Image from: https://www.vcuhealth.org/news/covid-19/interpreters-and-translators-expand-services-during-covid-19-at-vcu-medical-center

As I reflect on a patient encounter I’ve had at UNE in clinical, I think about my time on the postpartum floor at Maine Medical Center. The family immigrated from Congo, and they didn’t speak English. The newborn she had was her second newborn, and through a translator, she expressed her concern about not having a car seat and food for the child. There wasn’t much interaction with her and her husband in the room, and the mother seemed depressed. The staff used a translator, but the translator was through the phone. I felt the health system could’ve been better if there was a translator in person to help talk with the patient. The staff member did the best she could with the patients she had. During rounds, the staff advocated for the patient by advocating for a social worker to help her patient find a car seat and food resources. Recently, I feel policymakers have shed light on the disparities amongst communities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some social determinants of health that affected this patient were education, language barrier, income, access to foods, and literacy skills. What I should’ve done was recommended to the nurse for an in person or video-based translator. There could be cultural aspects of communication the nurse, and I may not know based on body language. I feel I did well by connecting with the patient because of my previous understanding of Congolese culture.