Interpreters who help doctors communicate with patients who don’t speak English convene in Tulsa. When it’s a life or death medical situation, communication is important. Sometimes it’s an English speaking doctor and a foreign language patient. That’s where medical interpreters come in. Louis Provenzano is President of Language Line Services…a phone network with interpreters covering more than 170 languages and dialects. He says the translators undergo about two years of training to become proficient in a language and medical terminology.
More than 120 people from across the U-S and several foreign countries are attending the Medical Interpreters Forum in downtown Tulsa.