Certified Spanish Interpreter - Certified, Full-Time, Days

About the role

At Northwestern Medicine, every patient interaction makes a difference in cultivating a positive workplace. This patient-first approach is what sets us apart as a leader in the healthcare industry. As an integral part of our team, you'll have the opportunity to join our quest for better health care, no matter where you work within the Northwestern Medicine system. We pride ourselves on providing competitive benefits: from tuition reimbursement and loan forgiveness to 401(k) matching and lifecycle benefits, our goal is to take care of our employees. Ready to join our quest for better?

Responsibilities

• Provides medical and general interpreting services to patients, family members, support persons and healthcare providers and other staff in accordance with the National Standards of Practice (NCIHC). This includes interpreting during consultations and diagnostic testing; medical procedures and operations; the consent process and educational forums.
• Ensures that the patient’s and family’s needs are communicated to healthcare providers and staff.
• Screens multiple requests for interpreters and prioritizes requests based on urgency of need.
• Assists the healthcare team in problem solving and complaint resolution related to the limited English-Proficient population.
• Participates in ongoing professional development to maintain practice in accordance with professional medical interpreting standards.
• Initiates and develops positive relationships with patients, visitors, healthcare providers, fellow interpreters and staff, exhibiting respect, flexibility and cooperation at all times.
• Serves as a cultural mediator, as necessary and when appropriate, to enhance communication between American culture staff and native culture patients/families, as it relates to medical care.
• Supports and participates in the continuous assessment and improvement of the interpretation services program.
• Assists with other departmental functions as assigned.
• Actively participates in staff meetings and mandatory in-services.
• Maintains documentation of all interpretation encounters, to include relevant data such as location, duration, and purpose.
• Documents all interpreting encounters accurately and completely, including patient refusals of interpreting services.
• Maintains accurate records of productivity, work volumes, and interpreting requests.
• Proven software competencies (Excel, Word).
• Adaptable to relevant software necessary for data tracking and trending.

Qualifications

• Education: Completion of high school education or equivalent.
• Certification: Must hold a certificate of completion substantiating formal training and qualifications for medical interpreting in accordance with the National Standards of Practice (NCIHC).
• Experience: Minimum of three years’ experience in providing medical interpreting in an acute care setting.
• Behavioral