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US healthcare facilities stress the importance of having a standard practice for medical interpreters nationwide. Medical terms are generally made of four parts (prefix, root, suffix, and combining vowels). While roots are always present, because they convey the core of the meaning, the other parts of medical words can occur or not. The combining vowel is only used to link the other word parts. Medical terms usually derive from Greek or Latin words, or from the name of doctors who made historic discoveries in the medical field.
Medical Interpreters must take care of learning the correct terminology to be used in each context. Breaking up the words in different parts will help a medical interpreter remember the meaning of each word, since memory is one of the best allied to interpreters. In particular, understanding terms that have a Latin origin will probably be easier for Spanish or Italian native speakers, as for speakers of other languages deriving from Latin.
The MiTio Medical Terminology Module helps learning useful terminology to describe the characteristics and context of emerging infectious diseases. At the moment, with the COVID-19 pandemic, this terminology has proven extremely useful to describe current trends.
Live Practice Sessions with MiTio tutors support the theoretical knowledge acquired during the Medical Terminology Module. Through the live practice sessions, interpreters learn about the importance of reasoning an focusing on choosing every single word accurately. The trainer may remind students, for instance, that interpreters should always use the formal treatment “Usted” when interpreting in Spanish, and that proper nouns always have to be kept in the original language.
For more information on the Online Medical Terminology Course for Interpreters, click on the MiTio link.
