Ensuring Competencies of Health Care Interpreters

1
Ensuring Competencies of Health Care Interpreters

• Linda Okahara
• Asian Health Services
• 9/29/2008

2
Certification of Health Care Interpreters

• No state or federal certification or licensing of
  interpreters working in typical medical encounter
• Cooperative Personnel Services provides CA state
  medical interpreter testing and certification
  as relates to medical exams for workers comp or
  personal injury law cases.

3
National Coalition on Health Care Certification

• Interpreter associations, I T language
  agencies, interpreter trainers, immigrant
  refuge service groups, health services, advocacy
  organizations
• Resource for following developments
  www.ncihc.org

4
Standards of Practice

• Whats out there?
• What do they cover?

5
Code of Ethics and National Standards of Practice

• National Council on Interpreting in Health Care
  (ncihc.org)

6
CA Standards for Healthcare Interpreters

• California Healthcare Interpreting Association
  (chiaonline.org)
• Ethical principles, protocols, interpreter roles
  and related interventions

7
Medical Interpreting Standards of Practice

• International Medical Interpreters Association
  (imiaweb.org)
• Code of ethics
• Standards of practice

8
Health Care Interpreter Trainings

• Whats out there?
• What do they cover?

9
Health Care Interpreter Trainings

• Trainings range from 24 349 hrs to BA and MA
  level programs
• Bridging the Gap, Connecting Worlds (based on
  CHIA standards), community college curriculum,
  employer curriculum
• Training resources community colleges,
  community organizations, CHIA orientation to
  training

10
Info on Trainings

• California Healthcare Interpreting Association
  (chiaonline.org)
• Health Care Interpreter Trainings in California
  http//calendow.org/uploadedFiles/health_care_inte
  rpreter_training.pdf

11
Testing of Bilingual Staff vs Interpreting Staff

• Language proficiency
• Medical terminology
• Interpreting skills

12
Testing

• Financial incentives for participating in testing
• Designating and testing for different levels
• Example Kaiser Permanente http//www.rwjf.org/qu
  alityequality/product.jsp?id34030

13
Testing Info Resources Language Proficiency
Interpreting Skills

• Certification of Health Care Interpreters in the
  US http//calendow.org/uploadedFiles/certificatio
  n_of_health_care_interpretors.pdf
• Language Testing Options
• http//www.hablamosjuntos.org/resourcecenter/pdf/L
  anguage_Testing_Options.pdf

14
Contact Info

• Linda Okahara
• Asian Health Services
• Director of Community Services
• 818 Webster St.
• Oakland, CA
• [phone], ext 205
• Lokahara_at_ahschc.org