Episode 316: EwK316 - Providing access to information in critical moments – telephone interpreting with Gabriela Paez

One of my first conversations with Gabriela was about her work as a medical interpreter. I shared a situation that I’d experienced on holiday many years ago when someone in our group didn’t have access to an interpreter in hospital. Until this time, I’d never thought about it – but it can be a scary situation if you know that you need medical assistance, but you aren’t entirely sure what’s going on – whether that’s because you’re living in a country where a different language is used or because you’re travelling or on holiday.

From there, we got on to why it’s important for Gabriela to provide language access to people in situations involving important conversations relating to them – whether that’s a medical appointment or a legal hearing. That’s when I decided she’d be an interesting guest on the podcast – both to explain her journey for people interested in this kind of work, and to remind us all of the importance of having full access to the facts so that someone can participate fully in conversations about them. This text, originally from her bio sums it up: “For Gabriela, language access is personal — the idea that something as fundamental as being understood should never be a privilege. She knows first-hand the weight that falls on people when there is no interpreter in the room: miscommunication, fear, and the quiet indignity of not being heard.”

Gabriela describes her journey, talks about some of the changes in the telephone interpreting space over the last years, shares some of the best parts and the challenges, and gives tips for those who are thinking about entering this field.

Gabriela Paez is a Senior Spanish<>English Interpreter with 10 years of experience in medical, legal, and public service settings. Based in Mexico, she specializes in professional consecutive and remote interpretation (OPI/VRI), interpreting more than 50,000 minutes annually.

Find out more on the show notes page: https://englishwithkirsty.com/podcast/episode316/