What Is A Medical Interpreter? And Answering Student FAQ

Medical interpreting allows people to communicate with their healthcare providers even when patients speak a different language. Because doctors have a responsibility to provide equal medical care without discriminating. That's why doctors require medical interpreters when treating ESL patients (who speak English as a Second Language). That way, the patient can understand their doctor, and vice versa. This means that medical interpreter training for bilingual adults is incredibly important. Because the job description requires a deep understanding of medical language in both languages heard in the room. In fact, one language interpreting error can result in a misdiagnosis, injury or death for the ESL adult, who cannot otherwise communicate on their own.

"What is the best interpreter school near me?"

A medical interpreter certification is earned once you have completed our 7-week, 45-hour medical interpreting course. To pick the best one, you have to choose the one with the highest quality learning experience available. Did you know that all of our LIVE streamed interactive interpreter training happens in our online classrooms? In fact, our specific method of interpreter school gives students the opportunity for their questions to be answered in real time. And feedback to be given immediately- something that most other online training courses simply cannot offer. Which is especially important as you learn the skills, techniques that medical language interpreters need to do a good job. Here is some of what our medical interpreting school teaches:

• Maintaining patient confidentiality and the ethics of medical interpreting

• Professional interpreter skills

• Basic anatomy and physiology concepts along with their essential medical vocabulary required to navigate healthcare conversations for conditions like:

• The endocrine system
• HIV/AIDS
• Diabetes
• Cancer (Oncology)
• Radiology
• STDs
• and so much more

• Medical standards and protocols for interpreters

• Role-play medical scenarios so you can practice medical interpreting skills in real situations

• How to accurately interpret complex medical scenarios in real-time

• Cultural understanding, and how it impacts language

• How to pay attention when someone is speaking, and relay what was said in another language

* Did you know that employers and hospitals are more likely to hire candidates with professional medical interpreter training? In fact, many medical institutions require proof of training even before allowing you to apply. Once you pass our medical interpreter training exam, you will receive your certificate.

"How long does interpreter school take?"

Medical interpreting school can take 7 weeks, or 12 weeks but it is really up to you and your goals. If bilingual healthcare workers want to communicate better with patients, then enroll in our standard medical interpreter training course. If you want to provide freelance work for an official language interpreting agency, or if you want to get paid more then consider a dual enrollment with our Advanced Medical Interpreting course. The advanced course is only 5-weeks, and is accelerated in order to help students prepare for their medical interpreter licensing examinations.

"Do you NEED a license to become a medical interpreter?"

The short answer is no. You do not need an official healthcare interpreting license in order to work as a medical interpreter.

Healthcare interpreter training helps ESL patients (who speak English as a Second Language) access a better quality of healthcare. That’s why interpreter school is so important for healthcare workers, because you have to learn the specialized communication skills that you don’t learn anywhere else. But if you want to become a licensed medical interpreter, we recommend a dual enrollment so that you can prepare for your National Board of Certified Medical Interpreters (NBCMI) exam if that is something you want to pursue because you want to maximize your earning potential.

	Standard Medical Interpreting Course (7-week instruction program)	Advanced Medical Interpreting Course (5-week exam study program)
Overview	* Must pass an oral language assessment * Builds foundational skills * Prepares students for entry-level work	* Must complete standard course * Designed for board exam prep * Emphasizes test-taking strategies
Content & Audience	For bilingual adults new to medical interpreting: * Code of ethics * Standards of practice * Medical terminology * Note-taking and memory exercises	For students committed to licensure covers: * Advanced terminology * Mock exams * Real-time interpreting simulations * Exam-focused feedback
Outcome	* Certificate of completion * Ready for non-licensed interpreter roles * Option to continue into advanced training	* Board exam readiness * Supports state licensure applications * Higher-level career opportunities

 

 

At the very least, bilingual adults should register for our FREE 1 hour information webinar! Ask all of your questions and get answers! ...Did we mention that it's free?

Our online translator classes are taught by expert instructors ✅ who have real-world experience in their interpreting specialty. They have worked hard to make fully remote online courses that are unique and engaging ✅ using a hands-on approach that is unparalleled by the competition. If you or someone you know is interested in our online Medical Interpreter Training Programs with live instruction✅, our fully remote yet real time classes ✅ are offered in Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, Farsi, French, Hindi, Korean, Somali, Urdu, Ukrainian languages online and onsite.