Medical Interpreter Training Starts Aug. 6 in Utica

UTICA, July 6, 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 Aug. 6 in Utica. It will be held in the MAMI classroom at 309 Genesee Street on four consecutive weekends, including three Thursday evenings, to better accommodate the working schedules of people interested in becoming trained medical interpreters, said Mary Stronach, interim 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 a second language, and who would like to earn money while providing a much-needed service to healthcare providers and patients lacking proficiency in English, Stronach said.

The medical interpreter training is for all languages, she said, but there is a priority need for interpreters who speak Arabic, Bosnian, Karen/Burmese and Somali/Maay-Maay. There also is a need for interpreters in the following languages: Chinese, Italian, Karinee, Kirundi, Malinke, Nepalese, Polish, Spanish, Swahili, Turkish and Vietnamese. 

Along with paid on-the-job experience and an oral exam, the course leads to agency certification by MAMI, the Multicultural Association of Medical Interpreters.

There are tuition and language screening fees, with easy payment or installment 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. Upon passing the written exam, 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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