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Please note: enrollment is closed through 2024.

Our apologies for any inconvenience.

 

Medical Communication Ambassadors Mandarin Chinese-English Medical Interpreter Certification Course Curriculum

01

Admission Requirements

Note: We are not accepting new students at this time.

Students must have proof of graduation from high school or a certificate of high school equivalency and be at least 18 years old.

Students must possess proficiency in both English and Chinese. Unless students meet certain criteria (see enrollment form for details) MCA will establish the student’s oral proficiency by a fluency exam conducted by a third party. MCA will maintain records in each student’s file to show compliance with admission requirements.

02

Extensive Instruction and practice in English and Chinese

Medical Communication Ambassadors has been training medical interpreters for 20 years, and over the past two years, we have adapted our tried-and-true curriculum for Chinese/English interpreting. At the end of our 80-hour, fully online course, students are prepared not only to pass the national certification exam, but to thrive in on-the-ground (or remote) interpreting. As the Chinese-speaking community is underserved in interpreting, working as a medical interpreter is a great opportunity for bilingual Chinese-English speakers to utilize their language skills to make an immediate, tangible difference in people’s lives. (Students need not have specific expertise or experience in medicine—provided language proficiency, we teach the rest!)

What makes our course unique is its depth and its Chinese language specificity. While most medical interpretation certification courses include 40 hours of language-agnostic (meaning, taught in English) instruction and a few language-specific meetings with a coach, our course spends double the time on online instruction and practice in small, intimate classes, all of which is taught bilingually in both English and Chinese. This provides students with plenty of real-time interpreting practice in their target language, taught by a Mandarin Certified Medical Interpreter™ (CMI). In addition to skills related to in-person and remote interpreting, our course covers areas of medicine ranging from cardiology to psychology, and topics such as intercultural communication and self care. We believe this extensive practice and curriculum is not only essential to the training of competent, confident medical interpreters, it also gives students an edge in seeking employment.

03

Our Course Curriculum Covers

  • Core knowledge and skills needed to handle advanced medical interpretation situations
  • Basic and advanced interpreting skills backed by weekly practice sessions lasting several hours
  • Knowledge essential to working in the healthcare system
  • Advanced anatomy, physiology and medical terminology
  • National code of ethics, standards of practice, roles of the interpreter, types of interpreting
  • Memory skills and note taking skills
  • Culture in interpreting. Self-awareness, basic characteristics of specific cultures, cultural brokering
  • Communication skills. Listening, communication styles, effective communication, professional conduct, self-care, resources for professional growth.

For more information, please see our table of contents

Enrollment Process:

  • Fill out enrollment form (form unavailable: we are not accepting new students at this time)
  • Pass the English/Chinese proficiency assessment (if required, see enrollment form for details)

After we receive your completed application form, we will contact you to confirm your scheduling and availability. If you require a Language Proficiency Assessment (see enrollment form for details), you will receive instructions via e-mail on how to proceed.

This assessment is administered by an evaluator authorized by MCA using the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages). The evaluator will call you at a scheduled date and time at a specified phone number. You will receive an acceptance e-mail message to enroll in the course as soon as we get your assessment results.  You will also receive and email message if you did not pass the language proficiency assessment.

TUITION and payment:

We offer two payment plans to accommodate different students’ needs:

  • Pre-paid: you pay $1000 in advance of the course beginning. This is fully refundable through the first week of the course.
  • Monthly payments: our course runs 16 weeks (4 months), and you pay $270 at the beginning of each month (4 payments of $270). Your first payment is fully refundable through the first week of the course.