Certificate Programs

Healthcare Interpreter Training Certificate Program

The Healthcare Interpreter Training Certificate, the first of its kind in the southeastern United States, is designed to train bilingual and bicultural students to develop the awareness, knowledge and skills necessary for effective language interpretation in healthcare settings. Through academic preparation, practical skills training and service in community-based healthcare settings, certificate candidates learn the roles and responsibilities of a healthcare interpreter, basic knowledge of common medical conditions, treatments and procedures, language and cultural nuances for specific communities, and advanced interpreting skills. The nine-month program consists of course work taught one evening each week and on two weekend days each month. In order to qualify for admission, prospective students must have completed at least a high school diploma and must be bilingual in English and Spanish. Pretests are administered to determine language proficiency.

On April 24, 2006, the Healthcare Interpreter Training (HIT) Certificate Program was honored by Region VII of the Association of Continuing Higher Education with the 2006 Distinguished Non-Credit Program Award. This award recognizes one non-credit program in the Southeastern United States each year for outstanding originality and innovation, as it relates to audience, delivery, promotion, collaboration and content, and success in achieving the goals and objectives established by the program. The HIT Certificate Program is designed to train individuals who are bilingual in English and Spanish to become qualified interpreters in a medical setting. By building on the Samford distinction and by partnering with community organizations, the HIT Certificate Program excelled in each of these areas. In the spring of 2005, twenty-one students successfully completed the program and are now better equipped to bridge the communication divide between healthcare providers and limited-English-proficient patients.

If you would like additional information about the Healthcare Interpreter Training Certificate Program, please contact Samford After Sundown at (205) 726-2898.

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Last updated: November 8, 2006
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