(VOCES) Volunteer Opportunity for Community Engagement through Spanish Medical Interpreting

Catalog description

This is a service learning quarter for students who have completed the didactic training in MED 150 (Spanish Medical Interpreting Skills for Community Clinics). Students bring their foundational skills in medical terminology, interpreter ethics, cultural humility, and patient-centered communication into an authentic clinical setting, volunteering as Spanish medical interpreters at Samaritan House Free Clinic (SHFC). Building on the simulated interpreting encounters, role-play scenarios, and case-based discussions of MED 150, students apply these skills first through supervised shadowing alongside an experienced volunteer interpreter, then in progressively independent live primary care visits with Spanish-speaking patients. Through this structured service, students deepen their proficiency, develop professional confidence as interpreters, and directly expand language access for underserved communities in the Bay Area. There will be an orientation session for onboarding followed by clinical shadowing at SHFC. Pre-requisite: Course MED150.