I am a medical interpreter, working primarily onsite, and as an independent contractor, I work with several local agencies. And, as in practically every other work, mine has also been affected by COVID-19.
My schedule has always been unpredictable, and along with last-minute requests, cancellations and patient no-shows were nothing unusual. However, as of mid-March, just as the first stay-at-home order was issued in my state, there had been nothing but cancellations and no-shows. Then, the appointments stopped coming.
Although one agency was still sending me requests, they were mostly at the local hospital where all the COVID-19 patients were being seen at the time.
Every time I got a request, part of me wanted to take that job – after all, I still had to earn a living and this might be the only job I could get that day. I was also concerned that if no one was out there to interpret, patients would be left without adequate access to the language. On the other hand, I wondered if that hourly rate was worth the risk I was taking entering the hospital, when not much was known about the virus and universal mask wearing had yet to be adopted.
This dilemma became even more pressing the following week. An agency called me, asking if I could make a last-minute appointment for an MRI scan at a local hospital. When I arrived at the hospital, I put on a cloth mask that a friend had made for me and headed to my destination – which, to my utter shock, turned out to be the COVID-19 isolation unit. The nursing staff had to wear hazmat-style gowns and helmets with air pumps to enter the patients’ room – and here I was, with a handmade flowered cloth mask.
In the end, even though a nurse found a face shield and surgical mask for me, I didn’t need them as the procedure was cancelled. That task raised many questions: How do I stay safe when I’m working? As a freelance interpreter, how can I access PPE such as masks? Is it irresponsible for me to continue to make appointments at the location and risk bringing the virus back into my family? What will happen if I get sick? And if neither I nor my fellow interpreters make this appointment, will the patient still receive interpretation services?
Ultimately, I decided that as long as I received requests for my services I would go out and interpret. In April, May, and June, when elective medical services were suspended, and many local hospitals were switching to telephone or remote interpreting, I was getting jobs primarily in cancer care.
As these appointments took place in outpatient clinics and the clinics introduced universal mask-wearing policies and provided masks to interpreters and visitors, I felt reasonably safe.
However, the new reality has introduced new challenges: How do you socially distance in a small exam room? How do you make yourself heard through a mask? What is a safe way to, for example, have a glass of water while on task? There are no ready-made solutions, but luckily interpreters are nothing if not resourceful and I have every confidence that whatever life throws at us, we will find a way to keep interpreting!