Why do you need a Medical Interpreter Certificate to become a medical interpreter?

The need for certified medical interpreters continues to grow.

The strong demand is one result of the burgeoning Spanish-speaking population in the United States.

The Pew Research indicates that one-third of

Hispanics cannot speak English proficiently.

In a previous article, you learned just who is a medical interpreter.

I  am studying to become a certified Spanish medical interpreter. Check out my progress in the previous article.

Below, you will learn just why a certification is necessary for interpreters to work in hospitals and clinics.

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The importance of professional medical interpreters

A medical error could result in a very negative outcome for a patient's health.

The Willie Ramirez incident is a sad, prime example.

An non-certified "interpreter" could have deadly results.

Moreover, a relative or friend also is not qualified to communicate with medical staff when a loved one is sick or injured.

Plus, without proper professional detachment, it is unfair to ask a family member or friend to feel empathy and try to focus at the same time on communicating with doctors or nurses.

Research indicates that Limited English-speaking patients often receive inferior medical care because an interpreter is not available to communicate with medical staff.

That is not right.

A rigorous certification program which includes a 40 or 60-hour certification course, a written and finally an oral exam helps prepare qualified interpreters.

I am studying now to begin a certification course in January. 

I do need your help in the form of a donation though. 

That is why I started a GoGetFunding campaign to help pay for the courses and exams to become a certified Spanish medical interpreter.

My effort to become a certified Spanish medical interpreter

In the previous post, I gave you an update of my progress of studying anatomy and physiology.

One needs the medical vocabulary and working knowledge of how the body functions to be a good medical interpreter.

By January, I will be ready to take the 60-hour exam to start the certification process.

I am fluent in Spanish and am already a certified translator. 

Plus, I have had some interpretation classes when I was studying translation.

Thus, I have a strong base to prepare me for success as a certified Spanish medical interpreter. 

Please give to help me pay for my courses and exams.

Conclusion

The 60 million people in the United States today that do not speak English well could not potentially receive adequate medical care.

However, a certified medical interpreter can be a linguistic bridge between these Limited English-speaking patients and their doctors.

I accept the challenge to become a certified Spanish medical interpreter. 

Please help me pay for my courses and exams in January.

Thanks for your help!

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What is the Spanish medical interpreter gap in the US?

Medical interpreters serve as a linguistic bridge to help patients and doctors to communicate confidently.

A doctor visit is often times an intimidating and uncomfortable affair.

When you cannot speak the local language well enough to tell a doctor about your medical problem, the stress level soars.

The so-called "medical language gap" is increasing in the US - too many Limited English patients (LEPs) are  unable to interact with their physicians.

Spanish Medical Interpreter Gap

Because there is an insufficient number of certified medical interpreters to LEPs in hospitals and clinics, especially for Spanish speakers, there is a "medical interpreter gap"."

Spanish is the second most common language in the US after English - and growing.

For example, Florida is the second fastest-growing Latino population after Georgia with an 85% increase since 2000.

The Pew Research says one-third of Hispanics are not English proficient.

Unfortunately, relatively few health care organizations – anywhere from 38 to 68 percent – employ professional interpreters, who assist patients either in person or remotely via phone or video.according to the study.

Thus, Spanish medical  interpreters are needed to help LEPs to effective communicate with medical staff.

Interpreters in hospitals and clinics show cultural competence and ensure patient-and-family-centered care.

They also improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities.

Just because one cannot speak some English (or at all) should not condemn them to inferior health care.

That is not right!

Fundraising Goal

While I am a certified translator  now, I now want to go a step further to be a certified Spanish medical interpreter.

I thought about becoming a certified legal interpreter, but I prefer medicine.

But, I need your donation to help me pay for the classes in January. I really do appreciate it!

Conclusion

I need to take Spanish medical certification classes in January and get a better computer to help me study.

In a later post, I will explain more about the serpentine certification process. In short, it is not a overnight project!

Please give what you can today to help. I really do appreciate it!

Thanks for reading this entire post!

