How To Become A Certified Medical Interpreter

Medical interpretation can be a lucrative career in today's economy. Immigration to North America has resulted in a growing number of healthcare seekers unable to speak or understand English. For this reason, medical translators need to be well trained in English and their target language and in the field of medical translation.

Have you ever wondered what it takes to become a certified medical translator? Well, the first step in becoming a certified healthcare sign language interpreter is to make sure you qualify. Application requirements differ slightly from one another. So let's take a look at their criteria.

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Certification Commission for Health Translators (CCHI)

The requirements for applying for national certification as a health translator by CCHI are:

1. Minimum age 18 years

2. Have at least an American high school diploma (or GED) or equivalent from another country

3. Complete at least 40 hours of medical translation training (academic or non-academic program).

4. You are proficient in English and the primary language for which you are looking for a certificate

There are many ways to demonstrate language proficiency.  To become a Health Translator through CCHI, you must first take and pass the CoreCHI exam. This is a computerized exam with 100 multiple-choice questions covering the basics of interpretation.

 If your target language is Arabic, Mandarin, or Spanish, you will also take an oral exam in English and the target language.