The Medical Interpreter Blog

12/07/2025

Go behind the scenes of medical interpreting with Yuliya Speroff, author of The Medical Interpreter Blog, over two episodes of the Provider Pulse podcast. Yuliya shares insights on the emotional and ethical challenges interpreters face, cultural brokering in complex clinical encounters, and practical strategies providers and interpreters can use to improve patient care and communication: https://medicalinterpreterblog.com/behind-the-scenes-medical-interpreting-yuliya-speroff-provider-pulse/

10/24/2024

I was awarded Trainer of the Year during the Americans Against Language Barriers conference in Chicago - sadly, I wasn't able to be there, but an adorable service dog was able to receive the award on my behalf until it finds it way to me in Seattle. Kevín Thakkar knows me well - he knew having a dog involved is a sure way to make me happy! AALB has been training medical interpreters since 2020 - and that's how long I've been with them, starting with the very first 40-hour medical interpreting training course in the spring of 2020. I have worked with them as a trainer, and also as a curriculum developer and part of QI team, so this recognition was very meaningful to me. Thank you to the AALB team for the role you play in educating future medical interpreters and to all my colleagues who continually inspire me to raise my training game!

08/05/2024

The other evening I was teaching a class of beginner medical interpreters and, when discussing impartiality in interpreting, I asked students for some examples of potentially contentious topics in medicine. Among the first replies, came mentions of mental health’. It is important for medical interpreters to learn about mental health because they will likely find themselves interpreting in various encounters where mental health will be discussed – from primary care appointments, to trauma counselling, group therapy and even such settings as dialysis care, transplant medicine and oncology. Understanding common mental health conditions, common diagnostic tools and treatments will help you interpret more accurately and compassionately. Additionally, dealing with emotionally intense situations can be challenging for interpreters, so understanding mental health will also help you recognize the importance of your own self-care, preventing burnout and maintaining your well-being. My new blog post contains a collection of resources that will help you with all of the above!

The collection of resources will help medical interpreters learn more about mental health. t is important for medical interpreters to learn about mental health because they will likely find themsel…

08/03/2024

This new blog post will help medical interpreters learn - or learn more about interpreting in mental health - as well as how to take care of our mental health. Do you have a favorite mental health resource that you'd like to see included? Share your suggestions in the comments!

The collection of resources will help medical interpreters learn more about mental health. t is important for medical interpreters to learn about mental health because they will likely find themsel…

06/21/2024

Now with CEUs from WA DSHS, CCHI and NBCMI/IMIA!

📢 Medical interpreters - whether you are looking to take CCHI ETOE™ (English-to-English) interpreting exam or simply would like to flex your interpreting muscles, Mastering Paraphrasing to Improve Skills in all Interpreting Modes is the course for you! It is highly interactive, with many practice activities, so be ready to get a mental workout!

👩‍💼The ability to paraphrase is essential for interpreters to master to be able to successfully convey a message in its entirety, including the intended meaning and all its nuances and strong paraphrasing skills, even within one language, will help interpreters to improve their mental agility and to better make the split-second decisions involved in interpreting.

🎓 Continuing education units (CEUs): accredited for CEUs by 2 national organizations:

1 hour CCHI – #10476
0.1 hour IMIA/NBCMI – Registry ID: 24-1148
1 hour WA DSHS - #779

🧑‍💻 Register: https://medicalinterpreterblog.com/register/mastering-paraphrasing-to-improve-skills-in-all-interpreting-modes/

✨ Take the Idioms and Cultural References for Medical Interpreters course: https://medicalinterpreterblog.com/register/interpreting-idioms/

06/17/2024

📢 Medical interpreters - whether you are looking to take CCHI ETOE™ (English-to-English) interpreting exam or simply would like to flex your interpreting muscles, Mastering Paraphrasing to Improve Skills in all Interpreting Modes is the course for you! It is highly interactive, with many practice activities, so be ready to get a mental workout!

👩‍💼The ability to paraphrase is essential for interpreters to master to be able to successfully convey a message in its entirety, including the intended meaning and all its nuances and strong paraphrasing skills, even within one language, will help interpreters to improve their mental agility and to better make the split-second decisions involved in interpreting.

🎓Continuing education units (CEUs): accredited for CEUs by 2 national organizations:
1 hour CCHI – #10476
0.1 hour IMIA/NBCMI – Registry ID: 24-1148

🧑‍💻Register: https://medicalinterpreterblog.com/register/mastering-paraphrasing-to-improve-skills-in-all-interpreting-modes/

✨ Take the Idioms and Cultural References for Medical Interpreters
course: https://medicalinterpreterblog.com/register/interpreting-idioms/

05/30/2024

Children should never have to interpret for their parents/guardians 💔

A 1-minute film about the experience of young immigrant children having to translate for their parents. Presented by NextShark.

05/25/2024

My new blog article is out! Is there room for showing compassion as a medical interpreter? How do we walk the line between being empathetic while maintaining role boundaries and impartiality? Read the blog post for my thoughts and comment with yours!

So is there room for showing compassion as a medical interpreter? How do we walk the line between being empathetic while maintaining role boundaries and impartiality? I believe we as medical interpreters can still demonstrate compassion within their role boundaries.

02/26/2024

Virology is a topic that can come up in many types of encounters - whether in primary care settings when discussing immunizations, or with an infectious diseases specialist. Are you a medical interpreters interested in expanding your glossary around this topic? Than this post is for you!

https://medicalinterpreterblog.com/2022/05/16/virology-terminology-for-medical-interpreters/

In light of the global pandemic, viruses have been in the news and on our mind – and while it certainly has brought viruses into the spotlight, they actually existed 3.5 billion years&nb…

02/23/2024

The medical interpreting profession is starting to leave a digital footprint - the Medical Interpreter Blog is far from being the only blog for medical interpreters! There are also podcasts about interpreting, YouTube channels, Facebook groups and books. Learn more about these amazing resources created for interpreters by interpreters in this blog post!

https://medicalinterpreterblog.com/2019/12/15/for-interpreters-by-interpreters-useful-resources-and-interesting-content-and-translators-too/

Sometimes, being an interpreter can be a lonely profession. When I worked as a freelance medical interpreter, spending my days driving between hospitals and clinics in the Greater Seattle area, my …

02/09/2024

🎙️👩‍⚕️🖊️Whether you are someone thinking of becoming a medical interpreter, are about to take your medical interpreter exams or are a seasoned interpreter wishing to expand your knowledge of all things medicine, you will need resources – to help you learn more, to bolster your knowledge of medical terminology, and to practice interpreting skills. But what if you want to learn about medical topics outside formal training sessions? Something you can do as part of your leisure time, or maybe on the go while you’re commuting to work? Something that is free? Enter medical podcasts! This blog suggests podcasts medical interpreters can listen to so that they can expand their knowledge of medical topics and learn new terms on the go!

One of the cannons of National Code of Ethics for Interpreters in Healthcare states that ‘The interpreter strives to continually further his/her knowledge and skills.’ While this is a w…