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Press Release: Certified Translator Hopes to Narrow Language Gap in Central Florida Hospitals with Crowdfunding Campaign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Certified Translator Hopes to Narrow Language Gap in Central Florida Hospitals with Crowdfunding Campaign

ORLANDO, Florida, November 20, 2017 – Winfield Trivette II, a certified translator of Spanish and Portuguese text to English, announced today that he is raising funds via a crowdfunding campaign on GoGetFunding to pay for his Spanish medical certification courses and exams.

Mr. Trivette set out to raise $6,000 on GoGetFunding to become a certified Spanish medical interpreter in order to narrow the unfair language gap between Limited English Hispanic patients and their doctors in Central Florida.

A third of Hispanics are not English proficient, one quarter are elderly, according to the Pew Research.

The resultant language gap between primarily Spanish-speaking patients and English-speaking health care providers causes unfair health disparities and inferior health care.

More storm victims of Hurricane Maria from Puerto Rico potentially could widen the language gap between Hispanic patients and medical providers in Central Florida.

While the Pew Research indicates 86% of Puerto Ricans identify as English proficient, that means a sizable number do not.

"Fortunately, a short-term solution is more certified Spanish medical interpreters," says Mr. Trivette.

"I need help to pay for my classes and exams. Then I can help close the language gap as a certified medical interpreter here in Central Florida."

After passing a 40-hour credit course and both a written and oral exam, a candidate can become certified by the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters.

To help narrow the unfair language gap between Spanish-speaking patients and medical providers, visit: https://gogetfunding.com/fund-spanish-medical-interpreter-certification/

 For more information:

Mr. Winfield Trivette II
winn[at]atranslationace.com

About Winfield Trivette II

Mr. Trivette II is a certified translator of Spanish and Portuguese text to English who has lived and traveled extensively in Spain and Latin America. He is studying to become a certified medical interpreter – converting speech between people who speak different languages.

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Who is a certified Spanish medical interpreter?

Who is a certified Spanish medical interpreter?

Introduction

I am currently engaged in fundraising campaign to pay for Spanish medical interpreter certification courses and exams.

The US faces a server shortage of (certified) Spanish medical interpreters.

A language barrier should not force Limited English speakers to suffer from inferior medical care.

I am fluent in Spanish.

I am certified to translate Spanish and Portuguese to English (conversion of text).

For my interpretation quest, I currently study human anatomy and physiology to prepare me for the certification courses.

I just need help paying for the certification material and courses to become a Spanish medical interpreter.

Could you make a donation of $25 today? Thanks!

Below is a rough sketch of the slog ahead of me to become a certified medical interpreter. 

However, with my knowledge of Spanish, fluency, and determination (and your help), I know I will succeed to knock down language barriers in the US medical system!

The Serpentine Spanish Medical Certification Process

There are essential four steps to become a certified medical Spanish interpreter by the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters:

•  40 hours of health care interpreter training
• Spanish Level Check
• Written Exam (now on-site)
• Oral Exam (now on-site)

I need to take the 40-hour course. A 60-hour course is available and will likely become the new standard.

That course is about $1000.

Could you make a donation of $25 today to help pay that cost? Thanks!

Next, I am fluent in Spanish. However, you need 24 hours of Spanish classes (about 8 college-level) courses.

An alternative – which I plan to pursue – is achieving the Advanced Mid-Level qualification. I recently lived  9 years in Latin America.

That exam can be around $110.

So, as you can see, even before you get to the written exam you have paid nearly $1100. 

Add the registration fee for the certification board and you have another $1150!

Then, once you have presented your qualifying scores for the 40-hour course and your language level, you sign up for the written exam, another $175 as of this writing. 

Finally, upon successfully completing the written test, you have to pass the oral exam, $275 more.

That’s almost a total of $1500 if you pass step and do not have to repeat!

Could you make a donation of $25 today to help pay that cost? Thanks!

I am confident. 

I have the cultural background, Spanish language power, tenacity, and determination to complete the process.

