Host: Kristen Burk
Guest: Oksana B., Ursula S., Albert O.
On June 25th, we tuned in with Albert, Oksana, and Ursula to learn more about notetaking as an interpreter. Hear from the experts about setting yourself up for success as an interpreter with AMN Healthcare.
[Kristen B.] Hello everybody, welcome to this month's AMN Live Q&A. We're so happy to be here! This month, we are talking about note-taking for interpreters, a very exciting topic. I can't wait to dive right in. But before we get into it, I just want to introduce myself first. My name is Kristen Burk, and I'm the manager of recruitment here for AMN Language Services. I'm joined by a few of my colleagues: Audrey, who's doing the interpreting for our ASL audience; we have Albert with us, Oksana, Ursula. Albert, would you like to go ahead and start by introducing yourself?
[Albert O.].Sure, thank you so much, Kristen. My name is Albert Ochoa. I am a Spanish interpreter with AMM now for a little bit over seven years. I've been interpreting for about 25 years of my life now. I've done probably every aspect I can think of, including medical, business, legal, law enforcement. So, it's been a pretty adventurous career so far, and looking forward to the trainings and what we have to share today. Thank you!
[Kristen B.] Awesome, thanks Albert. Oksana?
[Oksana B.] Yes, hello everyone. I'm a Russian interpreter. I don't have as much experience as my colleague Albert, but I've been doing this for the last six years and with the AMN company for over a year. I'm so excited to work here because I've been in this country for a while, but being a professional medical interpreter has been only for the last five to six years of my career. I'm definitely happy to continue my journey here with this company and get into our conversation. Thank you.
[Kristen B.] Excellent. And Ursula?
[Ursula S.] Yes, thank you, Kristen. My name is Ursula. I'm currently an instructional designer for AMN Healthcare, but I started my career as a Spanish interpreter as well. First, I focused on simultaneous interpreting, but then I did consecutive interpreting in the healthcare field. I joined the training team a few years ago, and I'm part of the instructional design team here at AMN.
[Kristen B.] So, this is a great brain trust here of subject matter experts. You all are very privileged to be in the space of these fine folks. Before we get into the questions, I just want to make sure our audience knows that the intention of this Q&A session is really about answering your questions.
We'll be giving you lots of valuable tips and information, but we want to hear from you. Make sure you are dropping your questions into the chat. We'll answer them to the best of our ability. Anything that I don't answer verbally in this livestream, we'll make sure and answer later on for you via text.
So let's go ahead and get right into it: note-taking. Why is note-taking important? If you're somebody who does not come from a professional interpreting background, you're probably thinking, what does note-taking have to do with interpreting? Interpreting is spoken, you know. So, let's answer that question. I guess we'll start with Albert. Why is note-taking important for the interpreting profession?
[Albert O.] Absolutely. You know, at the end of the day, we're only human. We can only retain so much information. So, having a well-organized note-taking system is definitely important because you can always refer back to what you're trying to say in this message. And of course, the more and more you practice it, the better your notes get. Your listening skills become a lot better in conjunction with your notes, so you can easily refer back to that and make sure that you don't miss anything in the conversation.
[Kristen B.] Excellent. Thank you so much. Oksana, do you want to maybe give the audience an idea of what kind of things you're taking notes on or maybe how you're taking notes as an interpreter, right? Because you're not sitting there writing everything down bit by bit. So, do you want to kind of explain what that looks like?
[Oksana B.] Absolutely. Note-taking is a lifesaver for our job. It's definitely helping us a lot. We can be really unique people and maybe think our memory is excellent, but note-taking is definitely a crucial help for our work. The main things, definitely when I start my note-taking, I always write names, numbers, date of birth, addresses. It always has to be on one side of my whiteboard, and I keep it there until the end of our session. It's very important, especially names. Who are you talking to? How can you present and ask the question? There's a little tip for note-taking for the Russian interpreter, because in our country, for example, date of birth, we start with the date and month, and it makes a very big impact on the person. If the person says it's, for example, the 12th of November, but we might interpret it as vice versa, because in the United States, it's a different way. It definitely always helps to clarify it and write it down, make sure you're on the right page.
