This week our medical interpreters were recognized for all of their efforts to help. Shaare Zedek Medical Center’s medical interpreters are native speakers of Arabic, Russian and Amharic and work across different departments in the hospital. The medical staff calls them in specific situations where patients do not speak Hebrew and their assistance is needed to ensure that the patients understand what is going on and to help ensure that the medical staff is receiving accurate information.

The interpreters provide their services in addition to their everyday responsibilities in the hospital. Ms. Efrat Cohen, a social worker at Shaare Zedek who is also responsible for Cultural Competency, coordinates their efforts. She shared, “It is incredible to see the impact that they can have. We have had situations where the medical staff needed to know what had happened in order to determine a course of treatment…Or patients who need to be told specific instructions and the medical staff was not sure that they understood. The interpreters have become an integral part of Shaare Zedek, their translation efforts typically also lower anxiety levels and put patients at ease.”

This week, Shaare Zedek thanked these dedicated translators for their efforts to contribute to our patient’s experience and for all of their help to the other members of the staff. Dr.Michal Schuster, a Cultural Competency Consultant from the Jerusalem Intercultural Center attended this special event as well.

We thank the staff and guides and translators for their work.

If you are interested in becoming a medical interpreter (if you are from Shaare Zedek or not), we will be offering another training session in medical interpretation at Shaare Zedek in January. Please call 02-6666927 for additional details.