Bridging the Gap Intensive Medical Interpreting Training

Posted by on July 16, 2012

BRIDGING THE GAP
Intensive Medical Interpreting Training
Admissions Testing will start on August 20th and will go through August 31st.
The 40 hour course will take place on September 21st, 22nd, 28th, 29th and October 6th  from 8:30 am to 5 pm.

LOCATION: 1216 Arch Street, 4th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107
COST: $500
Are you ready to become a professional medical interpreter?

This exciting and rewarding career is growing fast. Professional and high-quality foreign language interpreters are a crucial part of health care delivery as hospitals, clinics, schools, and doctors’ offices serve a growing and diverse population of immigrants and patients with limited or no English proficiency.  Delivering accurate medical information to patients and health care providers can save lives.  This 40-hour training course trains bilingual health care professionals, interpreters, and translators in the theory, mechanics, ethics, and business of the medical interpretation field.

Bridging the Gap is a nationally recognized training that is accepted by the American Translators Association for continuing education credit and provides excellent preparation for the International Medical Interpreters Association certification test.  This course is considered the best introductory course to the medical interpreting field available in the US—and that distinction is important to hospitals and health care providers, which want to ensure that the interpreters they hire know and adhere to the standards of the field.  Bridging the Gap will give students a strong foundation for the professional standards (including skills, ethics, cultural sensitivity, and best practices) of medical interpretation.  The course helps students understand how the US healthcare system works and their role within it, covers basic anatomy and medical terminology, examines cultural differences in healing practices, and delves into professional ethics, boundaries, advocacy, and conduct.

Students will be asked to take a bilingual proficiency exam in order to be accepted for the training. Classes and written exams are conducted in English, but students will work in their own language combinations for in-class practice exercises and role-playing.  Students who pass the final exam will receive a certificate of successful completion and will be eligible for more advanced training courses.

BRIDGING THE GAP COURSE TOPICS
Basic Interpreting Skills
What is—and isn’t—your job as an interpreter? What are the professional standards for medical interpreters? Includes techniques and skill drills.
•    The Roles of the Medical Interpreter
•    Code of Ethics
•    Interpreting Techniques
•    Sight Translation
•    Intervening
•    Managing the Flow of an Interpreted Session

Introduction to Health Care
What should medical interpreters know about medicine? How does the US health care system work? Includes “A Day in Medical School” module.
•    The Culture of Biomedicine
•    Anatomy
•    Medical Procedures
•    Medical Terminology

Culture in Interpreting
What happens when Western medicine meets other cultural ideas about healing? How can interpreters help clients—and health care providers—understand what is happening in a culturally appropriate way?
•    Self-Awareness
•    Basic Characteristics of Specific Cultures
•    Traditional Healing Practices
•    Culture Brokering

Communication Skills for Advocacy
When should an interpreter become an advocate? How can you fully understand your clients’ needs?
•    Listening Skills
•    Appropriate Advocacy

Course materials are included in the cost of the course.  All students will receive:
•    A fully updated 450-page medical interpretation textbook
•    A bilingual medical glossary in the student’s language combination
•    A guide to commonly prescribed medications.

To register for the course and take the pre-course exam, contact:

questions regarding the course, contact:
Ellen Polsky
Director of Education
215-609-1525
epolsky@nscphila.org

Juan Lara
Director of Translation and Interpretation
215-609-1548
jlara@nscphila.org