[Kristen B.] And I'm sure when you're talking about prescriptions or dosages, things like that, it's crucial that you're writing that down so you can retain that information, right?
[Oksana B.] Absolutely. This is very important because the patient might not be paying attention. You have to write it down in your notes because they might ask this again and again. It's very important on a prescription or date of the appointment. Again, they might get mixed up, like June or July. It's always very important to write it down.
[Kristen B.] Yes, definitely. Thank you. Ursula, as you heard in her introduction, she's working on our training and development team. So, she is one of the folks creating training programs for our interpreters. From your perspective, Ursula, what kind of things do you all educate new or existing interpreters on as far as note-taking goes?
[Ursula S.] Thank you for that question. We develop training content to support interpreters at all stages of their careers, from comprehensive training programs that include note-taking to ongoing training pieces on note-taking to keep everyone abreast of everything that's happening in the note-taking world. On the one hand, our content is designed around techniques developed by experienced interpreting professionals like Andrew Gillies, which have been proven successful time and time again. These techniques include the SVO (subject-verb-object) order, best practices for using symbols and abbreviations, guidelines on what to note and what not to note. These fundamental techniques are essential for effective note-taking.
On the other hand, we also approach note-taking as an inherent part of the consecutive interpreting process. Consecutive interpreting demands that interpreters perform multiple cognitive functions simultaneously or sequentially, such as active listening, information retention, and accurate interpretation both linguistically and contextually, which is not simple. So, these tasks require significant mental effort. Our goal is to make note-taking almost second nature.
As the expert Andrew Gillies would say, these functions need to be internalized so that interpreters can focus their mental capacity on more demanding tasks. To achieve this, our training emphasizes the importance of consistent practice. We believe that efficient and helpful note-taking comes from repeated practice, which allows interpreters to streamline their note-taking process and reduce the cognitive load during actual interpreting sessions. By integrating these proven strategies and emphasizing practice, our training ensures that interpreters are well-equipped to manage the complexities of consecutive interpreting with greater ease and efficiency.
[Kristen B.] That's great. And I think you should host a podcast or something. You sound so eloquent and put together. You definitely sound like the subject matter expert. That's awesome. Thank you, Ursula.
Oh, and just another reminder for the audience, throw your comments out there, throw your questions out there. Even if you just want to say hello and let us know what state, country, or city you're chiming in from.
Reminder: we do hire here at AMN from the U.S. as well as Costa Rica and Mexico. So, if you're joining us from any of those locations, we would love to hear from you, even if it's just a little hello. And we did have Victor saying hello from Costa Rica, so nice to meet you, Victor.
Okay, Albert, have you ever had a time where you've not been able to read your notes? Just my little curiosity.
[Albert O.] Absolutely. Of course, practice makes perfect, so you do have to continue practicing. Like I was saying at the beginning, organization is key. You have to definitely maintain your notes. Recently, we had a little internal training on the subject-verb-object, and that was very good for me as a reminder of exactly what I'm taking notes about. But then there's also a form of organization in those subjects.
For example, there is a method called the diagonal method, and that's just simply the way that you take notes. So, you would put your subject first, and then towards the middle of the page or the middle of your notes space is your verb, and at the end is your object. And then any list that deviates from that on the objects would be vertical. So, very good organization techniques. It's definitely something that you'll learn to appreciate in the future, and the more you practice it, it just becomes second nature. And then at the beginning of every session, you start again with that subject-verb-object. So, that's something that has worked for me, and that way you don't have to think about not being able to understand what you're saying here.
[Kristen B.] That's great. And this is honestly very enlightening. It seems like, alright, taking notes, how much is there to talk about? But I'm learning so much, and I'm sure the audience is too. Thank you.
We have more questions, actually. I think this one might be for you, Ursula. Margarita is asking are there any books on note taking for interpreters that you could recommend?
[Ursula S.] Well, actually the book Britten by Andrew Gillies. I think that's a fantastic resource. It's called, it's really literal, “Notetaking for Consecutive Interpreting: A Short Course”, and for me, it was life-changing. When I was back in college, it was part of my lesson plan, and it basically covers all the techniques that interpreters can benefit from when they are starting to create their note-taking system, but it also emphasizes how, yes, techniques are important, practice is essential and the end goal is to find a note-taking system that works for you.
