Program Components:

Academic/remedial support

Curriculum development

Collaborative funding

909-594-5611 x6108

joliva@mtsac.edu

Tim Berthold, San Francisco City College

415-452-5266

tberthol@ccsf.edu

interpreters in health care settings.

settings for specific populations.

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.

90

Development, and ADA.

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).

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 doctorpatient

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.

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.

industries to garner and manage resources, create a strong student-employer

connection, and keep the program responsive to employer needs.