Certificate in Healthcare Interpreting (Non-Credit)

During the Certificate in Healthcare Interpreting Program, students will: 

• Recognize basic healthcare systems, medical/psychiatric care venues, institutional hierarchy, and healthcare personnel roles and responsibilities. Discuss the practice realities of interpreting within these systems/settings.
• Examine human diseases and learn the typical diagnostic and treatment dialogues or clinical "scripts" of common conditions, diagnoses, and initial and presenting complaints.
• Evaluate state and federal regulations regarding healthcare settings (e.g., liability, Department of Health regulations, HIPAA, ADA, hospital policies) and their impact on interpreters (external demands/interpersonal demands).
• Recognize general medical/psychiatric terms, procedures, pharmacology, anatomy, and physiology in English and ASL.
• Identify and discuss strategies and techniques that foster effective communication within healthcare environments.
• Recognize the benefits of working as part of Deaf-hearing teams in healthcare settings. Discuss best teaming practices. Identify situations where Deaf interpreters are most needed.
• Describe the role and function of “Designated Interpreters” in healthcare settings.
• Assess the benefits of adopting a practice profession approach to interpreting.
• Engage in reflective practice by analyzing ethical dilemmas and applying ethical standards and practices via case conferencing, supervision, and other problem-based learning activities.
• Discuss behaviors and practices that demonstrate respect for patients and healthcare providers from diverse backgrounds and with various beliefs and thought worlds.
• Examine how power, privilege, oppression, and microaggressions impact interpreted events.
• Distinguish between common types of mental illness and identify the use of the DSM diagnostic criteria in evaluating patients.
• Inspect common and complex therapeutic dynamics, especially third-party dimensions, and the interpreter's potential impact and interference on the therapeutic process/relationship.
• Recognize issues in the work environment that may create distress and employ strategies for dealing with feelings.

The following criteria will be used to select applicants to participate in this program:

• Applicants must have successfully passed the RID Knowledge exam for admission. Interpreters with national certification or state licensure preferred.
• Applicants must have experience working as an interpreter in healthcare settings.
• Applicants must agree to complete the entire program, including a prerequisite online medical terminology course.

This program includes approximately 160 hours of online instruction.

This program runs from September – May

Courses Offered:

• Medical terminology (online prerequisite completed by June 1)
• Healthcare Practical Interpreting/Human Body Systems

The prerequisite medical terminology course is $109.95. The cost for the Certificate Program is $1,600, which includes books.

You will need a high-speed internet connection, a microphone and a webcam.

Students will complete an online medical terminology course before CHI begins to develop vocabulary essential to understanding the language used by medical professionals. We will provide participants with a link to enroll in a Language of Medicine course emphasizing etymology, definition, pronunciation, and correct use. If you prefer, you may sign up for another course of your choosing. Students will provide NTID's Department of American Sign Language and Interpreting Education with a copy of proof of completion before starting CHI.

This course will expose interpreters to the broad array of medical settings, medical professionals, common medical service protocols, and the federal regulations and policies impacting communication access and the work of interpreters. In addition to the broadly defined medical interpreting objectives, the course also addresses the theoretical constructs and the approach to the practice of interpreting based on the demand-control schema. This course will expose interpreters to the typical diagnostic and treatment dialogues or clinical "scripts" of common conditions, diagnoses and initial presenting complaints. Exposure to this new content knowledge happens via observations of medical student practice dialogues with simulated patients and other problem based learning activities. English to ASL skill development activities will be employed using materials from the CATIE Center.

This course will provide interpreters with a strong foundation in Human Body Systems.  Students will learn anatomy and physiology (structure and function), specialized terms, health care provider specialties, medical tests, procedures and equipment, common medications, and common conditions/diseases for each body system.  The course will emphasize understanding the realities of interpreting practice, while recognizing discrepancies between known and unknown knowledge stores.  Through this process, interpreters will learn to recognize unfamiliar medical terms, constructs, and jargon in order to better navigate within healthcare systems.