CCRI to offer interpreter certificate

WARWICK – The Community College of Rhode Island announced plans to offer a revised Health Care Interpreter certificate program beginning this fall, college officials announced on July 25.
The new program seeks to meet the need as defined by the Joint Commission, the organization that accredits health care organizations, to have a certified medical interpreter on staff at all times, in order to lessen any potential language barrier between doctors and patients.
“There is going to be an increasing need for health care interpreters within our state,” said CCRI Nursing Department Chair Hilary Jansson, citing both the stricter requirements for hospitals to provide interpreting services and Rhode Island’s increasing Spanish-speaking population.
Students in CCRI’s program will take three courses over two semesters, with 45 hours of on-site training throughout the year. This fall, students will shadow a trained interpreter for 15 hours and will spend 30 hours as an interpreter under supervision next spring.
Professors in the college’s Nursing and Foreign Language departments will provide classroom instruction in both Spanish and English, covering subjects such as medical terminology and health care and interpreting practices.
An informational meeting about the program, designed to teach students who are bilingual in English and Spanish necessary medical/health care information and terminology, will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 7, in Room 0028 at the Knight Campus, 400 East Ave., Warwick.