Please give today to pay for the certification classes and tests. Thanks!

Why certified medical interpreters

Just as you would demand your nurses and doctors to be certified, it is the same for medical interpreters who act as mediators between patients and medical staff.

Interpreters (and fellow translators!) are just as much professionals as medical personnel.

Medical interpreters are sometimes involved in life and death situations – that’s the facts of life.

You want the best qualified personnel around you at that crucial moment.

Having competent medical interpretation is the first step in preventing tragedies like that of Willie Ramirez. 

Thus, every medical interpreter must experience the serpentine certification process.

I accept the challenge!

Unlike other interpreting scenarios, the decisions in the hospital or clinic demand the utmost understanding of medical knowledge to assist both patients and doctors to achieve a successful outcome!

Your generous donation today of $25 helps me to pay for the certification courses and exams. Thanks!

You can help knock down the language barrier that often results in bad medical care for Limited English speakers!

Conclusion

The process of Spanish medical certification is not easy.

It is also costly and time-consuming.

However, it is rewarding as well.

You can play a key role in the whole process!

Could you help pay for these courses and exams with your donation of $25 today? Thanks!

p.s. Please tweet or share on Linkedin this article to your friends. Thanks for your help!

My quest to become a certified Spanish medical interpreter

For the last 9 years, I taught English in Latin America.

The time I spent from Colombia to Argentina to Brazil and finally back to Colombia was exhilarating.

I solidified my Spanish fluency and picked up some Portuguese along the way.

While there were many challenges from financial to health setbacks, I always held dear this phrase - ''Sigo adelante'' - I go forward.

Going Forward

So, now, at the tail end of 2017, I plan to go forward into the next year as a certified Spanish medical interpreter.

I am already a certified translator from Spanish and Portuguese to English. 

Florida International University, one of the handful of educational institutions that offer such a program in the United States, prepared me well to convert text from Spanish and Portuguese into English.

Of course, I had interpreting classes as well. It was just that I could not appreciate them enough at the time because my Spanish was not as strong as it is now.

Hint: If you are studying a second or third language  now, remember this one factoid - you need to LIVE in the country where the language is spoken to really dominate it.

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I follow my own advice that I give to my ESL students!

Now, I am ready to meet and surpass the challenge to become a medical interpreter.

Certified Medical Spanish Interpreter

Health care is already a sore subject in the United States for many reasons. 

Delivery of medical services has even grown more acute because of recent political chicanery.

Nevertheless, a trend I saw way back in 2000 while working in Washington, DC, has also reached a fever pitch now - the strong influence of the Spanish language in the US.

I actually took 4 years of Spanish in high school and learned a lot. 

Taking Spanish in high school for a long time seemed like a punchline for many, but it is big time serious right now.

While I minored in French at Florida State, I returned to Spanish learning after 9/11 in DC when I decided to become fluent by studying in Madrid, Spain in 2002.

While I am a certified translator  now, I now want to go a step further to be a certified Spanish medical interpreter.

I thought about becoming a certified legal interpreter, but I prefer medicine.

But, I need your donation to help me pay for the classes in January. I really do appreciate it!

Fundraising Quest

I need to start my certification classes in January, perhaps February at the latest. 

I am beginning to organize my studies of human anatomy and physiology which is only a part of challenge before me.

Another challenge is to pay for these certification classes and exams in January.



That is not much time between now and then. I have a $6,000 goal to reach!

I've started a GoGetFunding fundraising account to help me pay for the costs to become a certified Spanish medical interpreter. 

I really do appreciate it!

In this blog, I will keep you updated on my progress in my studies and why more Spanish interpreters are needed in our hospitals and clinics to help our family, friends, and neighbors.

Conclusion

I need to take Spanish medical certification classes in January and get a better computer to help me study.

In a later post, I will explain more about the serpentine certification process. In short, it is not a overnight project!

Please give what you can today to help. I really do appreciate it!

Thanks for reading this entire post!

p.s. Please Retweet this article to your friends. 

¡Muchas gracias!