Bienvenidos: Welcome

Katie D.

November 21, 2008 - 1:45 PM

I spend four hours every Thursday doing volunteer work as a translator at a free medical clinic in Eugene called Volunteers in Medicine. I work there with the Hispanic clients, helping them to check in for appointments, making phone calls, and translating for doctors' visits.

I found this volunteer position through the University of Oregon's Participatory Learning Services, through which students have the opportunity to participate in internships for UO credit. They have a variety of Spanish options, from translating positions to leading Girl Scouts or volunteering with English as a Second Language classes. The idea of the program is to give language students the opportunity to use their skills in real world situations and to help in the community.

I chose Volunteers in Medicine because I feel very strongly about the issues of just and compassionate health care for everyone. I agree with President Elect Barrak Obama's statement that health care is a right for every person living in the United States: that we deserve to receive treatment when we are sick, regardless of our socioeconomic status. I believe this is just as true for the Hispanic people living in our communities, who face discrimination in many areas of their lives and often do not have access to a Spanish-speaking doctor. They are confronted, therefore, with a double problem: that of cost and that of language. I am not a medical student, but I do have an advanced level of Spanish. So I'm put to work making a difference in these areas that matter to me, trying to improve people's lives.

Volunteers in Medicine serves a specific population of the working poor: those who have jobs but cannot afford health insurance. There is a qualification process, but once a person is approved for service at the clinic the service and prescriptions are free. When a patient enters the building there is a volunteer greeter to direct them to the pharmacy or check them in for an appointment. There are also people who come in for eligibility screenings and are helped by other volunteers. A large majority of the clinic staff is working there on a volunteer basis, but the clinic is run like any doctor's office, with highly qualified staff and high quality services.

I usually hang out in the reception area with the greeter. I help translate while people get checked into their appointments, or when people do their eligibility work and the application process. I answer the phone and make reminder calls for appointments. I help new patients fill out their medical history forms and schedule new appointments. I take patients to their rooms and help the nurses go through the basic check ups and the initial conversations about the purpose of the appointment. Most of the Spanish-speaking patients see a doctor who also speaks Spanish, but sometimes scheduling conflicts mean that she is not available, in which case I also translate for the doctor's appointment itself.

I am rarely busier or feel more appreciated than I do when I am working at VIM. There is a real need for a Spanish translator, and the clients I work with often express true gratitude for my presence, which serves as a strong motivator for me to work hard. I remember coming home from my first day of volunteering completely exhausted and immediately logging into a medical Spanish tutorial to study. My Spanish classes never prepared me for vocabulary like "gall bladder" and "dosage" and "Pap Smear." I watch tutorials on acne treatment, cancer detection, back pain, arthritis, and diabetes. I feel like every time I come home from VIM there is some new chunk of vocabulary to look up. This is not casual conversation I am dealing with: my understanding of certain vocabulary can dramatically influence people's welfare.

The VIM staff has been so helpful and friendly to me. The volunteer coordinator worked with me early on, giving me vocabulary and websites to visit and study, as well as showing me videos and telling me about the role of the translator. Ideally I am not even a part of a conversation between a doctor and patient: I am simply a means of communication that translates word-for-word and is a sort of unobtrusive presence. This has been a real challenge and source of growth for me, as I am generally someone ready to jump right in to any conversation. But my work as a translator is not about me: it is about a patient being treated by a doctor.

Of course, these situations are not always ideal. Sometimes a patient only needs a backup translator to augment their English understanding. Other times I work as an "unobtrusive" translator while holding the patient's screaming child.

When I work out front as a greeter, my job is to be as welcoming and as friendly as possible. Some people come in exhausted and irritable, while others come and want to tell me all about their families and histories and ailments. I am not a translator, exactly: I welcome people into the clinic, and make sure that they understand that their needs will be met and that their presence is valuable to us. There are days when I work as the greeter for everyone, helping English speakers check in along with the Spanish-speaking patients. That is actually when I am most enthusiastic about my presence at VIM: when I feel very needed and like everyone who walks through the doors is being greeted as equals.

Making phone calls is the hardest job for me. It is harder to understand what a person is saying when you cannot watch a person talking. Also, over the phone they can't see the blonde hair to tip them off that I'm obviously a Spanish learner. Sometimes I'll start off with a "how can I help you?" that digresses into a "I'm sorry, will you say that again," or "please spell that for me" or "can you tell me another way?" People are patient. Usually. Mostly people are just happy that there is someone who they can communicate with at all. And I'm getting better.

I love working at VIM, especially when the place is busy. Some days the place is full and the phones are ringing-the whole place gets this great vibe to it. I'll have a couple minutes to hold a baby and ask the mother how she's feeling before I'm off to answer a phone, then get one patient checked in before rooming another. The people on staff all know my name and will yell out for me to come help in one place or another. The clients can all see I'm busy and stressed and sometimes egg me on; asking me where I'm off to now or shouting to slow down. You have your own energy field at times like that.

I've worked at VIM for two terms and I intend to continue working there one afternoon a week until I graduate. Last week an older woman sat down next to me and told me (in English), how glad she was that VIM exists. She said she didn't know what she'd do if we weren't around, and how good it felt to have a stable doctor, "just like anyone else." Ten minutes later I answered a phone call in Spanish and the woman spent five minutes telling me how glad she was to talk to a Spanish speaker. She asked how old I was, how long I had been speaking Spanish, and if I would be there for her appointment. It was for Thursday afternoon, so the answer was yes, nos vemos. We'll see each other soon.

This is the VIM website if you have questions about their philosophy, services, or needs.
http://www.vim-clinic.org/default.htm