Medical Interpreter Training

Since 2001, St. Joseph Community Health Foundation has actively supported programming to help individuals overcome language barriers to access health and wellness care. An essential part of this work is the use of trained interpreters.

We are committed to increasing the local community’s capacity to provide trained medical and community interpreters to all in need. To this end, we will offer over scholarships to individuals interested in advancing their skills in interpreter training who are engaged with the work of St. Joe Foundation grantees, community partners, and others interested in helping meet this need in the community.

More than 70 bilingual individuals representing 16 different languages have received training as medical interpreters with Foundation training scholarships.

Training Opportunities:

Bridging the Gap: Medical Interpreter Training at Ivy Tech

Bridging the Gap (BTG) is a 40-hour course designed to train medical interpreters. This course is a nationally recognized medical interpreter training developed by the Cross Cultural Health Care Program.

Learn the necessary skills and best practices to become a qualified medical interpreter through lecture-based lessons, interactive role plays, case studies, and group discussions. BTG is taught in English and is open to bilingual speakers of all languages. No medical interpreting experience is required! BTG will prepare you with the foundational skills to become an effective, competent, and professional medical interpreter. BTG is widely accepted across the country as the gold standard for medical interpreter training and qualifies as a prerequisite for the national healthcare interpreter certifications. You will receive our 450-page manual, a bilingual medical glossary (available in 26 languages), a Guide to Common Medications, and a certificate of completion after passing the exam with a score of 70% or higher.

A spring 2023 training was offered, click here to sign up for our newsletter to hear about future classes.

Medical-Interpreter 80-Hour Online Training:

A fall 2022 training was offered. This session used the Medical Communication Ambassadors’ accredited 80-Hour Medical Interpretation Course offered online. The course was taught over 16 weeks with weekly mandatory 2-hour face-to-face sessions online. A limited number of scholarships were available to cover the enrollment fees of $1,000, including all training materials, text and workbook, and language proficiency exam for individuals with a relationship with a local non-profit organization through which they will use their interpretation skills. This course was limited to English-Spanish speakers.

This course is not currently accepting enrollments. If interested in future participation in this course, email Joe@sjchf.org

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