Why read?

Reading is life! I am an unapologetic bookworm and I attribute my success in learning English to my insatiable appetite for reading. In addition, by reading books about doctors and medicine, I have gained insight into the medical world and have learned a myriad of new words and expressions that helped me do my job of a medical interpreter.

As I wrote in this post, where I recommend that medical interpreters watch TV shows in order to improve their medical vocabulary and get some interpreting practice, stimulating input is a key factor in learning. And chances are, if you are a medical interpreter (or are thinking about becoming one), you are interested in medicine. This is where books about medicine come in! Please note that the books I`m talking about are not medical textbooks on anatomy and such, and neither are they novels set in hospitals. I’m talking about books about medicine and medical providers, often written in the form of memoirs. Such books are a perfect source of the following:

general insight into the world of medicine and medical training

information on diseases, symptoms, treatments, complications, and outcomes

medical vocabulary, which can be general or specialized depending on the book

interpreting skills practice (see the section on audiobooks below for more details on how to practice).

Below is a collection of resources that can be used to practice consecutive and simultaneous interpreting skills, and sight translation skills. I am hoping these resources will be useful for healthcare interpreters with all levels of experience – those just starting out and preparing to take their exams or their first assignments, or those with years of experience wanting to brush up on a specific topic. This list is constantly updated as I find new resources and I welcome your suggestions – leave a comment below or get in touch using the Contact tab.

Medical Dialogues and Scenarios

Video and audio-based medical dialogues and role-plays

Kelly Grzech Henriquez’s channel is a treasure trove of videos with medical scenarios she personally created for medical interpreters to use to practice consecutive interpreting.
Interpreting in Healthcare: Resources for Practitioners, Healthcare Interpreters and Service Users from The University of Glasgow. These 5 films have been developed directly from the experiences of health care practitioners, interpreters and migrant service users.
Nursing Simulation Scenarios: These are a series of nursing simulation scenarios created to educate nursing students but are also great resource for interpreters.
Communication Skills: A Patient-Centered Approach. The first 10 minutes of the video is a simulation of a medical dialogue with a patient complaining of a headache.
English-Spanish interpreting practice videos
Chest pain medical dialogue: a simulation of a doctor taking medical history
Clinical History taking simulation
UVa Clinical Skills videos is a collection of videos aimed at medical students, showing clinical procedures and exams. Skip the text description at the beginning and go straight to the video depicting exams/procedures.