PRN, Interpreter-Johnson City Community Health Center

East Tennessee State University, United States

Updated: about 1 month ago
Location: Johnson City, TENNESSEE
Deadline: ;

Posting Details
Position Information


Job Title PRN, Interpreter-Johnson City Community Health Center
Department Office of Practice
Pay Grade
Job Category Temporary
Job Summary
The College of Nursing’s Johnson City Community Health Center is seeking to fill one (1) vacancy for an Interpreter, PRN, less than 30 hours per week. Responsibilities include:
  • Facilitates communication between a limited English proficiency patient and the provider and staff.
  • Serves as a medical interpreter for patients and staff and supports the operations of the department, in the consecutive, simultaneous, and sight translation modes.
  • Relays medical information between speakers of two different languages in compliance with all office and health center policies and procedures, particularly relating to patient confidentiality and informed consent.
  • Maintains training in medical terminology, target language, and source language.
  • Helps facilitate successful delivery of services to linguistically diverse consumers.
  • Explains center resources, office protocols, and limitations to patients; makes appropriate referrals; and serves as a cultural and linguistic resource to both patients and providers to contribute to successful outcomes.
  • Adheres to health center policies on customer relations and hospitality.
  • Prepares written translations as directed by medical providers in patient encounters, such as medical instructions and medication schedules; and administrative translations, such as letters to patients, documents, and patient materials.
  • Supports office operations by managing outgoing medical record requests, answering the phone, taking requests, calling patients to confirm appointments, and scheduling future appointments when necessary.
  • Assists department with on-the-job training and mentoring of interpreter internships.
  • Works with special projects as assigned.
  • Performs other related duties as assigned.


ETSU is committed to ensuring that our students, faculty, and staff are valued and work in an environment of openness and acceptance. ETSU is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Strong linguistic skills:
  • Ability to understand a variety of regional accents and linguistic styles and registers.
  • Ability to select appropriate mode of interpretation for each situation.
  • Ability to interpret with highest degree of accuracy and completeness in consecutive, simultaneous and sight translation modes.
  • Ability to self-correct, understand own linguistic limitations, seek clarification and accept correction.
  • Ability to pick up on cues when encountering participants regarding level of understanding and/or need for clarification.
  • Strong writing skills and understanding of translation process.


Strong cultural awareness competencies:
  • Ability to understand language as an expression of culture, recognizes the underlying assumptions of each party about medicine, the encounter, the illness etc.; uses this understanding to empower patient and provider to better understand each other.
  • Knowledge of when to intervene as intercultural mediator when communication is compromised by culture-bound messages.
  • Ability to avoid generalizations and stereotyping
  • Ability to use culturally appropriate behavior and is able to choose appropriate time to clarify or interject by respecting the goals of the encounter.
  • Knowledge of own personal values, beliefs and cultural characteristics which may be a source of conflict or discomfort in certain situations, is able to acknowledge these and/or to withdraw from encounters when these may interfere with successful interpretation.

Strong interpreting skills:
  • Ability to explain the role of the interpreter to patient and provider.
  • Ability to recognize the complexity of the clinical encounter and added factor of linguistic barrier.
  • Ability to set the tone of the patient/provider encounter to manage spatial configuration and flow of communication to preserve accuracy and completeness, and to assess and address potential areas of discomfort for patient (age, gender of interpreter, no previous experience with interpreters).
  • Ability to encourage and foster direct communication between provider and patient.
  • Ability to maintain professional distance and integrity.
  • Ability to diffuse conflict between parties by remaining calm and impartial.
  • Ability to clarify instructions, follow up steps in a diplomatic, effective manner.

Ethical competency:
  • Ability to understand and abide by health center policies on patient confidentiality, informed consent, non-discrimination and by interpreters code of ethics and standards of practice.

Interpersonal and customer service skills:
  • Ability to project positive attitude about the health center, and offers services to ensure positive experience.
  • Ability to work as a team with colleagues and providers
  • Ability to address concerns raised during or after an encounter by encouraging provider to make appropriate referral and/or assisting with making of appointment with right resource and booking interpreter as needed.

Organizational skills:
  • Ability to work well under pressure to manage stressful situations.
  • Ability to be flexible to meet scheduling needs and handle often unpredictable changes.
  • Ability to have sound judgment and confidence.
  • Ability to handle multiple tasks.
  • Ability to be detail-oriented and accurate.
Required Qualifications
  • High School Diploma or equivalent.
  • Minimum of 1 year of professional interpretation experience (may consider relevant part-time and/or volunteer experience).
  • Fluency in English and one or more foreign languages, both orally and written, preferably Spanish.
  • Ability to accurately work in consecutive, simultaneous, and sight-translate modes into and from working language(s).
Preferred Qualifications
  • Qualified or Certified Medical Interpreter preferred.
  • Experience with electronic medical records strongly desired.
  • 1-3 years of experience in a healthcare setting.
  • Medical interpreter training.
Salary $17.00/hour

Posting Detail Information


Posting Number SS01213P
Is this position subject to a criminal background check? Yes
Is any part of the funding for this posting coming from a grant or outside funding source? Yes
Open Date 09/20/2023
Close Date
Open Until Filled Yes
Special Instructions to Applicants
Position contingent upon grant funding.
Criminal background check required.
Pursuant to the Centers from Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Vaccine mandate, candidates will be required to show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 upon commencing employment. Reasonable accommodations will be considered on a case-by-case basis for exemptions to this requirement in accordance with applicable law.
Support Staff positions are only required to be posted for a minimum of five (5) calendar days. The closing date for this posting is subject to change without notice to applicants. All positions at East Tennessee State University are contingent upon sufficient funding.

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