UofL Hospital
530 S Jackson St
Louisville, KY 40202

Rotating (United States of America)
About UofL Health:
UofL Health is a fully integrated regional academic health system with five hospitals, four medical centers, nearly 200 physician practice locations, more than 700 providers, the Frazier Rehab Institute and Brown Cancer Center.
With more than 12,000 team members—physicians, surgeons, nurses, pharmacists and other highly skilled health care professionals—UofL Health is focused on one mission: delivering patient-centered care to each and every patient each and every day.
Position Summary and Purpose
This position will provide spoken-language interpreter services for patients, families, staff, visitors, physicians, and others regarding consents, medical treatments, discharges, instructions, and other concerns as needed. The interpreter in this position will accurately and completely convey information between patient and provider; manage the flow of communication; facilitate rapport between the provider and patient; recognize and address clarifications both cultural and in language to ensure accurate and complete understanding. These duties enable patients and families to effectively communicate which allows UofL Health to achieve optimal patient outcomes. Other duties include assisting the manager in problem-solving with patient and family communication needs and proactively identifying opportunities for improving services to our limited-English proficient (LEP)/Deaf/ Hard of Hearing (HOH) patient and family population.
Essential Functions:
- Performs spoken language interpretation for LEP patients, families, staff and visitors; interpreted information includes, but is not limited to, giving directions and instructions for medical care, explaining hospital policies and procedures, informing and obtaining medical consents, and providing other verbal interpretation as needed to ensure a positive patient and family experience; communicates effectively with persons from various educational and socio-economic backgrounds
- Follows and adheres to national interpreter standards of practice and ethical codes of conduct
- Serves as cultural broker to educate and provide clarification to hospital staff, physicians, clinicians and patients/families on differences between LEP community culture and culture of medicine
- May be asked to assist in translation and/or editing both medical and non-medical hospital documentation from English to target language (may on occasion need to translate from target language to English), as directed by manager
- Educates hospital staff, physicians and clinicians on the importance of using interpretation and translations services, when needed, including the proper use of over-the-phone, video remote and in-person interpreters, as well as accessing translated forms and/or other auxiliary aids
- Makes recommendations as appropriate for additional language assistance and corresponding programs, marketing, and services
- Ensures that patients and families understand the information presented, seeking assistance and clarification when needed; acts as an advocate for patients and ensure that they are comfortable with what is happening in their medical treatment and that anxiety is reduced
- Appropriately and regularly documents time spent interpreting during encounters as directed by manager
- Rounds on LEP/Deaf/HOH inpatients, as needed, to confirm patient language needs and identify safety issues
- Assists admissions staff, medical staff, and ancillary services in gathering background information on patients, as needed, including rounding on patients who are LEP/deaf/HOH
- Investigates and problem-solves communication issues for LEP persons
- May be asked to conduct, prepare, assist or participate in internal medical interpretation and translation classes and/or other educational programs to enhance cultural competency and language services compliance of the general hospital population
- Travels, as needed, to other locations within UofL Health
Other Functions:
- Maintains positive working relationships with staff and physicians, including manager and fellow interpreters
- Maintains a professional presence with patients and families; does not speak for or about patients and families but facilitates the conversation between them and their care team
- Remains current on the latest developments, advancements, and trends in the field of language assistance/interpretation/translation and incorporates appropriate ideas into a clinical setting
- Maintains knowledge of applicable laws, rules, regulations, policies, etc. that impact language assistance and ensure compliance in all areas
- Acquires continuing education credits of at least four (4) hours per year or the amount required for national certification renewal, if applicable
- Maintains compliance with all company policies, procedures and standards of conduct
- Complies with HIPAA privacy and security requirements to maintain confidentiality at all times
- Performs other duties as assigned
Job Requirements
(Education, Experience, Licensure and Certification)
Education/Training:
- High school diploma or GED/equivalent (required)
- Successful completion of hospital approved interpretation training program, such as Bridging the Gap, 40 hours minimum (required)
- Documentation of successful completion of a hospital approved language proficiency assessment (required)
- Associates or Bachelor’s degree in a social science field or language (preferred)
Experience:
- Prior experience in medical interpretation (required)
- Minimum two (2) years of experience in medical interpretation (preferred)
Certification:
- Successful completion of a nationally recognized certification process such as CMI (National Board of Medical Interpreters) or CHI (Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters) national certification (preferred)
Job Competency:
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities critical to this role:
- Displays service excellence – responsive, informs constituents of process, pleasant to work with, educates and provides timely, accurate information
- Remains organized – manages time effectively, keeps tasks appropriately prioritized
- Displays flexibility – able to change directions as needed for the good of the department or organization
- Strong Interpersonal skills – can build effective, strong working relationships with employees, colleagues, management and vendors through trust, communication, and credibility
- Must be able to clearly communicate instructions, questions, and answers in both English and target language based on the patient, family member, or employee’s preferred language
- Knowledge of medical terminology
Language Ability:
- Must be able to clearly communicate instructions, questions, and answers in both English and target language based on the patient, family member, or consumer’s preferred language
Reasoning Ability:
- Ability to break down problems or tasks; using own knowledge and experience to identify causes and consequences of events for future solutions
Computer Skills:
- Knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, Access and Outlook, as well as other internal systems
- Must have the capacity to learn other relevant systems and databases, as needed
Additional Responsibilities:
- Demonstrates a commitment to service, organization values and professionalism through appropriate conduct and demeanor at all times
- Maintains confidentiality and protects sensitive data at all times
- Adheres to organizational and department specific safety standards and guidelines
- Works collaboratively and supports efforts of team members
- Demonstrates exceptional customer service and interacts effectively with physicians, patients, residents, visitors, staff and the broader health care community
UofL Health Core Expectation:
At UofL Health, we expect all our employees to live the values of honesty, integrity and compassion and demonstrate these values in their interactions with others and as they deliver excellent patient care by:
- Honoring and caring for the dignity of all persons in mind, body, and spirit
- Ensuring the highest quality of care for those we serve
- Working together as a team to achieve our goals
- Improving continuously by listening, and asking for and responding to feedback
- Seeking new and better ways to meet the needs of those we serve
- Using our resources wisely
- Understanding how each of our roles contributes to the success of UofL Health
