The Medical Interpreter Online

Course description: The medical-only version of the leading national 40-hour certificate program for community interpreting. The Medical Interpreter Online (TMIO) satisfies the prerequisite training needed before applying for medical interpreter certification with the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI) or the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters (NBCMI). It is also recognized by the Maryland Court Interpreter Program as prerequisite training before applying for Maryland Court Interpreter Certification.  All course content is presented in English, with multiple opportunities to practice all your working languages.  That makes the program perfect for interpreters who speak or sign ANY language.

Course length:  40 hours

Course access period: 120 days from purchase date

Once purchased, course access cannot be paused. See our FAQ for information on purchasing course access extensions.

Course completion requirements: Pass 22 lesson exit tests (score of 70% or above) and one 90-minute final assessment (score of 75% or above).

Certificate: Downloadable certificates available immediately upon passing each lesson exit test and final assessment.

CEUs: 

• Washington State Department of Social Health Services: 8 DSHS CECs
• The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf: 4.0 RID CEUs*
• Maryland Court Interpreter Program: 8 CE credits
• Ontario Council on Community Interpreting: 40 OCCI PDUs

Feedback from our graduates:

"All the lessons were excellent…I would recommend all of [them]."

"Attributes such as impartiality and advocacy became more concrete in my interpreting knowledge."

"Love this class!"

What you will get:

• 10 superbly qualified video instructors
• 22 role plays, many in nine language pairs with English (Amharic, Arabic, English, French, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese)
• More than 240 interactive exercises!
• A dozen self-assessment exercises
• The two most comprehensive medical interpreting textbooks in the field, in ebook format: The Medical Interpreter: A Foundation Textbook for Medical Interpreting and Medical Terminology for Interpreters (4th ed)
• Course completion certificate

How this course will improve your practice:

You will:

• Know how to perform professional interpreting protocols and skills for medical interpreting.
• Be able to perform in three modes of interpreting: consecutive, simultaneous and sight translation.
• Be able to adhere to professional ethics and standards of practice for medical interpreters.
• Understand what the profession of medical interpreting is and how you fit into that profession.
• Know the role and responsibilities of the medical interpreter.
• Have an introductory understanding of the U.S.healthcare system.
• Understand cultural competence and assess if, when and how to perform cultural mediation.
• Learn about HIPPA, language access laws and legal issues in medical interpreting.
• Understand important practices for infection control.
• Be able to present yourself for employment or freelance work as a professional interpreter.

TMIO Course Content (Estimated time for completion: 40 hours)

TMIO Module 1 (Estimated time for completion: 6 hours, 50 minutes)

This module provides an overview and history of the profession, an exploration of the credentials, testing and type of certification you’ll need to establish yourself as a professional in the field and an introduction to ethics and interpreter self-assessment.

• Lesson 1.1 An Overview of Healthcare Interpreting (50 minutes)
• Lesson 1.2: Interpreter Credentials and Certification Take this lesson for free! (1.5 hours)
• Lesson 1.3: Ethics in Action 1 – Codes of Ethics for Community and Medical Interpreters (1.5 hours)
• Lesson 1.4: Ethics in Action 2 – How to Apply Interpreter Ethics (1.5 hours)
• Lesson 1.5: Interpreter Self-Assessment (1.5 hours)

TMIO Module 2 (Estimated time for completion: 10.5 hours)

This module dives into the skills and protocols necessary to conduct yourself as a professional medical interpreter.

• Lesson 2.1: How to Conduct an Interpreted Encounter (1.5 hours)
• Lesson 2.2: How to Perform Standard Interpreting Protocols (1.5 hours)
• Lesson 2.3: Three Techniques to Improve Memory Skills (1.5 hours)
• Lesson 2.4: Sharpen Your Accuracy! Message Transfer Skills for Interpreters (2 hours)
• Lesson 2.5: Practice the Modes of Interpreting (2 hours)
• Lesson 2.6: Advance Your Skills In Note-taking for Interpreters (2 hours)

TMIO Module 3 (Estimated time for completion: 7.5 hours)

Module 3 is your roadmap on cultural competence and what to do when communication breaks down in the interpreting session. By the end of this section you will have learned advanced strategies for cultural mediation that will help you facilitate meaningful cultural dialogue among participants in the encounter.

• Lesson 3.1: Cultural Competence 1 – Assess Your Unconscious Bias as an Interpreter (1.5 hours)
• Lesson 3.2: Cultural Competence 2 – When Should Interpreters Intervene? (1.5 hours)
• Lesson 3.3: Cultural Competence 3 – How to Intervene as an Interpreter (1.5 hours)
• Lesson 3.4: Cultural Competence 4 – How to Perform Strategic Mediation (1.5 hours)
• Lesson 3.5: Cultural Competence 5 – Cultural Mediation for Interpreters (1.5 hours)

TMIO Module 4 (Estimated time for completion: 8 hours, 40 minutes)

In this module, you will learn who you are as an interpreter and how you fit into the profession. This module begins with a video introduction to the U.S. healthcare system which provides critical information that a medical interpreter needs to know to work professionally and effectively in the U.S. This module closes with a two-part video entitled “Special Topics In Medical Interpreting” which identifies important protocols for medical interpreters, addresses legal issues in medical interpreting and discusses important practices for infection control. By the end of this section, you will know what it means to be a professional interpreter and how you can conduct yourself to honor and uphold this important profession.

• Introduction to the U.S. Healthcare System (50 minutes)
• Lesson 4.1: Understand Your Role – How Interpreters Make Decisions About Role Boundaries (1.5 hours)
• Lesson 4.2: Wait. They’re Going to Operate on the Wrong Leg! Advocacy for Community and Medical Interpreters (1.5 hours)
• Lesson 4.3: How to Follow Interpreting Standards of Practice (2 hours)
• Lesson 4.4: Interpreter Safety and Self-care (2 hours)
• Special Topics in Medical Interpreting (50 minutes)

TMIO Module 5 Medical Terminology for Interpreters (Estimated time for completion: 6.5 hours)

These three, self-contained lessons present an overview of medical terminology for interpreters, how these terms relate to the human body and language registers used in healthcare.

• An Introduction to Medical Terminology for Interpreters (2 hours)
• Medical Terminology and the Human Body (2 hours)
• The Language of Medicine (2.5 hours)

*Please note that there is an additional $20 processing fee, per program, for RID CEUs.

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