You have to find your groove because there are strategies that you know it's helpful to know and you can try them out but at the end of the day it's really what works for you and what you extract from these strategies that in the end makes your own note-taking system. But I definitely recommend that manual by Andrew Gillies. It's a great way to start.
[Kristen B.] Yeah, thank you for that. Excellent. And then Helga from Costa Rica “Hello”. Amaya from Guadalajara. Hello, you have an interesting background, and I'm sorry if I'm butchering your name, but this is someone who's a nurse, so I just wanted to call out that we love to see anyone with a medical background. We have avenues of training for anyone who may have a little bit of exposure to interpreting but has not done interpreting in a dedicated professional setting. Those who come from a medical background are always well positioned to train because you have that medical terminology understanding and that's really a great background. So if there is anyone interested in applying, the easiest way is of course to go to our website, and I think we can drop the links in the chat but also you can email LSRecruitment@amnhealthcare.com, and you can get a pretty quick response that way.
So, we'll get back to the questions in a second, but I wanted to ask Oksana, tell me about a time when note-taking may have changed the outcome of a call or had you not been taking notes the call would have gone a totally different way. Is there any story you'd like to share with us?
[Oksana B.] I can share many stories because I literally start taking notes immediately right away when we get into the conversation. It definitely might affect the session with the client or provider if you're not taking your notes because you might make a mistake and if you make a mistake, just admit it. You can clarify. You can ask and get into your session again. With the notetaking, it's crucial. The one word that you might hear is hypotension or hypertension could affect the whole conversation. It's very important and again I always take notes right away, and it helps a lot of us. And I'm a visual person. If I don’t take notes, it would be hard for me to remember what we were talking about and the flow of the interpretation.
[Kristen B.] Yeah, definitely. Thank you. That's great. Okay and, Ursula, can you explain to the audience, maybe for those who aren't familiar with HIPAA, a quick understanding of what HIPAA is and why it's important that we discard the notes and ways in which you can make sure that you're not making any HIPPA violations during a a session.
[Ursula S.] Yes, certainly. HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and it basically covers a lot on how to protect patients’ privacy and private information what we call PHI personal health information when we're working in the healthcare field. As interpreters, when we're taking notes, we are taking notes of personal health information that we need to protect, and we need to ensure that when we're done taking notes, we have a system where we can get rid of those notes. Shred them. I would say burn them, but that sounds like something that could cause an accident. So, we just need to make sure no one can access that information in any way. We need to find our own way. I know interpreters that have a shredder or interpreters that find their little spiritual moment at the end of the day by just tearing up the notes that they've taken. Some interpreters use digital means like a boogie board, that's how it's called, so they can erase the content as they go. That is also a great option but for us in the healthcare field. We need to ensure that our notes which include PHI go nowhere outside our private space.
[Kristen B.] Yeah, good. Thank you so much. So, Albert, do you have a preferred method in terms of like paper or the digital format? Talk to us a little bit about that.
[Albert O.] So, my preferred method is written. So, I still use pen and paper. Still taking notes as we speak. It's just such a habit, and I do have a shredder right next to my desk. That's part of my day. As soon as I'm done with my day, I shred every notes that I had for that shift, and I kind of get it out of sight, out of mind, and it's done.
I don't have to save it or think about it till the end of the week. So, I think that's the safest method that I’ve found for myself. But still with pen and paper.
[Kristen B.] Yes, this is reminding me too of high school. I remember I was one of those people that took so many notes, and then you have some that don't take any notes. They just want to listen, right? So, I'm sure this is where the training comes in handy because, for this profession, I'm sure there's a little bit of a sweet spot in addition to your own personal touch.
So let's hop into the chat to see if we have any more questions. We have Nardine from Boston. Hello! Luigi from New York City who's interested in becoming a professional interpreter. Great to have you! And we have Elizabeth from Costa Rica. Very nice to have you all!
