Virology Terminology Resources for Medical Interpreters: from COVID-19 and HIV to Vaccines and Immunity

In light of the global pandemic, viruses have been in the news and on our mind – and while it certainly has brought viruses into the spotlight, they actually existed 3.5 billion years before humans evolved on Earth! Viruses are also most numerous microbes on earth – there are more viruses than bacteria and there are more viruses than all forms of life put together, including humans and animals!

Aside from COVID-19, there are many more viruses that medical interpreters may encounter: from HIV and HPV to measles and hepatitis. I put these resources together to supplement a class I developed (Virology for Medical Interpreters), but this blog post can be used a standalone resource to help medical interpreters learn more about virology, viruses and diseases they can cause, as well as how these diseases can be prevented and/or treated.

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Breathe in, breathe out: respiratory system resources for medical interpreters

Whether you are a medical interpreting student preparing for medical interpreter certification exams or a working medical interpreter looking for a quick refresher on the respiratory system in order to prepare for an interpreting assignment, this collection of resources on respiratory health and respiratory diseases is here to help. Alternatively, you can skip to the end of the article where you’ll find some videos with medical dialogues to help you keep your interpreting skills sharp.

In this post, I put together resources related to anatomy of the respiratory system, as well as diagnosis and treatment of respiratory conditions and diseases. As you are reading, wathching and listening to various sources in this article, you could:

Engage in terminology mining – that it, finding words and phrases that are new to you or that might be familiar to you in English, but need to be looke up in your working language(s). Just remember to add the new terminology you learn along the way to your personal glossary!
Practice simultanious and consecutive interpreting skills – whether it’s shadowing or note-taking.

Respiratory System: Anatomy and Physiology

Let’s start with basics: the anatomy and physiology. As a medical interpreter, this section will help you in several ways. Firstly, background knowledge and understanding of the respratory system inner workings will promote accuracy in your interpreting. Secondly, when explaining diagnoses and treatment plans, providers often desctibe relevant anatomy and physiology – so by learning this termonology in English and your working language(s), you will be able to interpet in such appointements with full confidence!

The lungs and pulmonary system lesson from Khan Academy
Crash Course videos on Respiratory System, Part 1 and Part 2 – and they also come with flash cards to help you review. The cards can be found on the free Crash Course app (Apple Devices and Android Devices)
Breathtaking Lungs: Their Function and Anatomy – a very detailed and clear explanation of how we breathe. There are more links below the main text for articles devoted to a more detailed look at specific parts of the respiratory system such as pulmonary trunk and various sections of the lungs.
Respiratory system (pulmonary system) anatomy – a detialed explanation wiht helpful diagrams.

Medical providers in pulmonary and respiratory care

Day in the Life – Pulmonary Critical Care Doctor. Follow Dr. Jamie Rutland, an attending pulmonary critical care physician in Southern California throughout his day.
Inside the world of Pulmonology. Ever wonder exactly what a pulmonologist does on a daily basis? Wonder what a chest xray actually is? Find out on this episode of Medicine Deconstructed.
A Day in the Life of a Respiratory Therapist. Here’s a closer look at the work respiratory therapists perform in critical illness recovery hospitals across the country.
Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: Respiratory therapists play critical role in treating COVID-19 patients. Dr. Daniel Diedrich, a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist and critical care physician, discusses the role of the respiratory therapist from the time a patient presents with COVID-19 all the way through that patient’s discharge.
Good Respiratory Therapist Bad Respiratory Therapist. In this podcast espisode, the hosts discuss respiratory therapists and how much nurses rely on them for their knowledge and expertise of the respiratory system. They will tell the story of a “bad respiratory therapist” who was accused of an unspeakable crime against his wife. They close out the show with a good respiratory therapist who has saved lives with CPR in the community on two separate occasions!
What to Expect from a Visit with a Sleep Specialist

Respiratory System Procedures, Tests and Treatments

From pulmonary function test to sleep study, be ready to interpret in any of these appointments!

