SPRING 2022 | ISSUE 5

THE HUB The official newsletter of the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters (NBCMI)

A Message from our Chair

WRITTEN BY: XIOMARA ARMAS, CMI -SPANISH, BBA

Spring is in the air...

I love the saying: "An optimist is the human personification of spring". Spring is one of my favorite seasons because of everything it represents. It is not just the change of the season to warmer temperatures, more time outdoors, blooming flowers, birds building nests, but the rebirth and renewal. Everything looks brighter and greener and new hope for a better year away from the pandemic fills our hearts with a sense of progress and excitement.

Regardless of our optimism, there is always something else to worry about for humanity: War. There are so many countries suffering conflicts at the present, but by far Russian-Ukraine has taken center stage in a media feeding frenzy. Many colleagues have expressed frustration-some perceive that this war seems to be viewed under a different light than earlier global conflicts that affected them personally. People with family and friends in Ukraine and Russia may feel an even greater degree of grief and despair. Other groups—including veterans, immigrants and refugees—may experience post-traumatic distress.

The whole world has transformed into a state where everyone has to choose among fear, hostility and hatred. Athletes and artists have been seriously impacted not because of their beliefs but their nationality, erasing our faith in "neutrality" for those worlds. The source and severity of reactions will differ among the different places we work at, including restaurants, schools and community services, turning the workplace in a peril environment. As a National Certification Institution, a community of Professional Interpreters, and as citizens of the world, this provides the opportunity to show care and concern for the Interpreter community, to learn from, explore and lead at a difficult time, with compassion and empathy.

Now, perhaps more than ever, it is really important that we think about how our actions affect others and the world around us. Despite the hardships, I am inspired by stories of our hard-working community continuing to care and serve our LEP patients and families, and to strive to do the right thing in their communities and beyond in the hope of this better tomorrow. The National Board has given great thought to how we can boost that proactive force for good on an ample scale in our everyday work and strengthen our commitment to our community, ensuring we are thorough with what is right, not just what is needed.

No one should be judged by their nationality or heritage. We encourage our community from all backgrounds, who feels affected or discriminated against to take this opportunity to re-familiarize yourself with the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the general standards regarding political speech in the workplace, and support services available. States like California may have their own legislation protecting employees against discrimination. "Federal equal employment laws prohibit discrimination based on national origin, including ethnic background. The EEOC's position is that treating someone unfavorably because of their ethnic background or national origin is illegal..." (1)

It is unknown what the future holds and we have learned this with the pandemic, but we all must be prepared to deal with long-lasting effects of global crisis. Let's keep going with optimism and contribute as we continue each day as global citizens, handling new and sometimes conflicting priorities, protecting our rights, our family, our safety, our children, our work, with faith on humanity's power of rebirth and renewal.

Wishing you the best always,

Xiomara Armas, CMI-Spanish, BBA NBCMI Chair

(1) Elizabeth Whitman. Whitman Legal Solutions, LLC. March 21, 2022. Can Employers stop Employees Retrieved from: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/can-employers-stop-employees-from-7887720/

Call for Nominations

Celebrations

From: NAETISL
Skills Intertwined: The Intersection of Interpreting in Medical and Education Settings - Part I

"Can you interpret for a meeting this afternoon," as a newly hired interpreter in the largest and most diverse school district in my state, I was hesitant to decline this request. On the one hand, the interpreting requests were piling up, along with the volume of translations that needed to be ready for printing and publishing the next day. On the other hand, as the only official Spanish interpreter for over 130 schools, I understood the urgency of this request and the importance of supporting language access and family engagement through communication. "Sure! Can you tell me what the meeting is about?" I learned to ask this question after working for over a decade as a medical interpreter/social worker/translator for a large children's hospital. I was confident that my medical terminology and my skills as a medical interpreter would transfer easily to my work as a school interpreter.

