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.

Whirlwind of Workshops

It's official!  I have completed all of my CEU requirements for my 2010-2014 cycle.  To date, 8.35 CEUs have been posted to my RID transcript.  (And my two most recent workshops have yet to be posted!)

Here's the recap of my latest professional development endeavors:

March 12: Sign Safely, Interpret Intelligently (Presented by Dr. Diane Gross)

As someone who experienced an injury early in her career and still has chronic pain issues, this workshop was important to me.  After months of planning, it was hard to believe that March 12 came around.  Diane's workshop was amazing!  We discussed the anatomical, physiological, and psychological interpreting-related injury (IRI) risk factors.  While she did address nutrition and self-care techniques, the primary focus was the ergonomics of interpreting.  We learned the six high-risk ergonomic factors: forceful or ballistic signing; work-space or work-envelope; micro rest-breaks; hand/wrist deviations; physical muscle tension; posture.

My favorite part of the workshop was pairing off and assessing each other's risk factors.  Diane gave us the option to be videotaped during one round and receive feedback from her and the group about our risk factors.  I, like, many other participants, had a high signing space (To quote Diane: "It must be a DC thing!).  Additionally, I needed to work on my posture, take better advantage of micro rest-breaks, and reduce hand/wrist deviations.  The week following the workshop, I was very self-conscious, borderline paranoid, about my high signing space.  Several of my co-interpreters that week had a high signing space as well- maybe it is a DC thing?!  During the workshop, I observed that many of us frequently interpret meetings in boardroom-like settings with high tables.  In these situations, we are forced to sign higher and this bad habit can potentially spill over into other situations.  Likewise, as another participant observed, VRS settings can require higher signing spaces as well, further perpetuating the bad habits.  Becoming aware of my high-risk factors is the first step to making adjustments in my interpreting style and reducing the chances for pain and injury.  I have already noticed a difference when I lower my signing space, particularly reduced shoulder tension.

We also talked about inter-personal dynamics and how as interpreters we do not physically take our work, but we do bring it home mentally.  We don't always "check it at the door."  In some instances, we take ownership of other people's issues and biases, adding to our burden.  It can be challenging, but I need to learn to say "That's not my avocado!" (Thank you Diane for the great visual, motto, & life lesson!).  As part of our self-care, we cannot internalize the criticism; we must take ownership of our words and actions, but not the words and actions of others.

My new year's resolution was to take better care of myself- physically and mentally- and applying what I learned in this workshop is a step in the right direction.

March 13: The Dance of Self-Discovery (Presented by Kevin Dyles)

Kevin's workshop was a unique approach to intra-personal and inter-personal analysis.  Through hands-on activities (including a trust building exercise) as well as large and small group discussion, I learned a lot about myself and my colleagues.  One discussion examined the inter-personal dynamics and how our perception may be different than the perception of those around us, including our consumers and co-interpreters.  This was a major AHA moment for me as I shared a story about a recent teaming situation.  I was greatly annoyed that my co-interpreter had left the room for an extended period of time, while I was interpreting, only to return with a Starbucks coffee from outside the building.  This was an individual who I had not worked before and I felt that she was disregarding the teaming process and failed to provide the support needed.  I was frustrated by her un-professionalism and lack of communication.  However, during the discussion, I realized that she leaving could also be perceived as a vote of confidence in my interpreting skills, thus she felt comfortable leaving.  Furthermore, because we were new team, trust had not yet been establish, leaving me to wonder if./when she would return.  In short, I learned not to make assumptions about people's assumptions.  For one of the more intriguing exercises, we were divided into two groups and asked our biggest fear.  It struck me that it is one thing to have an internal fear, but quite another to actually say it aloud, let alone in front of our colleagues.  At the conclusion of the workshop, Kevin asked us to share one thing that we were proud of from the past year.  As someone who previously feared community (and freelance) interpreting, I shared that I was proud to have dove into the freelance world last year and have almost all my income be 1099 income- and I made enough to pay my bills!  This long-held, almost irrational, fear limited me at the beginning of my career, but within the last eighteen months, I have truly begun to flourish and grow.

March 26: Team Interpreting & the Post-Session: Talking about the Work (Presented by Dr. Jack Hoza)

(Yes, I asked him to sign my book)

This workshop was sponsored by the VDOE grant for educational interpreters and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to attend (I still pick up the occasional interpreting work for the local school system where I got my start and the workshops are a huge perk!).  Like Diane's "Sign Safely, Interpret Intelligently" workshop, I had been looking forward to Dr. Hoza's workshop for quite a while.   I am very interested in the dynamics of team interpreting and what makes a teaming experience successful or unsuccessful.  Dr. Hoza's "Team Interpreting as Collaboration and Interpendence" was published last spring and I read it last summer.  In the book, he advocates the interpreting team function as a cohesive unit, rather than two individuals working consecutively.  While his book addresses the pre-session (collaborating), the interpreting (collaborating & interpreting interdependently), and post-session (processing), his workshop specifically focused on the post-session, posing the following thought-provoking questions:

1) Define team interpreting.  What makes for an effective team?

2) What do you discuss in the pre-session?

3) What strategies do you use when teaming?

4) What do you tend to talk about afterwards? What do you wish you could talk about, but don't?

5) What specifically makes for a successful post-session?  does not make for a successful post session?

The group discussion was fruitful and enlightening, especially as we discussed what we wish we could talk about during the post-session.  Being aware of teaming strategies can increase our exposure to other styles, while expanding our own tool box.

