Title: Health Care
Interpreting Program
College: Mt. San Antonio College
San Francisco City College
Contact:
Jesus Oliva, Mt.
San Antonio College 909-594-5611 x6108 orjoliva@mtsac.edu
Tim Berthold, San Francisco City College 415-452-5266 ortberthol@ccsf.edu
Target population served:
Bilingual/bicultural students who want to gain employment as
interpreters in health care settings.
Goals: To understand
and apply linguistic and cultural interpretation in healthcare
settings for specific populations.
Description:
The Health Care
Interpreter program is a 10-month non-credit certificate program for
students who are proficient in English (spoken and written) and
their native language. Students focus on topics such as medical
terminology, physiology, and the ethical decisions and possible
scenarios that an interpreter must resolve. In the last semester of
the program, each student must complete a 54-hour externship with a
local hospital.
The need for the program arose when a study of patient care errors
showed that bilingual and bicultural residents were not getting
accurate or culturally appropriate medical information within a
health care setting. By providing accurate information to patients,
hospitals have found that patients are better prepared to manage and
monitor their own health, and that overall health care costs are
reduced.
A curriculum was developed in 2001 as part of the College’s Welcome
Back Program. This year, the program will update the curricula using
a DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) process and will add enhanced
materials including an instructional CD and video.
Staffing: Part-time
faculty member
Facilities, equipment, materials:
Classrooms, office space
Costs, funding source: Grant from The
California Endowment for Curriculum Development, and ADA.
Outreach and marketing:
When the program began in 2001, it was advertised in the Penny Saver
(mailed to households within the region). Over 150 students applied
as a result. Afterwards, word-of-mouth was used to promote the
program, resulting in over 100 applicants each year (the program can
accept 60 students each year).
Evidence of effectiveness:
Demand for admission into the program remains high. Starting
salaries of graduates begin at $17 per hour. Graduates can continue
their studies into other related health occupations such as Medical
Court Interpreting, where salaries average $55-60 per hour.
Hospitals that have employed program graduates have reported a
reduction in lab/testing procedures for non-English speaking
patients due to high quality and accurate doctor patient
interpretation services. Administration of medications and
post-hospital follow-up care has also improved because interpreters
are able to communicate medical instructions in a manner that is
culturally and linguistically appropriate to non-English speaking
patients.
Examples of successful graduates include the Project Manager of the
Health Care Interpreter Program, “Access to Linguistically
Appropriate Services,” for the Los Angeles County Health Department;
a full time Health Care Interpreter at Children’s Hospital of Los
Angeles, an Interpreter for the Chino Unified School District, a
Language Lab Coach for the HCI Program at Mt. San Antonio College
and two full time nurses who used the program as a preparatory
course for exposure and knowledge of the medical system while
pursuing their Nursing Boards.
Suggestions for replication:
¨ Provide counseling and guidance on an on-going basis for students.
Present positive role models and stories of success so that students
can develop a positive outlook and goal-oriented strategy to gain
high-wage high-skill employment.
¨ Create and nurture partnerships early on with local hospitals and
other health care industries to garner and manage resources, create
a strong student-employer connection, and keep the program
responsive to employer needs.