Medical Interpreter Training

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Upcoming VITAL Internet based Medical Interpreting Course

VITAL is an online training program in medical interpreting that will enable bilingual individuals to develop skills to perform as medical interpreters. A medical interpreter is a specially trained professional with knowledge and skills in a primary language or languages, who employs their training in medical or health related settings to enable communication among parties using different languages. VITAL will allow the medical interpreter workforce in New York City (beginning at the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation) and across the nation, to grow exponentially. Ultimately, VITAL will improve access to healthcare for limited English proficient persons through the increased usage of qualified medical interpreters.

Introduction to Medical Interpreting Course

This 48-hour multilingual course provides the skills needed to interpret different languages in health care settings. It is designed to prepare bilingual individuals who have not previously served as interpreters, as well as individuals who have performed interpreting without specific training. The course focuses on listening, analysis, and memorization skills; interpreting techniques, medical terminology and colloquial language acquisition; and ethical guidelines and decision-making. This course is designed for medical settings where interpreters provide proximal consecutive interpreting.


Training in Medical Interpreting, Intermediate Level

This 48-hour multilingual course is designed for individuals who have taken an introductory class in medical interpreting or demonstrated language and interpreting aptitude in interpreter role, ethics, specialized terminology, and other basic skills. The course utilizes experiential activities to enhance competence in the areas of medical concepts and terminology, as well as in linguistics. Attention is given to self-evaluation techniques.

Contact Javier González at gonzac05@med.nyu.edu for more information regarding our 48 hour Medical Interpreter Training Courses.

Working With Medical Interpreters

To facilitate effective communication among practitioners and LEP patients, CIH instructs an indispensable course on how to work with medical interpreters. Working with medical interpreters focuses on skills development to ensure accuracy in the interpretation rendered by ad hoc and trained interpreters. This interactive course uses a variety of techniques, including didactics, group discussion, and role-plays, to enable exploration of the issues surrounding the interpreted medical encounter and mastery of the cross-linguistic/cross-cultural medical interview.

Simultaneous Medical Interpreting Training Program

This is a 60-hour intensive course in simultaneous interpreting designed for qualified students rigorously screened for language aptitude and simultaneous interpreting skills. This multilingual course focuses on the development of the skills to render a simultaneous interpreting through exercises in dual tasking, shadowing, paraphrasing, and interpreting. Additionally, students are trained in the role of the simultaneous interpreter, the medical encounter, and the preservation of linguistic tense, register, and tone. This course is designed for settings in which the role of the interpreter should be more invisible to allow for a better rapport between providers and patients, such as in a mental health environment.


Assessment of Bilingual and Interpreting Aptitude

To assess bilingual aptitude, CIH has developed a model that consists of a bilingual interview carried out by a bilingual language coach fluent in English and the target language, in which prospective students demonstrate their ability to understand and speak English and the target language in a colloquial register. To predict performance in medical interpreting, CIH uses a methodology that consists of a role-play conducted by two language coaches. The role-play uses a linguistic instrument that is designed to assess the ability of prospective candidates to understand, process, and render information in an expeditious and effective manner prior to training.

Glossary Development

Indispensable for the development of highly trained medical interpreters is the mastering of medical terminology and colloquial language. The CIH has developed a model for the development of glossaries to reflect the different areas in medicine and behavioral health in which interpreters work. Additionally, in consultation with anthropologists and socio-linguists, a model for the development of lists reflective of different speech communities within each language has been designed.


Follow-up and Evaluation

To assure optimal quality and skills enhancement, interpreters are trained to self-evaluate their performance. The CIH has developed a tool used by interpreters to check their performance in different areas, such as: medical terminology, ethics, tense, register, etc. Additionally, the CIH has developed a peer model for quality control, which consists of a tool designed for bilingual supervisors or peers to evaluate the performance of interpreters.


Language Lab

Indispensable to the practical instruction of medical interpreting is the use of a Language Lab. Our Language Lab enables instructors to monitor the students' performance through listen-ins and recordings. Students can also self-monitor their performance and practice their skill as they listen to recordings in English and their target language. The recordings include medical concepts and medical and colloquial language, as well as interactive language discordant medical encounters, which illustrate the biomedical and patient cultures and linguistic nuances.


Online Interpreting Training

Recognizing issues of efficiency and geography that have an impact on health care, CIH is in the process of developing a multilingual online training in medical interpreting. Interactive lessons, readings, videos and tapes will be used. Rigorous evaluation will be conducted through state-of-the-art language lab equipment.