"It's a special education meeting for a child with Williams Syndrome," said the school Principal. I thought, "this can't be that hard," after all, while working at the hospital I interpreted numerous times for our genetic counselors and worked directly with families with rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorders such as Williams Syndrome. I pictured myself accessing vocabulary files in my brain with terms such as "failure to thrive," "gross and fine motor skills," "chromosome deletion," and "congenital heart defect." In my mind, I was ready. The special education meeting started smoothly and I was able to keep up, feeling proud of how I was weaving my skills as a medical and educational interpreter. Suddenly, the conversation shifted to the child's working memory abilities, phonics instruction, rapid word object associations and phonological skills. Suddenly, I had a parent and six teachers staring and waiting for me to come up with something or anything! Suddenly, I realized how unprepared I really was. The techniques of interpreting can certainly transfer from health to education. However, we must also appreciate the uniqueness of the vocabulary, goals and approaches of the education setting and its focus on strengthening home-school connections. This was a humbling experience indeed, but one that fueled me to start creating and promoting professional development opportunities for interpreters like me with a desire and interest in intertwining skills and approaches.

Ana Soler, Chairperson of the National Association of Educational Translators and Interpreters of Spoken Languages (NAETISL)

Upcoming Events

If you are attending please stop by our booth and say Hi

We hope you will join us May 13th-14th, 2022 in beautiful San Jose, CA for CHIA's 22nd Annual Educational Conference. This years theme; "Give Your Skills a Booster". Stop by our booth in the exhibitors hall and pick up some swag. Don't forget to attend as we present "Advocacy for Health Equity: A Contemporary Approach". Co-presenter; our Chair, Xiomara Armas, CMI-Spanish, BBA & our Secretary, Gustavo Negrete, CMI-Spanish

We are honored not only to be Bronze Sponsors of the 2022 Paving the Way Conference, organized by Massachusetts Medical Interpreter Training, but absolutely thrilled that our very own Industry Representative, Dr. Ying Shi will be presenting - "Welcome to the National Board's Medical Interpreter Credentials Programs". Stop by our virtual booth and say hello.

As with other conferences, we hope you can join us at NAJIT's 43rd Annual Conference titled; "Navigating the Waters of Change". This year, one of our esteemed directors will be presenting virtually on Saturday, June 4th in the Main Conference Session - How to become a Certified / Credentialed Medical Interpreter 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM (EDT)

United We Grow LEO's 5th International Virtual Conference Location: Online Date: June 23-24, 2022 Time: 4-6 PM EST / 1-3 PM PST on Thursday 10 AM-6:30 PM EST / 7 AM-3:30 PM PST on Friday https://linguisteducationonline.com/leo-5th-conference/

National Association of Educational Translators and Interpreters of Spoken Languages (NAETISL) is hosting their Second Annual Virtual Conference. What's new this year? A full three-day agenda with speakers joining us from Mexico, France, Spain, Peru and the United States, and a panel of bilingual/multilingual parents and caregivers sharing their experiences with interpreters and translators in education. We hope to see you there.

Interpreters and Volunteers Needed

• Gain personal satisfaction and inspiration by supporting motivated future scientists and engineers
• Advance STEM education in your community
• Earn community service or outreach credit from your business, school or institution

For more information, email [email protected]

Interesting Articles

Calls for interpreters to become legal requirement for NHS providers Health watchdogs are calling for interpreters to be made a legal requirement for all healthcare settings after a survey exposed worrying gaps in the service. As part of national research, Healthwatch Norfolk quizzed people with English as their second language about their experiences of accessing healthcare in the county.
Read more - https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/health/healthwatch-calls-for-interpreters-in-nhs-8778556

International Booker Juror Calls for Royalties for Translators "Less than a week after the International Booker Prize jury released its 2022 longlist, the chair of that jury has called today (March 15) for publishers to pay translators royalties on the sales of books they translate. Frank Wynne is the first translator to chair the International Booker jury, and in a move sure to encourage those who champion literary translation and translators, the Booker Foundation has endorsed Wynne's position, taking it a step further."

https://publishingperspectives.com/2022/03/international-booker-jury-chair-calls-for-royalties-for-translators/

A Framework for Language Access: Key Features of U.S. State and Local Language Access Laws and Policies This report analyzes key elements of language access laws and policies across 40 states and localities. Although these laws and policies often take cues from federal guidance on language access, they also contain many unique and innovative elements necessary to ensure language access in the day-to-day functions of state and local governments. And while these mandates are rooted in their local contexts, they share common features that can provide a foundational framework for other jurisdictions interested in improving their service capacity and governance of language access.

https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/state-local-language-access-policies