MAMI Offers Medical Interpreter Training
On 5 Weekends in January-February

Priority Need for a Number of Languages

SYRACUSE, Dec. 28, 2010 – With the growing refugee and immigrant communities in Central New York, there is the need for qualified, trained medical interpreters in key languages. To respond to that need, MAMI Interpreters is offering an 80-hour course for medical interpreters starting Jan. 8, 2011 in Syracuse. It will be held at Reach CNY at 1010 James St. on five consecutive weekends to better accommodate the working schedules of people interested in becoming trained medical interpreters, said Cornelia Brown, PhD, executive director of MAMI.

To register or for more information, contact MAMI at 732-2271 in Utica and 214-5003 in Syracuse, or via email at info@MAMIinterpreters.org.

The course is for anyone who is fluent in English and one of the needed languages, and who would like to earn money while providing a much-needed service to healthcare providers and patients lacking proficiency in English, Brown said.

The course is aimed at training interpreters in priority-needed languages, she said.

In the Syracuse area, priority languages are: Albanian, Amharic/Tigrigna, Arabic (female), Bangladeshi, Bosnian, Chinese, Karenni, Kirundi, Macedonian, Nepali/Hindi, Somali, Spanish, Sudanese, Swahili, Vietnamese.

In the Utica area, priority languages are: Bosnian, Burmese/Karen, Chinese, Kizigua, Nepali, Maay Maay, Spanish, Vietnamese.

There are tuition and language screening fees, with easy payment plans available. Course materials include a textbook, class handouts and a bilingual medical glossary.

The course is taught by a team, including a licensed ESL (English-as-a-Second-Language) instructor who is an interpreter trainer, and a registered nurse/medical trainer. Training involves interpreting skills, ethics and procedures, medical basic anatomy and mastery of a bilingual glossary of medical terms and phrases, common illnesses and treatments, culture-brokering, communication skills, role playing, benchmark oral evaluations, and written exam. There also will be tours of local medical facilities.

After passing the final exam, both oral and written, participants will be eligible to work as paid MAMI interpreter-interns.

MAMI is a community-based, non-profit organization that has been recognized state-wide and nationally for its groundbreaking advocacy, training and coordinating in providing trained interpreters for the medical, social service and legal communities of Central New York.

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