AHA! Moments (and why it's not enough to go to workshops...)

As  I contemplate the ethics workshop that I want to develop (and potentially present at the VRID bi-annual conference), I started thinking about to one of those "AHA!" moments that I had last spring.

I was assigned to interpret a two hour training- alone.  While this is fairly standard policy with this particular interpreting agency, I feel that it goes against standard practice and puts me at risk for injury. In my initial email to coordination, especially considering my unfamiliarity with that particular government agency and Deaf consumer.  However, this is where I was proud of myself.  As I thought about this situation, I started too dig deeper and apply the demand-control schema. In a follow-up discussion with my supervisor, I was able to articulate my concerns about the main demand- working two hours alone- as well as the concurrent demands that I was facing.  Since this was a training, I was predicting a faster pace and dense information on top of the unfamiliar vocabulary and acronyms that are always present when working with a new consumer and/ or setting.  I also knew that I would be transliterating and voicing for this consumer.

While the resolution was not ideal, I was able to apply lessons learned from both the demand-control schema and "Sign Safely, Interpret Intelligently."  Perhaps, the biggest lesson that I have learned this year is self-advocacy- which has been a recurring theme at several workshops that I have attended.  That week was an interesting week, albeit a rough one.  It was the first time that I truely applied the demand-control schema to my work pro-actively, in real time, rather than retrospectively.  Later that week, I was faced with another dilemma when I woke up with excruciating shoulder pain.  Although I was scheduled for two on-call assignments, I called out sick last-minute.  As I told my husband, I felt silly calling out when I had on-calls, but unfortunately, you never know- I could have been sitting for four hours or interpreting for four hours.  While I have become a better self-advocate, I still need to work on taking care of myself.

At the end of the day, it is great to go to workshops to network and CEUs, but we also need to learn and apply those lessons learned on a  daily basis.  There will always be room for improvement and AHA! moments.