Cute Anatomy in English By Gloria M. Rivera “Spanish interpreters use so many fancy words,” a provider told me when I interpreted “collar bone” as “clavícula” (clavicle). “Oh, it is because most medical terminology comes from Greek and Latin, just like Spanish does,” I replied with a big smile on my face. Spanish speakers are …
Why do we need vaccines? By Gloria M. Rivera August is National Immunization Awareness Month and given the times we live in, vaccines are quite “in”. That’s why I decided to write a bit about what vaccines are, how they work, and why they are useful. COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a virus. …
Famous Cats in Medical Translation By Gloria M. Rivera Today, August 8th, is International Cat Day. This day was created in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to celebrate one of our most beloved and ancient pets.To celebrate this day, I created a list of my favorite CATS in medical translation. CAT …
COVID-19 for Translators and Interpreters By Gloria M. Rivera We are currently living strange times where a very tiny creature is endangering our lives and changing life as we know it. Many entities from schools and banks to hospitals and courts have had to communicate with the people they serve to help them deal with …
Alternative Anatomy (in Spanish) By Gloria M. Rivera The first time I heard “me duele la paleta”, the Peruvian in me was very confused. In Perú, a “paleta” is a small wooden racket, like the one used for playing ping-pong. After growing up in Lima watching Mexican TV shows, I was aware and quite confident, …
My hemo-what? By Gloria M. Rivera Recently, I interpreted for a very sweet (no pun intended) patient with a 20+ year history of diabetes. When the doctor asked him about his hemoglobin A1c value, he was confused, as if the doctor had asked him for the winning numbers for the lotto. As a diabetic patient, …
