Interpreting for foreign languages... Should the agency tell you what its about?

[DogCalledRudis]

Last week i had a severe case of schizophrenia and a woman scheduling an abortion.

Ok, these cases need interpreters, but maybe the agency could have picked someone with 'colder nerves'?

No of course they shouldn't. You could suggest that you don't want to deal with things which you feel might affect your sensibilities.

I think you need to have a chat with your agency and tell them you have some issues with the cases they have given you.

You might say to them that for personal reasons you don't want to work on cases that involve abortion for example.

The trade off is that you have to accept that you will not get as much work and that they might lose a bit of faith in you and they might even decide they don't want to employ you at all.

On the other hand you may have to just accept things as they are and move on.

I've been in a situation where I've turned down certain jobs for moral reasons.

Difficult because you are in the area of patient confidentiality. On the other hand, you will be told stuff as a part of doing the job.

I suppose you could state you do not want to be a part of mental illness or abortion and the agency could tell the hospital that before you go, then they can decline to take you as it isn't appropriate, so it could be got round without actually telling you anything.

Sorry, sounds like you're in the wrong job. Interpreters have to go where the work is - I suspect you know that. If it's that bad then switch agency, but you risk severely limiting your options by rejecting difficult jobs.

Anytime I have hired interpreters (for BSL) I've been asked by the agency to send any relevant papers in advance to allow the interpreter to familiarise themselves with the subject and terminology under discussion. I don't deal with anything medical or particularly confidential so maybe that's the difference.

I know all that. Been to police, jobcentre, hospitals but sometimes its more than speaking a language that job requires to cope with. With those two i mentioned even doctors found them very difficult.

I think that there are certain circumstances where the agency need to use discretion about which staff to send where possible. Anything which involves highly sensitive topics needs to have staff who feel able to deal with those issues. Sending a woman for example who may have just had a miscarriage or who may be undertaking IVF to deal with a client who is having an abortion is not good for either the client or the staff member.

But that's the thing. If you're prepared to be in that field at all, sometimes there will be really difficult or even distressing cases, as you obviously have found out. That's the game - without being harsh, either you stay in and risk that now and again, or you focus on another field(s).

The thing is the agency just asks for one skill -- speak the language. When they invite you, they just say time and place. Nothing else. Certainly not asking "are you ok advising somebody about abortion"

MidniteScribbler How is the agency to know without asking intrusive questions what issues their people might have?

Why should they ask what it's about? Perhaps the people needing the interpreter don't want to discuss it with any old bod at the Agency? Also, without an interpreter, how do the people tell the Agency what it is about

Either do the job you're employed to do, or leave.

Surely though there are plenty of interpreter jobs in the world of commerce? I mean outside of police stations/hospitals/public services. Can't you just find a job in an agency that has clients like banks/travel agents/insurance companies/airlines, instead of working for an agency that has police stations/hospitals and public services as their clients? Or tell your agency that you are fine interpreting commercial stuff, but don't want sent out as inperprater for public services stuff. That is a pretty standard divide.

Happy it's not really a buyer's market for those with appropriate interpreting skills, particularly as the increased outsourcing and privatisation of contracts has driven standards down in a mass race to the bottom.

I'm a bit confused, when you say advising someone about an abortion do you translating the medical staff or are you talking about your own opinion?

I'm afraid part of what the client is buying is the interpreter's impartiality and confidentiality. Without those an interpreter is not really offering the full package of what clients need.

To be specific, it was a doctor explaining how abortion works. Despite the fact the client wanted it for very wrong reasons.
As for professionals, no room for opinion.

Have YOU decided it was "for very wrong reasons"?

UncleT, if that's the case, and the only jobs to be had in interpreting are in hospitals/police stations/social work settings etc.... then I really think the OP might be in the wrong line of work. If those are the only type of clients of you have.... then you are going to need a really thick skin and realise that translating the needs of schizophrenic patients and translating the details of abortion are simply part and parcel of the job. If that's too harrowing for you, well for the OP, then I think she needs to consider a career move.

I would never tell the agency what I was wanting the interpreter for. I had one that didn't want to translate for the case at hand. I found it a complete waste of everyone's time and asked that they didn't come back to my ward.to do this job in hospital you have to be detached and maintain confidentiality.

For me, its part-time job on call. Most cases are people finding it difficult to fill their documents, or when the law requires them to have interpreters even though they speak pretty decent English. But some of the cases are very sensitive, like i mentioned. The agency does not ask if you're equipped to deal with it. And its not a client who contacts the agency -- its the doctor or other staff.

And that's what I was saying earlier. Basically, this sort of experience, while generally fairly rare, is an occupational hazard unless you wish to risk severely limiting your options.

Sorry, I was using client in the generic sense. Service user might be better.

I would have assumed that the person booking your services should give you a precis of the work you were going to be doing. I always brief interpreters (and I use quite a few, work in the police so my interpreters can be dealing with very distressing stuff) with what they will be dealing with so that they can turn it down if they would find it distressing.

I would not think that an interpreter was not professional if they decided that they would really prefer not to interpret in a case, for example, where three under 10s had been raped by their father and uncle.

I think the hospital making a booking should give a brief summary of what's needed, but I appreciate they may not have time. If the agency has further details, the agency should pass that on.

Before we consider mental and emotional strain of some situations, the agency is charging a fee to co-ordinate interpretation and translation services. Some fields require more specialised vocabulary than others, therefore the agency should double-check that the one they're supplying is competent within that sphere.

And frankly, it is not fair on a client if the interpreter sent along is very obviously ill-at-ease with speaking about the issues required. I'm not personally accusing the OP of being unprofessional, but if an agency keeps sending people out without briefing them, someone is eventually going to be perceptibly bothered to a distressed client about what they're interpreting.