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Become a Spanish/English Medical Interpreter

Medical interpreters play a crucial role in hospitals, clinics, and healthcare settings, helping to bridge the language gap between patients and healthcare providers. This ensures that patients receive the best possible care and fully understand their medical situations.

This 100% online course is designed to prepare you for this role. You'll learn how to interpret medical terminology effectively in both English and Spanish. You'll also acquire skills in simultaneous interpretation, consecutive interpretation, and sight translation — which will enable you to assist in various specialized areas within hospitals and medical fields.

Become a Spanish/English Medical Interpreter

Questions?

Delivery Method
100% Online
Contact Information
Joe Crespo
ed2go Online Courses
1519 Clearlake Road, Bldg. 25
Cocoa, FL 32922
crespoj@easternflorida.edu 
321-433-7503

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), interpreters and translators make an average of about $51,830 per year. But if you specialize in medical terminology and become a certified medical interpreter, you'll have even more job opportunities in the healthcare field. The BLS predicts a 19% growth in jobs for interpreters and translators in the next decade, which is faster than for many other jobs.

Through this course, you'll learn:

Prerequisites

You don't need any formal linguistic education, but you must be fluent in both Spanish and English to enroll in this course.

Program Curriculum

The syllabus for the Medical Interpreter Training course includes the following topics:

  • Medical Vocabulary: The Human Body
  • Pre-Anesthesia Record Form
  • Medical Vocabulary: System and Senses
  • Refusal to Permit Blood Transfusion
  • Medical Vocabulary: Signs and Symptoms
  • Medical Condition Form
  • Intravenous Contrast Injection Consent
  • Medical Vocabulary: Facilities and Staff
  • Discharge Instructions
  • Colloquialism
  • Medical Vocabulary: Treatment Procedures, Instruments, Supplies, and Medications
  • Industrial Accidents: Workers' Compensation
  • Medical Vocabulary: Pregnancy and Delivery
  • Simultaneous Techniques
  • Consecutive Techniques
  • Interpreting Laboratory Practices
  • Medical Vocabulary: Pediatric/Neonatal Care
  • Medical Vocabulary: Family Planning
  • Interpreting for Hospitals: Parents' Rights and Responsibilities 
  • Medical Vocabulary: Communicable Diseases
  • Interpreting for Hospitals: Taking Care of Mom
  • Interpreting for Hospitals: The Baby Blues
  • Medical Vocabulary: Sexually Transmitted Infections
  • Interpreting for Hospitals: Consent for Cath Lab Procedure
  • Medical Vocabulary: Dental Health
  • Interpreting for Hospitals: Environmental History Form for Pediatric Asthma Patients
  • Medical Vocabulary: Substance Abuse
  • Interpreting for Hospitals: OSHA-Required
  • Idiomatic Expressions: English Into Spanish
  • Interpreting for Hospitals: Adult History Form
  • Interpreting for Hospitals: Authorization for Use or Disclosure of Imaging Information
  • Legal Terminology Used in Medical Matters
  • Interpreting for Hospitals: Advance Directive
  • Interpreting Laboratory Practices
  • Principles of Localization
  • Re-Structuring Techniques
  • Principles of Reversibility and Non-Reversibility of Medical Terms
  • Interferences: Filtering Syntactical and Grammatical Interferences
  • Style in the Delivery
  • Exam-Taking Techniques: Objective Versus Subjective Grading
  • Transferring of Low, Regular, and High Register Documents Into the Opposite Language
  • Stability in the Transfer
  • Interpreting Laboratory Practices

Instructor

Nestor Wagner is a certified medical interpreter as well as a certified court interpreter. He has been teaching interpreters since 1990. He contributes to the certification process for immigration interpreters and analytical linguists. He is active in the professional and scholarly community for advancing interpreting skills. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Washington.

Course Registration

Register for this self-paced online course via our educational partner ed2go for the affordable price of only $2,595. Get started whenever it suits you!

ENROLL IN THE MEDICAL INTERPRETER (SPANISH/ENGLISH) TRAINING COURSE

Medical Interpreter FAQs

What does a medical interpreter do?

According to the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC), the primary duty of an interpreter is to facilitate clear and comfortable communication between healthcare professionals and patients.

Where can medical interpreters work?

Typically, medical interpreters operate in healthcare environments where healthcare providers conduct health-related discussions with patients. Interpreters may also assist in other healthcare-related areas, including financial assistance services.

What are the requirements for excellence as a medical interpreter?

The National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC) lists six key qualifications for effective medical interpreting:

  • Language fluency
  • Ethical conduct
  • Cross-cultural understanding
  • Health and medical terminology
  • Real-time interpreting skill
  • Correct interpretation of instructions
How do medical interpreters get certified?

Certification involves a thorough evaluation conducted by a professional organization to assess and endorse a medical interpreter's qualifications. This evaluation covers language proficiency, terminology knowledge, ethical standards, and the interpretation process.

Is certification important for medical interpreters?

Certification signifies that a professional has completed a rigorous and structured educational program and successfully passed an established examination. It serves as a solid confirmation of an interpreter's abilities and a dedication to achieving excellence.

What is the difference between an interpreter and a translator?

Interpreting deals with spoken communication, whereas translation focuses on written documents. In the medical context, interpreters assist in facilitating spoken dialogs and interviews between patients and healthcare professionals.

Additional Continuing Education Courses

If you're looking for continuing education options, you may find the following courses, as well as other language programs through ed2go, to be of interest: