How to Get A Medical Translator Certification

Getting a medical translator certification is a worth pursuing for those who are bilingual in English and another target language. A medical translator is someone who is paid to translate medical documents to Limited English Proficient (LEP) and non English speaking patients. A medical interpreter is someone who is paid to interpret conversations between the LEP patient and their doctor. The good news is to become a medical translator you can also work as a medical interpreter and vice versa. If there is anything to be learned from the Coronavirus pandemic, it's that the modern world requires the majority of people to work a modern career that can be done remotely. Of course there are some outliers whose job necessitates workers be physically present but for the most part, going to an office for work is a thing of the past. Getting a medical translator certification is a worthy career path for anyone who is bilingual in English and another language- but where do you start?

1. Start With The Basics

At the very beginning, you must have a high school diploma, or an equivalent level of education (like a G.E.D) or higher, and you must be at least 18 years old. Every medical interpreter must be able to prove their fluency in English and another target language like Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Chinese, Haitian Creole or Vietnamese. This means you must prove you have a high level of understanding of both languages you wish to interpret, including using the right grammar rules, the correct tenses and usage of words etc.

2. Enroll in A Medical Interpreter Training Course

Whether you call it a medical interpreter training course or a medical translator course- they are the same thing. Once these bare minimum qualifications have been satisfied, you must enroll in a medical interpreter training course. And yes, there are countless other companies out there that do exactly what we do, and some do it for less money. While these other courses may seem like a value, the reality is that many students come to us after failing their medical interpreter certification exam because the other training wasn't good enough. In the end, these students come to us and end up spending more money learning the hard way: that we offer a high quality 60-hour medical interpreter course that prepares students to exceed certification exam requirements✅. And while our classes are remote, the curriculum was designed by experts✅ who can give feedback and correction in real time through LIVE video conferencing technology✅.

3. Pass The National Certification Exams*

Whether you take our medical interpreter course in Florida or Texas, there are a few different versions of the national medical interpreter exam. Regardless which one you want to choose, you will be prepared to take it and pass if that is your goal. Sometimes students don't want to get official certification and find meaningful work in a hospital offering freelance interpreting services as needed. Although passing these exams isn't necessary, they all require at least 40 hours of medical interpreting class time.

Whether you want to become a Haitian Creole medical interpreter or speak a different target language, our online medical interpreter class will prepare you for whatever goals you have in mind for your career. Small group, medical interpreting on-site classes are now available for bilingual staff. If you or someone you know is interested in any of our online interpreter training classes, they are offered in Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Chinese, Haitian Creole or Vietnamese languages online and onsite.