Kati Honkanen, a nurse at Kotokunta Oy’s Kuopio unit, cares daily for clients from different cultures, including refugees and asylum seekers. Skilled interpreters are an invaluable asset to her work, enhancing patient consultations by ensuring that clients understand the discussions and can express themselves in their native language.
Kati Honkanen has been working in a reception center environment since 2022 and utilizes interpreting services, especially Youpret, on a daily basis.
- “I primarily use instant interpreting at work because I don’t always know what topics will come up with clients, and appointment schedules are very flexible. If I know a client has a scheduled appointment, for instance, with a doctor, physical therapist, or optician, I’ll book a remote interpreter,” Kati explains.
- “Youpret’s interpreters have consistently been high quality; they quickly grasp the topic of conversation, manage to read the situation and keep the conversation flowing smoothly, even with instant interpreting where they have little preparation time,” she continues.
In her work with clients, Kati always follows this principle: if a situation concerns health or instructions, an interpreter must be present. Google Translate or a close relative acting as an interpreter cannot be solutions since even the slightest misunderstanding cannot be allowed when there’s no shared language. Skilled interpreters ensure that the clients understand everything, even when their native language lacks equivalent words for Finnish terminology, and terms need further explanation.
- “Whenever I meet with a client, an interpreter is present. Clients have the right to receive services and express themselves in their native language,” Kati emphasizes.
- “In my experience, using interpreting services has become more common only in recent years. Many healthcare professionals still don’t know how nor where to access interpreting services, or that convenient services like instant interpreting are available.”
Kati has always been able to secure interpreters for needed languages when required. Most often, she has ordered interpreting in Russian, with Ukrainian also in demand. Even for rarer languages, Youpret has successfully provided interpreters. Kati has also appreciated the option to book either a male or female interpreter depending on the client’s needs, which is significant in some cultures.
- “Right at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was sometimes challenging to get Ukrainian interpreters, but the situation quickly improved. I can usually get an interpreter within 1–2 minutes.”
Kati always uses the Youpret app to book interpreters, which she praises as simple and functional, and she always has her phone with her.
When asked whether she would recommend Youpret to others, her response is clear.
- “Absolutely. I have experience with multiple interpreting services, and I believe Youpret is the best. Just recently two new employees started with us, and we’ve familiarized them with using Youpret,” Kati shares.
- “I’ve marked several favorite interpreters in my profile, so they get the job offers first. I can be completely sure that client meetings will be successful with them,” she adds.
Free Youpret demo and app onboarding training
We offer our clients a free Youpret demo or app onboarding training. The onboarding training benefits both new and experienced clients. New clients can immediately start using our interpreting services effectively from the beginning of the partnership, while experienced clients save time in introducing new employees with interpreting services.
The training lasts about 30 minutes and is tailored to the each client’s needs and preferences. Book a Youpret demo or training for yourself or your company through our booking calendar!
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