Unfortunately, in our profession, the opportunity to team interpret, can be few and far between.  I am fortunate enough to work with other interpreters on a regular basis, but many of my colleagues at the workshop are not so lucky.  Furthermore, in my experience as a freelance interpreter, building relationships with my co-interpreters can be a challenge when you do not work together on a regular  Different backgrounds, including education and experience, can lead to different conceptualizations of the teaming process.  Without a common background and relationship, initiating the conversation about "the work" can prove challenging as well.  One key concept that was repeatedly emphasized during the workshop: it's about the work, not the person!  The post-session and feedback can and should be a constructive look at improving the interpreting process and final product. basis.

April 15-16: Demand-Control Schema's Ethical Constructs for Interpreters (Presented by Robyn Dean)

While at the March 26 teaming workshop, Laura, a friend and colleague, invited me to Durham, NC to attend Robyn Dean's Demand-Control Schema workshop.  While I have had some exposure to the demand-control schema, it was not a topic I was intensely familiar with and I decided to accompany Laura, even though I did not need the CEUs.  We drove down Friday afternoon, arriving in just enough time for the 6 pm start time.  The workshop ran 6-9 pm on Friday evening and 9 am-4 pm on Saturday.  It was certainly worth the trip!  In addition to meeting interpreters from outside my area, the demand-control schema (DCS) has given me a new way to look at my work.

Ms. Dean did touch upon our profession's skewed definition of confidentiality (here's a hint: the root of confidentiality is confide; confide = to tell) as well as case conferencing/ peer supervision.  Additionally, she emphasized that ethical codes need to be informed by situated practice as well as the need for interpreting to be viewed as a practice profession, rather than technical profession.  Much discussion was focused on how we talk about our work versus how we actually work (rhetoric vs. defacto practice).  Ms. Dean shared the following quote from Parker Palmer, author of The Courage to Teach: "Growth of any craft depends on shared practice and honest dialogue among the people who do it."  One crucial discrepancy in how we talk about our work versus how we actually work is the interpreter's continual strive for invisibility.  Interpreters are struggling to move past the machine model, yet we advocate for our consumers to act like "we're not there."  This theme of invisibility continued through out the weekend as we examined the demands and controls in our work.

The primary focus of the workshop was identifying the main demand and concurrent demands of a given situation.  Once demands are identified, controls can be listed and evaluated.  In light of this framework,  one can evaluate the basis of a decision, rather than rely on intuition.  Interpreters often explain away ethical decisions with a gut feeling or the infamous "it depends."  However, within the demand-control schema, one can identify the main or concurrent demand which the decision depends on.  Furthermore, by having controls already in place, we can reduce the stress of a given situation and expand our options.  Whether we realize or not, there are controls available, often already in place, particularly a situation we have experienced previously.  For example,  traveling to a new job site is the main demand and facing the uncertainty of bad directions, traffic, metro delays, etc. can be concurrent demands; however, the demand of traveling to a job site can be mitigated by the control of having been there before and knowing the directions.

The small group discussions throughout the workshop were incredibly beneficial, however, the post-workshop discussions I had with Laura really helped me re-examine my own work.  Armed with the new techniques from the team interpreting and Demand-Control schema workshop, we were able to de-brief on an assignment that we had together a couple of weeks prior and consider it in a new light.  It is my hope that I can continue to apply the Demand-Control Schema to my work in order to better understand my internal ethical decision making process.

I would like to close with a quote that Robyn Dean shared on the second day of the workshop:

Interpreting is not merely transposing form one language to another.  It is rather, throwing a semantic bridge between two different cultures, two different thought worlds.   Claude Namy, linguist (1977) 

 

Let it all go...

This is my free therapy for today.  Leave work, get in the car, crank up country radio, and take a deep breath...

Yes- it was one of those days.  We all have them and if we're lucky, they're few and far between.  Today was challenging as well as physically and emotionally draining.  Now, I am trying to leave it at the front door.

Easier said than done, but chai tea latte, re-run of my favorite show, and a cute puppy are definitely helping.  All part of self-care and letting it all go...


How do you unwind and de-stress at the end of the day?

Sometimes it really is okay to say no...

I say no all the time- just not as often as I should.  Interpreters have a tendency to say yes.  We want the work.  We want to be flexible.  We want to satisfy the consumers' expectations.  Sometimes in the midst of it all, we forget to take care of yourselves.  Constantly operating in Energizer bunny mode can and will lead to burn out.  It's one thing to know the limitations of one's interpreting skills; know the limitations of one's mind and body is a different story.

For me, it's easy to say no to an assignment if I do not feel qualified or if it's not my forte (i.e. medical and legal).  Often I say yes too often, momentarily forgetting about my physical and mental limitations.  We're often told that the interpreting profession is feast or famine, so we work as much as we can when we can.  We must all live a balanced life in order to work more effectively.  For me, I try to put my family first, even though I occasionally sacrifice time with my husband to work evenings.  Last week, I turned down a job when I was qualified and available and I was proud of myself.  I listened to my physical limitations.

I am at a major transitioning moment in my life.  Now, I need to get motivated to take care of myself after sacrificing so much of my physical and mental well-being for far too long.  On my to list?
1) Eat healthier- more fruits and veggies, less take-out and delievery
2) Get back into shape.  I need to exercise more, do pilates for toning and relaxation, and lose the 10(ish) pounds that I gained this past year.
3)  Give myself permission to have down time and relax.  A vacation would be nice too.

And the irony of all of this?  As I was contemplating the importance of self-care, I tweaked my neck on Sunday morning, aggravating a prior injury.  Fortunately, for me, Monday was a Federal holiday and my other assignments this week have ended early or canceled with pay.  For the moment, as I sit here with my ice pack, I am giving myself permission to relax and enjoy the time off.  After all, it's Thursday afternoon and I was supposed to be working.