We are excited to announce that DE LA MORA Institute has officially launched a new series of monthly medical webinars, by today’s guest writer, Lizbeth Mendoza. In this article, she will discuss the theme of her first webinar of the series, Pharmacotherapy 101, Part 1 of 5 in her current webinar series. This CEU-eligible webinar has been converted into a self-paced course, which can be found here.
Have you ever felt curious and even a bit lost when medical providers, or their patients, or both, start talking about the use of drugs?
Perhaps some of you have been there. As a certified medical interpreter, physician, clinical pharmacology specialist, former university pharmacology instructor and owner of a drugstore, I have found myself taking a deep breath at some points when dealing with conversations, readings, or lectures related to the use of drugs, including the use of drugs for therapeutic purposes (AKA pharmacotherapy). Pharmacotherapy has been a big part of my career and I continue to be amazed by the principles of the use of medications.
I continue to read and learn about medications, new developments, new findings and applications, not only because it is still fascinating to me, but also because I need to know this for my career as a physician and USA medical certification candidate.  As an interpreter in this country I find it vital to be able to communicate with confidence, precision, faithfulness, and clarity what both the providers and patients need to convey. Medication reconciliation is an example of what we call a high-risk scenario for patients with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). For that reason, I firmly believe that all healthcare interpreters should have a wide linguistic and extralinguistic knowledge, specific interpreting skills, and a practicum applicable to the highly specialized topic of Pharmacotherapy. Given this, I am working with the DE LA MORA Institute to help you continue growing your skills and knowledge.
A series of DLMI Continuing Education Webinars focused on Pharmacotherapy will be our meeting point. DLMI will now be bringing us those valuable CEU’s that we all need toward our re-certification (bravo!). I will be bringing to the table knowledge and experience constructed along years of studies and practice in the fascinating fields of clinical pharmacotherapy, private and public pharmacotherapy practice in multicultural environments, health professions education (adult education and problem-based learning), research methodology and publication, and medical interpretation and translation. I will also bring specific medical interpreting examples and exercises related to the interpretation of the use of medications to build specialized knowledge, terminology, and interpreting skills.  In other words, I will be your instructor / facilitator, acting as your “storyteller”, “lecturer”, and organizer/leader of interpreting exercises, to facilitate for you the acquisition of “context” (yes, the famous and essential true friend of all professional interpreters) and practice.
We are also highly interested in what you have to say, too. I trust that you have personal and professional experiences, previous knowledge, and questions worth sharing (and maybe a few or a lot of expired medicines in your cabinet worth looking at before disposing of them). I am interested in learning what your needs and questions are. If I can answer all your questions right away, I will, otherwise my promise is to research and find the best interpreting solutions that will benefit us all as professional medical interpreters, with the intention of providing safe and efficient interpreting services to patients and their providers. You are more than welcome to start sharing today by publishing your commentaries below, and/or visiting our Medical Membership page here to learn more about these webinars!
Medical, Legal, and All Access Memberships Now Available!