Interpreter Specialist **Internal UMC Employees**

As an academic medical center with a rich history of providing life-saving treatment in Southern Nevada, UMC serves as the anchor hospital of the Las Vegas Medical District, offering Nevada’s highest level of care to promote successful medical outcomes for patients. UMC is home to Nevada's ONLY Nonprofit Level I Trauma Center, Verified Burn Center, and Multi-Organ Transplant Center. In 2026, we became the FIRST and ONLY Magnet®-Recognized hospital in the state, reflecting UMC's nursing professionalism, teamwork, and superiority in patient care.

About the Role

Performs professional level interpretation for assigned departments to include simultaneous, consecutive modes of interpretation and sight translations. May provide general, routine interpretation in clinical and/or ancillary areas.

Responsibilities

• Accurately and completely transmit information between patient and provider.
• Effectively use mnemonic devices to aid retention of information.
• Use simultaneous and consecutive modes of interpretation and sight translation, transitioning between modes with ease.
• Establish the interpreter's role, providing clear and well-paced communication.
• Adjust to the demands of the situation while maintaining the linguistic register and style of the speaker.
• Manage spatial configuration to maximize communication.
• Remain calm in high stress, emergent, or emotionally difficult situations.
• Verify and ensure understanding of the message to be transmitted.
• Identify and correct own mistakes.
• Use initiative and independent judgment within general policy guidelines.
• Accurately translate non-clinical hospital documents.
• Coordinate staff schedules to cover workflow, assign and monitor the work of others, and evaluate quality control.
• Write clear and concise reports and deliver effective training.
• Problem solve and use computers and related software applications.
• Communicate with a wide variety of people from diverse socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with all personnel contacted in the course of duties.
• Ensure efficient, effective, and safe use of equipment.

Requirements

• Graduation or certification from an accredited school of interpretation or training program.
• One year of experience as an interpreter in a medical setting.
• Professional level experience is defined as being employed in an FLSA exempt/salaried status position.
• 1+ years of experience as a Spanish Interpreter.
• 1+ year of experience in a hospital setting.

Qualifications

• National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters (CMI) or The Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI). Must obtain certification within six (6) months of hire. Failure to obtain and/or maintain certification will result in termination of employment.

Skills

• Knowledge of modes of interpretation (consecutive, simultaneous, first or third person, sight translation).
• Medical, anatomy, and physiology terminology and other technical terms related to the assigned area in both English and the target language.
• Linguistic registers and styles spoken within the designated language groups.
• Interpreter code of ethics and rules of cultural etiquette and/or institutional norms.
• Title VI federal law as it relates to LEP patients.
• Federal, state, and regulatory statutes related to non-discrimination and the provision of interpreter services to LEP patients.
• Customer service principles and practices.
• Personal computers, department, and hospital safety practices and procedures.
• Patient rights and age-specific patient care practices.
• Infection control policies and practices.
• Handling, storage, use, and disposal of hazardous materials.
• Department and hospital emergency response policies and procedures.

Benefits

• Employer-paid pension plan (Nevada PERS).
• Competitive salary and benefits package.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this classification.