Being sick is a difficult experience for any person but what can aggregate the condition as a whole is not being able to communicate about it with those who are best equipped to provide the patient with professional health care. Sadly this is where an increasing immigrant population is finding themselves in. Using one’s language skills in the form of translation to help patients communicate with significant others within the healthcare profession is an important and even life saving skill. There are a number of advantages in using one’s language skills to help others within a healthcare setting.
There are a few jobs that are self gratifying in the immense and immediate returns they give. Translation services within the healthcare industry provides satisfaction from performing an important role in assisting the medical staff provide life changing and maybe even life saving care to patients.
A medical translator talks to patients and provides comfort to them by speaking in their native tongue and helping them feel less vulnerable in an environment they are unfamiliar with and unable to understand or communicate in.
A medical translator ensures that the right information gets to the patient in a timely manner. This is especially important in critical healthcare conditions when a course of action needs to be taken right away to prevent agitation or worsening of a condition that can be life threatening, for example, surgery or chemotherapy for a tumor.
A medical translator enable the healthcare staff to address specific concerns and answer the questions of patients to put them more at ease about the medical care they are receiving. A patient that does not understand what is going on can be uncooperative, skeptical or fearful.
Being able to facilitate clear communication with a patient and healthcare provider ensures that the patient is actually treated for the right condition by describing information like symptoms, time frame and so on with heightened accuracy. In some cases, symptoms might be similar and efficient and detailed information is important for right care.
Another significant role of a translator is to ensure that a patient understands important instructions, for example, how to take prescription medication, how often and so on. Any miscommunication regarding medication can lead to detrimental health results which can worsen the patient’s condition and in the worst case, put their life in danger. Younger and older populations are especially at risk due to heightened fragility.
As advanced as medicine has become and as skilled as healthcare professionals have become, they are seriously impeded in helping their patients if they cannot communicate with them. The role of the medical translator is crucial in building a bridge between these two groups and facilitating the best care for the patients in need, while putting them at ease in an environment they feel vulnerable and frustrated in. It is a noble way to use a talent skills to help others in the health profession, ultimately changing and even saving lives.
Will writes for Team24 Private Nursing, a specialist private nursing agency and domiciliary care provider who are currently recruiting, find private nursing and disability care jobs with Team24 Private Nursing.
Let Your Language Skills Help Others Within A Healthcare Profession
