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Angela Reyes, Medical Interpreter
Job: Medical interpreter, Atlanta
What I do: Understanding medical jargon is hard enough, but if you and the doctor or nurse don't speak the same language, it can get serious.
That's where Angela Reyes comes in. She's a medical interpreter with Pacific Interpreters, based in Portland, Ore.
From her Atlanta home, she takes calls all day long from doctors, nurses, hospitals, social workers, psychologists and other people in the medical field, translating English into Spanish and vice versa.
The process works like this: A medical provider with a patient who doesn't speak the same language calls Pacific Interpreters. Operators there connect them with a network of interpreters who can bridge the language gap via speaker phone. With critical health decisions being made, proper communication is key.
Reyes said a pregnancy ultrasound can take hours, and she also has assisted -- long distance -- in the birth of a baby.
"Interpretation is the meaning of what they say," said Reyes, 61. "Word-for-word doesn't make sense," because of differences in syntax and idiom and the use of slang. On shelves near her phone, Spanish-English dictionaries are side-by-side with medical books in English and Spanish.
While the patient may be anywhere, Reyes said, "You don't see them, but you're involved, like being right there."
What got me interested in this: "I've always liked language," said Reyes, who also speaks a little French and Portuguese (but not professionally).
She grew up in Cuba and took English starting in second grade. Her family fled the Castro regime -- first to Jamaica and then to Miami, where she graduated from high school.
The medical part came along in college, where she majored in biology.
Best part of my job: "I can do it and do it well," she said. "After years of having jobs that were OK, I now have one where I can help." Besides, she can work from home or anywhere there's a telephone.
Most challenging part: Technical problems, such as not being able to hear the conversations very well over the phone, especially when there's a crisis on the other end of the line. She also has difficulty with doctors or other medical professionals who don't speak English well and speak no Spanish.
"As an interpreter, I can't make any comments or take on the role of the provider," Reyes said.
What people don't know about my job: "I had no idea this job [medical translator] existed" when she began doing other types of interpretation work after a 20-year career with Eastern Airlines and a stint as a teacher.
"A lot of people think that if they speak a language, they are qualified to interpret," she said. But you also have to be a good listener, pick up on tone, know the vocabulary and understand slang.
Interpreting is working with spoken language, and translating is done with written words, Reyes explained.
What keeps me going: "All the calls are different. I learn a lot of things." She also speaks with some of the medical providers on a regular basis.
Preparation needed for this job: "Complete fluency in both languages," Reyes said. "It helped me to have a degree in biology."
You have to be interested in the job and like it to do a good job, she added. Reyes has a bachelor's degree from Presbyterian College in South Carolina and a master's-level certificate in interpretation from Georgia State University.
-- By Karl Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.
