Medical Interpreter Spanish

Advocate Health Care; Oak Lawn (IL); On-site; USD 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Advocate Health Care is seeking a bilingual Medical Interpreter to support physicians, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, social workers and chaplains across clinical settings.

Providers rely on you to maintain confidentiality, facilitate understanding, and navigate culturally diverse patient needs. This role requires CMI certification within 1 year and advanced training beyond high school.

Qualifications

• Must be bilingual in target language and English with proven medical interpreting abilities.
• Knowledge of medical terminology across anatomy, physiology, diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
• Ability to interpret for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, therapists and social workers.
• Understanding of ethics in medical interpreting per NCIHC guidelines.
• Awareness of cultural aspects of medical communities and LEP patients.
• Ability to convey difficult messages with sensitivity, including death and dying.
• Excellent human relations and communication skills.
• Basic computer literacy and ability to use video interpreting techniques.

Responsibilities

• Provide interpretation for patients, families and health care teams while maintaining confidentiality.
• Encourage clear communication to build rapport and ensure understanding.
• Collaborate with social services, financial counseling and chaplaincy, including directives and referrals.
• Document work activity and interpretation in patient records daily.
• Assist with follow-up appointments, referrals, insurance processes, and site translations as needed.
• Adhere to federal, state and local laws governing medical interpreting.
• Demonstrate knowledge to care for patients across age groups and developmental stages.

Skills

Bilingual in English and target lang

Medical terminology proficiency

Interpretation in healthcare settings

Ethics in medical interpreting

Cultural competence

Strong communication skills

Basic computer skills

Video interpreting capability

Education

CMI certification (within 1 year)

Advanced training beyond high school

Job description

Major Responsibilities

• Provides interpretation for patients, families and their health care team in a manner that promotes confidentiality at a professional distance within the given linguistic/cultural context for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, social workers, financial counselors and chaplains in all clinical settings. Provides interpretation in cases of life support withdrawal, fetal demise and major cases in emergency medicine.
• Encourages communication between patient and health care team to build rapport and ensures that the listener understands the message.
• Functions in a collaborative relationship with social services, behavioral health, financial counseling, and chaplaincy, including advanced directives, psychiatric evaluation and issues of homelessness, domestic violence and Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (AODA).
• Responsible for daily documentation of work activity certification on official departmental logs and charting interpretation in patient medical record.
• May also be called upon to facilitate the following: follow-up appointments, assist with appropriate referrals, transportation issues, insurance/payment process, informed consents, and site translations.
• Adheres to all federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the practice of medical interpreting in healthcare.
• Must be able to demonstrate knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to the age of the patients served, including principles of growth and development over the life span and ability to assess data reflective of the patient's status and interpret the appropriate information needed to identify each patient's requirements relative to his/her age‑specific needs.

Licensure, Registration, And/or Certification Required

• Medical Interpreter (CMI) certification issued by The National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters must be obtained within 1 year.

Education Required

• Advanced training beyond High School that includes the completion of an accredited or approved program.

Experience Required

• No experience required.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Required

• Must be bilingual in target language and English with proven linguistic abilities in medical interpreting.
• Possesses professional command of bilingual medical terminology; anatomy, physiology, diagnostic process, treatment, prevention and health education models.
• Competent to interpret for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, social workers, chaplains, and financial counselors in all health care settings.
• Possesses knowledge concerning the ethics of medical interpreting as outlined by the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC).
• Possesses an understanding of the cultural aspects of the medical community as well as the cultural identity of patients of limited English proficiency.
• Ability to work in challenging situations involving issues of delivering difficult messages including death and dying.
• Excellent human relations and communication skills.
• Basic computer skills.
• Ability to utilize video interpreting techniques.

Physical Requirements And Working Conditions

• May be exposed to human blood or body fluid.
• Must have ability to wear protective clothing as situation dictates.
• Operates all equipment necessary to perform the job.
• Must work in a 24/7 environment with on-call responsibility.
• Position requires travel; may be exposed to road and weather hazards.

This job description indicates the general nature and level of work expected of the incumbent. It is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the incumbent. Incumbent may be required to perform other related duties.