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What is Spanish/English Medical Interpretation Training Program?

The Spanish/English Medical Interpreter Training Program is a 44-hour training program designed for bilingual individuals who speak English and Spanish and work in the medical field or in a healthcare setting.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 42% increase in employment for interpreters and translators over the next decade. This increase is due to the "broadening of international ties and the large increases in the number of non-English speaking people in the United States." Source: BLS/OCO

The Law: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Executive Order 13166 of 1990 mandate that healthcare providers - including private practitioners - receiving Medicare, Medicaid, or other federal funding must provide speakers of limited English "meaningful access" to their services, when those speakers constitute a specified percentage of the demographic. The courts have interpreted "meaningful access" to mean face-to-face interpretation, as well as translation of vital documents. In Colorado, this demographic involves speakers of Spanish.

The 44 hour certificate is required by federal mandate, and the Joint Commission provides documented proof that an interpreter used at a medical facility meets required federal OCR guidelines.

Format:
Eleven 4-hour Sessions | 44 contact hours | 4.4 CEUs:

• Language Coaching
• English Medical Terminology
• Spanish Medical Terminology
• Cognitive Skills, Protocols, Ethics, and Best Practices

What Can a Certificate in Spanish/English Medical Interpretation Do For You?

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, The job outlook for interpreters and translators can expect much faster than average employment growth over the next decade due to the increase in the number of foreign language speakers in the United States and the broadening of international ties.

Who Should Attend?

• Nurses, physicians, pharmacists, front office staff, receptionists, dieticians, laboratory technicians, social workers, etc. who are bilingual in English and Spanish
• Interpreters and translators currently employed in the medical field or healthcare settings, such as hospitals, physicians' offices, pharmacies, rehabilitation clinics, etc.
• Independent interpreters
• Interpreters with other interpreting credentials, such as those who have completed the Spanish/English Legal Interpreter Certificate Program or the Professional Interpreter in Education Certificate Program
• Individuals seeking employment in the medical field or in a healthcare setting
• Individuals seeking their first professional interpreting certificate

Why earn a Spanish-English Medical Interpretation Certificate?

Participants who complete the training receive a Certificate of Training Completion that meets federal guidelines.

• You will be more marketable
• Improve your patient communication and care
• Builds upon and enhances your knowledge and skills
• More career opportunities and options for advancement

Apply
Course Qualifications: This course is available to those who fluently speak both English and Spanish (bilingual.)
Please note that being bilingual does not automatically qualify an individual to serve as a medical interpreter. A native-language or "heritage language" speaker (through proper training and education) can become a valuable asset as a trained medical interpreter in any health care related field.

The course does not require a degree.

Pre-Assessment Evaluation:
All training participants must be assessed (orally) for bilingual proficiency, and demonstrate a high level of fluency before final admission into the course.

• No prior knowledge of medical or technical linguistic awareness is necessary for the pre-assessment.
• The pre-assessment exam is conducted orally and is based on every day conversational Spanish that is qualitative in nature.
• The pre-assessment exam is taken by speaking to an expert instructor in qualifying and testing candidates for medical interpretation.
• Exam participants will be placed into one of three categories: Basic, Advanced, or Master.

The qualitative score is calculated on whether the applicant is:

1. Completely fluent in speech without struggling,
2. Able to comprehend the spoken message immediately.
3. Can converse easily in a casual manner about a given topic without hesitation.

Candidates will know their qualitative score at the conclusion of the oral exam.  Language pre-assessment requests must be emailed to bees@uccs.edu.

Contact a Beth-El College Extended Studies Representative to learn more or schedule your pre-assessment evaluation today!

Questions? E-mail  bees@uccs.edu or call 719.255.4486

Required Text available in the UCCS Bookstore (medical reference section):

• Medical Spanish Made Incredibly Easy! [Paperback] Springhouse
• Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Third edition (June 2, 2008)

The UCCS Spanish/English Medical Interpreter course meets the requirements for future interpreters and translators certification, offered by the International Medical Interpreters Association.

Faculty

Yvonne Argüello, MS
yarguell@uccs.edu

Yvonne Argüello has had more than 20 years experience as an educator with particular expertise in the education of Spanish-English bilingual professional interpreters.  She developed the curriculum teaching Spanish for Health Care Providers in the Health Sciences Department at Beth El College of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs in 2004. The class is currently being offered online by the Beth-El College Extended Studies Department.

Subsequently, Ms. Argüello served Memorial Health System in Colorado Springs as Coordinator of the Department of Medical Interpretation and Translation from 2005-2011 which was totally compliant with all National Standards of Practice of Interpreters in Health Care.  Policies and procedures at Memorial Health System were  guided by the interfacing standards of Title VI of the Civil Rights act of 1964, JCAHO and CLAS.

Given her awareness of the extreme importance and responsibility of professional medical interpreters and the present federal mandates regarding assessment and qualification of employees used as bilingual medical interpreters, she began teaching a 44 hour Certificate of Training Completion through UCCS Campus Wide Extended Studies in 2011-2012.  This class meets all national guidelines and serves to meet the needs of a linguistically diverse community and mitigates medical errors and legal culpabilities.  The Certificate class has been approved by IMIA (International Medical Interpreters Association) and appears on their directory of approved 40 hr. Certificate of Training and Completion which qualifies an interpreter, with proper credentials, to apply to take the National Board of Certified Medical Interpreters examination.

• Ms. Argüello earned a Master of Science Degree in Linguistics from the University of New York at Albany. 
• She has been trained and mentored by national experts in the field through her active participation in the California Health Care Interpreters Association (CHIA) since 2005.
• She received a scholarship from the "California Endowment" and was invited to receive special training through "Connecting Worlds" to become a national trainer of interpreter trainers. Connecting Worlds training is a program based on empirical research regarding the necessary fundamental skills taught in collaboration with Stanford University and the Monterey School of Languages. 
• She received the Certificate of Competency through the National Center for Interpretation: Testing, Research and Policy (NCITRP) at the University of Kansas Medical School.
• She has passed Part 1 (written) of the National Board of Certified Medical Interpreters and awaits assignment of venue to sit for Part 2 (oral) of this examination.
• She taught Italian communication executives American English and American Spanish for one year in Milan, Italy.

Professional Associations

• IMIA - International Medical Interpreters Association
• CHIA- California Healthcare Interpreters Association
• CAPI- Colorado Association of Professional Interpreters
• TAHIT- Texas Association of Healthcare Interpreters and Translators

Last updated: March 28, 2013
Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences
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