February 20, 2026#WeAreNorthern
Meet Beatrice Cann, Translation Team Leader, Transcultural and Language Services (TALS), Northern Health.
Q: First, let’s start with your coffee order?
A: Oat latte with a sprinkle of chocolate powder on top. If I’m sitting at a café, I like to add a light layer of sugar on the foam and eat it with a spoon, a special treat for when my toddler allows me a quiet coffee moment.
Q: Tell us about your journey at Northern Health.
A: I started at Northern Health in October 2025, after keeping a close eye on TALS for many years and waiting for the right opportunity to join.
In my day-to-day work, I coordinate the translation of patient brochures into languages other than English. I collaborate closely with clinics across Northern Health to gather translation requirements and assess priorities. Once translations are completed, I conduct thorough quality assurance to ensure the brochures are accurate, culturally appropriate and ready for delivery.
I oversee the TALS translation team, which includes all the interpreters who have translation certification and therefore are able to provide translation of written material. At a time when language services are experiencing significant disruption due to AI, my role allows me to reinforce every day the importance of our unique human expertise.
Working closely with my team, I have learnt that the process can be challenging at times. Interpreting assignments always take priority over translation work, which means schedules often need to be adjusted. However, the work our translators do, making printed medical information accessible to consumers in their own language, is invaluable, even if it often happens behind the scenes. I have made it my mission to continue highlighting the outstanding work of the TALS translation team and their contribution to the hospital and our community.
Q: What is the best part of working at Northern Health?
A: Exploring cultural diversity every day, learning from the cultures of my colleagues and being part of an organisation that truly values and fosters our different roots, embedding this into the hospital’s values and operations.
I also feel privileged to work alongside some of the most competent medical language experts in Australia.
Q: What’s something people might be surprised to learn about your role?
A: Project managing translations means you become a ninja of languages you don’t speak.
You learn how to manage right-to-left languages such as Arabic and Persian, recognise punctuation in languages with different scripts such as Hindi and Nepali, and understand that not all fonts work well in every language. For example, certain fonts in Turkish can create “looks like a typo” situations.
And to my team, my eyesight has developed special powers to detect every double space!
Q: What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned in your career so far?
A: That every person I work with has a unique story and something to teach me. I have learnt the power of observing and listening to the people around me, and taking something from each of them to keep progressing along my own journey.
Looking at other people’s career journeys and how they have moved between roles is fascinating. It’s almost like reading a word’s etymology in the dictionary.
Q: How do you like to spend your weekends or time off?
A: On sunny weekends, I love taking my son to the playground and sharing a good ice cream. Weekends are also the perfect time to video call my family in Italy. On those rare occasions when I get some time off, I enjoy listening to podcasts and playing sudoku.
Q: Who or what inspires you most?
A: I try not to compare my journey to anyone else’s, as that can make me feel like I’m not doing enough. While I always carry the example of my mentors with me, I draw a lot of inspiration from some wonderful Philosophy and History professors I had during my studies and the way they brought passion and motivation into the classroom.
As I navigate balancing career growth with motherhood, I also find deep inspiration in my mother, who worked with dedication while raising me. I deeply admire her strength and perseverance, and the way she quietly made the pieces of the puzzle fit while continuing to grow her career and raise a family.
