The national demand for trained health professionals is on the rise and health professions are in competition with other fields for young recruits. Currently, there is a nationwide trend towards high school health career vocational programs, including introductory training for medical assistants, pharmacy clerks, emergency medical technicians, surgical aides, and nurses. With a view to introducing young people to healthcare interpreting, CCCS, Inc.™ has developed a training program and manual, Introduction to the Art of Medical Interpretation® – High School Edition, Volumes One and Two, which helps build and guide a two-year program of study. This program assists bilingual students to develop skills today that will allow them to pursue healthcare interpretation as a future profession or as a professional anchor as they work their way through college.
We are very excited that a growing number of young people are considering healthcare interpretation as a future career choice. We believe that now is the time to begin their preparation. These interpreting students, in general, are open to new ideas and will become willing partners in the promotion of professional guidelines and standards for healthcare interpreting practice.
Minors should never interpret in healthcare settings. However, in the year or two it takes to meet the age requirement, high school students can study interpreting ethics, modes and techniques and sharpen their language conversion skills through supervised role-play practice, personal study and language lab activities. These students can also complement their interpreting and language studies by taking as many communications, health, and science courses as possible. These activities do more than simply prepare the students for a future career-they also promote individual health awareness and disease prevention strategies.
If you would like more information on how to build a healthcare interpreting program in your high school, please contact us at 781.729.3736, 1.888.2227 (out of state) or by email at info@embracingculture.com.
Introduction to the Art of Medical Interpretation® – High School Edition Vol. 1 units of study include:
- Finding Your Center as an Interpreter
- The Power of an Interpreter
- Introduction to Interpreting Roles
- Consecutive Mode and Memory Aids
- Simultaneous Mode and Interpreting Techniques
- Sight Translation and other Interpreting Modes
- Ethical and Legal Challenges for Healthcare Interpreter
Introduction to the Art of Medical Interpretation® – High School Edition Vol. 2 units of study include:
- Understanding the Medical Culture
- Basic Anatomy for Medical Interpreters I-IV
- Understanding the Culture of Being a Patient
- Planning for Your Future as an Interpreter – I-II