What does a medical interpreter do?
Medical Interpreters are healthcare professionals who bridge the communication gap between patients and doctors. They interpret and translate medical findings and results in a language that the patient understands. Medical Interpreters are expected to have a deep understanding of medical terms and procedures to translate the doctor's message to the patient. They should have a deep understanding of the patient's cultural context and background. This would help medical interpreters relate to the patient and gain credibility. They should keep all information they come across confidential.
Medical interpreter responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real medical interpreter resumes:
- Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA and clinic.
- Inform providers and patients of relevant cultural issues to assist providers in delivering culturally competent patient care.
- Assist another medical interpreter in interpreting for patients who have trouble understanding English spoken by health professionals and receptionists.
- Create education and promotional materials relate to Latino health and wellness.
Medical interpreter skills and personality traits
We calculated that 35% of Medical Interpreters are proficient in Patients, Customer Service, and Patient Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Cultural sensitivity, and Dexterity.
We break down the percentage of Medical Interpreters that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 35%
Assisted another medical interpreter in interpreting for patients who had trouble understanding English spoken by health professionals and receptionists.
- Customer Service, 11%
Deliver exceptional customer service via incoming calls and in-person conflict resolution.
- Patient Care, 8%
Assisted medical personnel in delivering patient care through providing interpretation services for Spanish-speaking patients.
- LEP, 7%
Provide accurate and complete communication between provider and LEP using Professional Standards of Interpreting
- Informed Consent, 4%
Translated informed consent materials for research study participation.
- Target Language, 4%
Explain medical and surgical procedures, and interpret medical instructions as well as drug information in the target language.
Common skills that a medical interpreter uses to do their job include "patients," "customer service," and "patient care." You can find details on the most important medical interpreter responsibilities below.
Business skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a medical interpreter to have is business skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "self-employed interpreters and translators must be able to manage their finances." Medical interpreters often use business skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "evaluated staff performance and submitted weekly reports on departmental progress and achievements current business opportunitiesand possible adjacencies / customer service relations. "
Cultural sensitivity. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling medical interpreter duties is cultural sensitivity. The role rewards competence in this skill because "interpreters and translators must be aware of expectations among the people for whom they are helping to facilitate communication." According to a medical interpreter resume, here's how medical interpreters can utilize cultural sensitivity in their job responsibilities: "acted as conduit between non-english speaking patients and medical professionals by interpreting oral communication and breaking cultural barriers"
Dexterity. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of medical interpreters is dexterity. This skill is critical to many everyday medical interpreter duties, as "sign language interpreters must be able to make quick and coordinated hand, finger, and arm movements when interpreting." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "contracted with nexus interpreting service interpreting solutions sign language specialists able hands alpha and omega interpreting"
Interpersonal skills. A big part of what medical interpreters do relies on "interpersonal skills." You can see how essential it is to medical interpreter responsibilities because "interpreters and translators must be able to put clients and others at ease." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical medical interpreter tasks: "helped break down language barriers, effective communication and interpersonal skillsworked well under emotionally charged conversations"
Listening skills. Another crucial skill for a medical interpreter to carry out their responsibilities is "listening skills." A big part of what medical interpreters relies on this skill, since "interpreters must pay attention when interpreting for audiences to ensure that they hear and interpret correctly." How this skill relates to medical interpreter duties can be seen in an example from a medical interpreter resume snippet: "communicate between patients and medical professionals by listening to the professional and orally translating information into a patient's native language. "
The three companies that hire the most medical interpreters are:
- Children's Hospital Colorado16 medical interpreters jobs
- University of Washington14 medical interpreters jobs
- Nationwide Children's Hospital12 medical interpreters jobs
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Compare different medical interpreters
Medical interpreter vs. Freelance translator
A freelance translator is an independent contractor specializing in translating audio or written materials into a particular language. They primarily communicate with clients to identify their needs and preferences, including project specifications such as deadlines and format. Being a freelance translator means that they can work remotely at their preferred schedule, most of the time, working from home. They are not employed under a company, which is why most freelance translators prepare their own portfolios and create client bases through websites and other platforms.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, medical interpreter responsibilities require skills like "patients," "customer service," "patient care," and "lep." Meanwhile a typical freelance translator has skills in areas such as "web content," "user manuals," "financial reports," and "subtitles." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Freelance translators tend to reach higher levels of education than medical interpreters. In fact, freelance translators are 11.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Medical interpreter vs. Cryptologic linguist
Cryptologic linguists are lingual professionals who are responsible for using signals equipment to identify and analyze foreign communications. These linguists must assist intelligence community analysts in translating open source and sensitive materials as well as producing comprehensive reports about the daily activities of their enemies. They are required to supervise a team of other linguistic professionals to provide transcriptions and analysis from foreign communications. Cryptologic linguists must also identify the languages spoken at target geographic areas of interest.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real medical interpreter resumes. While medical interpreter responsibilities can utilize skills like "patients," "customer service," "patient care," and "lep," cryptologic linguists use skills like "tip," "government agencies," "national security," and "signals intelligence."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Cryptologic linguists tend to reach lower levels of education than medical interpreters. In fact, they're 6.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Medical interpreter vs. Language translator
Language translators are linguistic professionals who are responsible for converting information from one language to another to help people read the translation based on the original source. These translators must use a computer to translate the original language into their native language. They can work for software development companies as under contract independent foreign language translators. They must utilize target language to translate and transcribe critical information and performing immediate data analysis. Language translators must also provide interpretations for meetings, conferences, and administrative hearings for any sponsored functions.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a medical interpreter is likely to be skilled in "patients," "customer service," "patient care," and "lep," while a typical language translator is skilled in "proofreading," "foreign language," "hindi," and "urdu."
Language translators earn the highest salary when working in the government industry, where they receive an average salary of $60,664. Comparatively, medical interpreters have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $54,197.language translators typically earn similar educational levels compared to medical interpreters. Specifically, they're 3.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Medical interpreter vs. Translator
A translator is an expert of one or multiple languages, responsible for transcribing communication between parties for easy comprehension. Translators often work with written documents, relaying the core context and original message from the source. They should also be able to translate jargon, slang, cultural expressions, and related technical terms in an understandable format, depending on the level of the target audience. A translator must be highly fluent with the language to render ideas accurately, as well as have excellent time-management skills to meet project deadlines.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between medical interpreters and translators, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a medical interpreter might have more use for skills like "patients," "customer service," "patient care," and "lep." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of translators require skills like "web pages," "english-language," "subtitles," and "hr. "
The technology industry tends to pay the highest salaries for translators, with average annual pay of $58,098. Comparatively, the highest medical interpreter annual salary comes from the health care industry.translators reach similar levels of education compared to medical interpreters, in general. The difference is that they're 3.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of medical interpreter
Updated January 8, 2025