Lung Procedures, Tests & Treatments from the American Lung Association (a list with short descriptions)
Common lung diagnostic tests from WebMD
Sleep Study: What to Expect | IU Health (video)
How A Pulmonary FunctionTest Works (video)
Read about Tracheostomy: A tracheostomy provides an air passage to help you breathe when the usual route for breathing is somehow blocked or reduced
Communicating with tracheostomy patients (video)
Pulmonary Rehabilitation | Nucleus Health (video)
Pneumonia | Discharge Instructions | Nucleus Health (video)
Asthma Discharge Education for parents (video)
Potential Cure For Chronic Cough (video)

Respiratory System Disorders, Conditions and Diseases

Lung Diseases from MedlinePlus – lots and lots of useful resources and links.
COVID-19 RESOURCES from Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI) – from multilingual glossaries to webinar recordings, it’s a treasure trove of information.
Lung Disease Lookup from the American Lung Association (cards with names and brief description of each disease with links to read more)
What Do You Want to Know About Asthma? a detailed article from Healthline
Understanding COPD (video)
Interstitial Lung Disease (video)
Understanding Obstructive Sleep Apnea (video)
Tuberculosis: symptoms, tests and treatment from Healthine
What do I do if I have a lung nodule? (video)
Cystic Fibrosis: what it is and what to expect from a hospital visit (video)
Life With Pulmonary Fibrosis | What is Pulmonary Fibrosis? (video)

Translated Materials

Check each link for the languages avaialble, examples of language translations are Arabic, Bosnian, Chinese, French, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese

Interpreting Practice Dialogues and Role-Plays

Medical dialogue – a provider interviews a patient complaining of Breathlessness
Consecutive Interpreting Practice (EN to EN): I Think I have Coronavirus! – one of the many videos created and recorded by Kelly Grzech Henriquez
Medical dialogue – Respiratory examination
Incentive Spirometer demonstration for pre-op patient
Discussing surgery complications (thracheostomy) with a family member. The dialogues are broken up by instructions on delivering bad news (aimed at medical students) so just skip those.
Doctor discusses his own symptoms and ultrasound while being sick with COVID-10
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: What’s the cause of my cough? Two patients are interviewed about how IPF and coughing have affected their daily lives.

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More about the author: About Yuliya Speroff

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Idioms for Medical Interpreters: Practice Activities

This blog post is a collection of practice activities meant both to accompany my webinar on Interpreting Idioms and Cultural References and also provide opportunities for self-study. If you haven’t attended my webinar, read this blog post which will provide you with an overview of strategies for interpreting idioms:Idioms for Medical Interpreters.

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Thank You For the Words: Building Your Interpreter Glossary

I’m not sure where this drawing is from but from time to time it makes rounds in various interpreter groups on social media. Aside from being funny, the image captures the true nature of the interpreter profession: it’s a highly-skilled job. Being a good interpreter involves well-developed listening and speaking skills, a strong memory, note-taking skills, sound knowledge of the code of ethics in your chosen field(s) – and being the proverbial embodiment of a walking dictionary.

It’s certainly true that no one can know ALL of the words related to a particular subject – after all, the English language contains roughly 1 million words, and most adult native English speakers have a vocabulary which includes only a fraction of that – about 20,000–35,000 words. However, interpreters must possess a professional vocabulary that encompasses a wide variety of terms they can expect to encounter on a daily basis, be it medical, legal or political terminology. The building of your glossary starts when you begin preparing for certification exams and stops… well, never. It never stops. Even the most knowledgable and experienced interpreter will encounter new words and expressions or will need to prepare for a new kind of assignment. So, as interpreters, we need a way to work with our personal glossaries: organizing terminology, learning it, revising it, and sharing it with others. This blog post will suggest some options for glossary management.

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For Interpreters by Interpreters: Useful Resources and Interesting Content

Sometimes, it can be hard for interpreters and translators to meet in person. My friend and a fellow interpreter Angelika and I work for many of the same agencies and often take appointments at the same hospitals, and so we often joke that our favorite meeting place is hospital parking garages – because that’s where we often meet and snatch a few minutes of hurried catch-up before running off to our respective assignments. There are, of course, conferences and other events put on by professional organizations and associations – I’m a proud member of NOTIS (The Northwest Translators and Interpreters Society), which not only organizes classes and workshops for interpreters (some of which I teach) but also puts on a fabulous annual conference (which this year took place in the Museum of Flight!) and fun holiday parties.

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Conferences, workshops and holiday parties are a great opportunity to learn, to network and to meet new friends (and to show off your ugly Christmas sweater!), but how do you connect with fellow interpreters and translators outside of such events? Luckily, we language professionals are nothing if not resourceful and there are many online communities, blogs, groups and other places where interpreters and translators can talk, ask for advice, and share their wisdom and experience with others. This blog post will outline some resources and content created by interpreters, for interpreters – and translators, too!

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