Be careful what programs you take medical interpreting notes in & why live captions are a NO!

In this video I discuss what programs you should not take notes in for medical interpretation, as well as why the live captioning "hack" for medical interpreting (spoken-language) is a bad idea. In this digital age, you'd be surprised just how much of the information we type is transmitted, even if we never save it or hit the enter key! If you are a medical interpreter in the U.S. OR interpret for U.S. healthcare clients, you must abide by HIPAA, meaning you can't share PHI (protected health information) with unauthorized third parties. Being well-versed in digital security is an absolute MUST, and this includes knowing about how programs save the information you type.
See the thread on Microsoft Community about how your data in Word may be saved without you realizing it: answers.micros...
Visit the Facebook group I mention, U.S. Medical Interpreters: / 1768654010045834
Want to learn more about HIPAA & PHI? Check out this video: • PHI (Protected Health ...
I mentioned having a BAA or Business Associate Agreement. To learn more about what a BAA is and how it applies to you as a medical interpreter, check out this article I wrote: kghinterpretat...

[@melickenify]

I have always wondered if the Notepad feature on my PC was a safe option for notes during a session. Thank you for clearing this up for me.

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

I need to update this video or release a new version because as of a couple of months ago, Notepad saves my notes when I close it. Now, it could still be fine. But I want to know *where* Notepad stores those temporary files with my notes, and how likely it is that those temp files are being backed up to the cloud somewhere!

[@jonesmendez2727]

Thank. I really appreciate whatching this video. I would like to know how do you takes notes in the notepad? I'm about to enter to a job like this. but I have no time to learn a whole entire symbol system. is like learning a new language that's not possible with the timeframe I got to learn the vocabulary, note taking, and everything else I have to learn. :(

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

Becoming an interpreter requires a lot of hard work, dedication, and training. I agree that notetaking is like learning a new language. It took me years both in my college interpretation program, as well as practicing while actively working in the field to develop my own personal notetaking system. These things take time, and I'm a little worried a company hired you without A) training you to do these things or B) expecting you to have this training before starting your role. It's an unfair expectation they're placing on you. Despite what some companies may lead people to believe, interpreting is not a profession that you can just be dropped into. You have to be prepared to take it on, and without that preparation it will be very stressful because you won't have the tools to handle the challenges you'll face. My recommendation would be to not work for them until you have sufficient training. I'm not sure what types of interpretation you'll be doing (banking, customer service, medical, social services, etc.) but a medical interpretation training course of at least 40 hours is a good start. That being said, you'll likely have to practice a LOT more, even after that course, before being able to work effectively as an interpreter. I don't recommend learning on the job.

[@vanessacantos836]

Thank you for this info

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

You're very welcome!

[@mehrdad1065]

Thank you

[@KellyGrzechHenriquez]

You're welcome, Mehrdad!