A video by Wisconsin Technical Colleges shows some of the key lessons learned by a student preparing to become a medical interpreter.

As a provider of medical language services, we have often posted on this blog about professional language interpreters, the skills they possess and their outlook on the profession.

For a change, today we’ll take a look at the job from a student’s point of view. What strikes a future medical interpreter as he or she studies the field?

A short video by Wisconsin Technical Colleges shows medical interpreting students at work and includes observations from a student preparing her qualification.

The student emphasizes the importance of complete accuracy in medical interpretation. “If you really don’t know the word, don’t pretend that you know,” she explains. This is very important advice in the medical sector, where a mistranslation can be more dangerous than no translation.

The video also shows students working on medical translation skills. Of course, they are all using computers, but it is interesting that some refer to traditional paper dictionaries.

Indeed, in specialized fields like medical translation, the best reference works are not necessarily online.

In general, the student in the video appears totally satisfied with her training, and points out how enriching it is to study in a multilingual, multicultural atmosphere.

Betty Carlson

See Also

• Language Translation, Inc.
  A leading language translation and interpretation service provider for more than 20 years.