and contains the nucleus.
Dendrites receive signals from other neurons and carry them to the cell body.
The axon carries messages away from the cell body to other parts of the body.
The myelin sheath covers the axon to protect it and make messages travel faster.
Nodes of Ranvier are small gaps thar help speed up nerve impulses. At the end of the axon, axon terminals pass messages to the next cell through a tiny gap called the synapse. Each part of the neuron works together to ensure fast and efficient communication in the nervous system.

[Alejandra Gana]

An artery carries oxygen-rich blood from the heart through the body.
Veins carry oxygen-poor blood back to the heart.
they are both types of blood vessels, but they have different structures and functions.

Arteries are away from heart, high pressure, no valves.
Veins are toward the heart, low pressure, and have valves.

Arteries carry blood away from the heart.
Veins carry blood towards the heart.

The four chambers of the heart are essential because they keep oxygenated and deoxygenated blood separate
and allow efficient circulation between the lungs and the rest of the body.

[Alejandra Gana]

The techniques to good mental retention are.
visualization
image focusing
acrostics
Association
idea mapping
Chunking
Rhymes and alliterations
peg systems
note taking.
using your own symbols

the ideas presented on the video were really helpful, lots of information was given which I thought was great!

[Alejandra Gana]

The things that inhibit good mental retention are sleep deprivation, stress specially when is chronic.
having diabetes and cardiovascular disease also leads to memory loss.
having a poor diet also contributes to not having a good mental retention.
eating high saturated fat foods impair concentration and memory.

I think is really important to have good mental retention when you are a medical interpreter because it allows them to listen, understand, and reproduce information accurately and quickly.
interpreting often requires several ideas, sentences, or numbers in the mind while reformulating them into another language, sometimes in real time.
over time, good retention contributes to building a wide vocabulary and cultural knowledge.
memory is the foundation that supports accuracy.

[Alejandra Gana]

Hi Emily, I agree with your post!

[Alejandra Gana]

As a medical interpreter it is important and helpful to understand the suffixes and prefixes in medical terminology. Prefixes help medical professionals understand that the unit of the meaning is attached to the front of a word. It is helpful to understand this as a prefix is typically short and changes the meaning of the root. It often indicates the location or amount.
A suffix is also helpful to know as a professional as it is attached to the end of the word. It is attached to the end of a word as it explains their meaning. When used in medical terms, suffixes turn the words into a diagnosis or procedure.

[Alejandra Gana]

I do think present legislation is enough at this point, In the Medical area, meaning Department of public health and department of transitional assistance have language access plans aligned with EO 13166.

[Alejandra Gana]

Yes- Executive Order 13166 does apply in Massachusetts, by improving Access to Services for persons with limited English Proficiency (LEP)
the Way it applies is by Federal Agencies to ensure their services are accessible to LEP individuals.
Because Massachusetts agencies and organizations receive Federal funding for health, education, housing. they are legally bound to comply with this order.
The State of Massachusetts must provide language access services to LEP residents when offering federally funded programs.

[Alejandra Gana]

and like I said before it is necessary to do a pre-session with all people involved in the appointment, it will for sure make our role go a lot smoother without hopefully no miscommunication and clear understanding for all parties.

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