Agustin Gomez, CHI™
Spanish Medical Interpreter
Hello, my name is Agustin Gomez, and I’ve been working as a Medical Interpreter for the last 9 years. Being an immigrant Latino myself, I can relate to many of my patients. It is not easy to be away from home, not to mention being in a hospital feeling sick or in pain. I chose this career many years ago to be able to help those in need when it comes to communication in hard times. It feels really good to be that bridge between the healthcare providers and the patients. That’s what makes me happy. It is so fulfilling to be able to help from the emergency room to choosing meals from the menu. It is rewarding to see how patients feel after a good conversation with the doctors and when you receive words of appreciation from both sides.
Of course, in a hospital, everybody has challenges and that is not an exception for us; when doing video, phone or face to face interpreting, it is unavoidable that the audio equipment suddenly cuts off or that the speaker speaks too softly. We also try to act as a bridge for intercultural communication--with so many patients from so many different Spanish-speaking countries having different idiomatic expressions among them; this can also be a challenge when using slang, humor, and jokes.
If I had to share one story with you, I would choose this recent one where I assisted this teenage boy so many times while he was in the hospital for his treatments. It would fill my heart with joy--every time he saw me, he would have the biggest smile. One time he told me he considered me to be his friend—that was very touching. This is why I love what I do!