Interpreters program boosts efficiency with new videos

Recognizing that the Clinical Center is an international research facility with an emphasis on world health, the Language Interpreters Program (LIP) has been rapidly growing over the past four years-and skyrocketing during the past two.

"The number of patients who speak Spanish or languages other than English have been steadily increasing," said José Luis Rosado-Santiago, one of two full-time Spanish interpreters at the Clinical Center. According to Rosado-Santiago, Spanish-speaking patients account for 83 percent of all non-English speaking patients. Of course there are others: Haitian Creole, Italian, Greek, French, Mandarin, and Arabic to name a few. But none amount to near one percent, added Rosado-Santiago.

"There's a need to accommodate people who feel more comfortable speaking another language," said Rosado-Santiago. "It's not that they can't speak English; rather, it's that we don't speak their language. When you have what is essentially an international research center and we're recruiting volunteers from all over the world for various medical studies, we have to accommodate their language needs."

After the creation of the two full-time multilingual interpreter positions two years ago, the Language Interpreters Program has engaged in an ongoing process of professionalism and expansion of its services. One of the needs identified by the LIP through focus groups and anecdotal evidence, was that the other two ends of the interpretation triad, patient/relative and staff members, needed to be educated about the nature of interpretation and the practical aspects of requesting and using interpreters at the Clinical Center.

The first step, he said, was to produce brochures or flyers covering various topics that would explain to Spanish-speaking patients the services available to them. They inform patients of their right to have an interpreter and how to request it. The brochure includes an "I Speak…" card that can be used to identify the language of the patient and lets the staff know that this person is requesting an interpreter. Two informational videos were produced. "The Many Languages of the Clinical Center" is in English and intended for staff; Bienvenidos! is in Spanish and will be closed-captioned for the hard of hearing. Later, Rosado-Santiago said, closed-captioning may be available in other languages for use with non-Spanish speakers.

"The reason we made a video for the staff," he said, "is that while some are very experienced and savvy in working with foreign patients, others weren't as comfortable. Some of our staff didn't really know how to deal with foreign patients, such as how to request an interpreter or even knowing there is an interpreter's program."

The video for staff is being used by Rosado-Santiago during in-service training that he provides upon request to any unit within the Clinical Center. "These in-services have proven a valuable educational tool and we have experienced both, an increase in use and more awareness on language issues from units that have benefited from them." The program has two full-time employees, Rosado-Santiago and María Raulovic. They're assisted at times by student interns from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and they also use a cadre of volunteers from inside and outside of the Clinical Center.

"We need to engage in education for our staff and patients, and the videos bring our staff and speakers of other languages together in an easy-to-understand way," Rosado-Santiago said.

The training video in English informs staff how best to use an interpreter, how they should structure their conversations and what they can and cannot expect from interpreters. "Understanding and creating awareness that there's a way of communicating with an interpreter is central to effective research," Rosado-Santiago said. "Training our staff facilitates that communication."

For more information on the Interpreter's Program and how to become a volunteer, contact the Language Interpreters Program, 301-496-1807.

About NIH:

 The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research. Helping to lead the way toward important medical discoveries that improve people’s health and save lives, NIH scientists investigate ways to prevent disease as well as the causes, treatments, and even cures for common and rare diseases.

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