HOW TO BECOME A CERTIFIED MEDICAL INTERPRETER Maggie

HOW TO BECOME A CERTIFIED MEDICAL INTERPRETER Maggie Hong

OUTLINE 1. What are the certifications for medical/healthcare interpreters? 2. Why should I get certified? 3. What’s the process of getting certified? 4. What to do if there’s no certification exam for my language combination?

Certified Medical Interpreters (CMI) by National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters (NBCMI) Certified Healthcare Interpreter (CHI) by Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI) (In today’s discussion, we’ll only focus on NBCMI) WHAT ARE THE CERTIFICATIONS?

Valid national credential and international recognition Better job prospect (in-house and freelance) Join the community of certified medical interpreters Opportunities for continuing education WHY CERTIFIED?

Certifications are available for Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, and Vietnamese Step 1. Registration Step 2. Written Exam Step 3. Oral Exam Step 4. Recertification WHAT ARE THE STEPS TO GET CERTIFIED?

Prerequisite: 1. At least 18 years old. 2. At least a high school diploma or GED 3. Medical interpreter education (at least 40 hours from the approved medical interpreter training program/ 3 credit hour of university medical interpreting coursework 4. Oral proficiency in English and your target language (Details see: NBCMI website; “Get Started” tap, “Step 1 - Registration, ” then choose your language) STEP 1. REGISTRATION

1. testing from home through Proctor. U or testing onsite 2. Written exam format: computerized multiple-choice exam, containing 51 questions, all candidate have up to 75 minutes to complete the exam. 3. Content of written exam 4. Role of Medical interpreter, Medical Interpreter Ethics, Cultural Competence, Medical Terminology, Medical Specialties, Interpreter Standards of Practice, Legislation and Regulations STEP 2. WRITTEN EXAM

1. Testing from home or Onsite 2. Candidates are allowed 45 -60 minutes to complete the oral exam. 3. Candidates have 10 minutes to complete two sight translation passages and 30 minutes to complete 12 mini-scenarios. 4. Simultaneous interpreting, written translation, and sight translation into English are NOT tested. STEP 3 ORAL EXAM

CMIs are recertified every 5 years by participating in education directly related to medical interpretation. 3 CEUs/5 years should be completed to maintain the certification. Each hour of approved medical interpreter training will account for 0. 1 CEU. In other words, 30 hours of continuing education training should be completed every 5 years. (For details see Candidate Handbook) RECERTIFICATION

New Hub-CMI credential for candidates who passed the written exam but don’t have oral exam available in his/her language. Complete details will be coming soon on NBCMI website and Candidates Handbook WHAT TO DO IF THERE’S NO CERTIFICATION FOR MY LANGUAGE?

THANK YOU!