So, no more questions so far, but I just wanted to kind of talk to the audience and let you all know that we have some serious hiring going on. Languages including Spanish, American Sign Language, Haitian Creole. We have Vietnamese, Mandarin, Cantonese and many more. So, if you're interested in gaining experience, if you're an experienced interpreter and you're interested in joining our dynamic team of remote interpreters, definitely reach out to us because right now is just a great time. I can't even tell you. My recruiting team is busier than we've ever been in the eight years that I've worked here, so now is a great time to join.
As we get a little bit towards the end we're going to start wrapping it up here. But I guess, just in general, Oksana, what kind of advice would you give to someone considering a career and interpretation. Doesn't have to be about note-taking but any advice about the profession that you'd like to pass on?
[Oksana B.] My personal advice is just do it. If you feel passion for this work, if you feel like you're bringing something bright to your job, be an interpreter, which is very essential in our days right now. And specifically when you're a remote interpreter, it's very convenient, and it's helping everyone also around the country and around the world not just the country. And it's a very good job. I am always satisfied. every single day of course it's going to be very stressful, but overall, by end of the day you feel like oh God you did a great job because you give yourself a prize. And I feel like I like to help people. If you are one of these people who like to interpret, who like to help someone who needs your brain, who needs your face, who needs your words, be there and help them.
[Kristen B.] Thank you, that's great, it really is. I mean, I'm not a professional interpreter myself, but the stories I've heard from the field of ways in which our interpreters have been able to touch the lives of others through their work, it's really beautiful.
Okay, so we have a couple more questions. Olive is asking, “Do we need Russian interpreters?” I think we do. Definitely apply or send us an email. That's one we might be a little covered on, but we've had needs on and off for months, so certainly reach out to us.
Alright, and Albert, anything you'd like to tell our audience for final thoughts here?
[Albert O.] You know, I would just like to piggyback on Oksana's comment. It is very rewarding and it's a service and a giving profession. So, if you feel compelled to that, definitely, it's, if it's in your heart, I think it is a profession that we do make a difference and to be able to help that person in need, it's life-changing not only for them but for us. So, I know it's definitely changed my way of looking at life, and it's definitely something that I would recommend if it's something that's in your heart. Do it knowing that it's a giving profession, it's a service profession, something to look forward to.
[Kristen B.] Okay, absolutely.
Okay and most of our jobs here are remote. We do have some in-person work as well in select cities around the U.S., but most of our job openings are remote, and I know that's what everybody wants to do these days is have a remote job, so it's always nice.
We have a question from Nora, and she's asking “Are you hiring Arabic remote interpreters?” This is another one we kind of always have needs on and off. I think we might be covered at the moment, but definitely send us an email. We'll keep a resume on file and as soon as we get another opening, we'll let you know.
Okay, and Nester is interested from Mexico. Well, yes, thank you, Nester, looking forward to hearing from you too.
So, Ursula, any final thoughts you'd like to give our audience?
[Ursula S.] Well, I think Oksana and Albert covered it, but what I would say, in addition to, you know, feeling this purpose when you're working, which I think it does happen all the time, it's so fun, interpreting, once you find your way, it's really an exciting career. You get to learn so much, you get to, you know, be in situations that you wouldn't have had the opportunity to be in. And what you mentioned, doing it remotely, it's really a magical combination. So, as an interpreter, when I found healthcare interpreting and it, as Oksana mentioned, it can be overwhelming from time to time, but the way what you get to learn, what you're exposed to in terms of, you know, linguistics, ethics, interpreting overall, it's really a magnificent opportunity, yes.
[Kristen B.] Yes, some of our interpreter friends here are like almost like doctors. They're not qualified to give medical advice, but I'll talk to them about health things, and I'm like, "Whoa, you really know a lot, that's amazing, you've become a problem-- like, doctors won't like you. But, hey, you're informed” So that's nice, yes, excellent.
Well, thank you so much. Thank you Audrey, for your interpretation. Albert, Ursula, Oksana, it was great to have your perspective and your insight. And thank you so much to the audience.
So this is something we do every other month. Stay tuned on our website or on LinkedIn for additional details of our next session It was great being here and sharing these note-taking insights with you all. Thank you for your time. Have a great day!
