how to apply for medical interpreter certification with cchi
DESCRIPTION
Have you made a decision to invest in your career as a professional medical interpreter and want to know the best strategy to reach your goal? You really need to become certified. Healthcare interpreting is one of the fastest growing allied professions in the health care industry. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a 42 percent growth in employment in the occupation of interpreter and translator, with a little less than 25,000 new positions. At the same time interpreting is a truly competitive field nowadays. Healthcare providers are starting to realize that the real solution to ensuring meaningful language access for patients with limited English proficiency is making sure that interpreters are certified. More and more employers of interpreters – hospitals, language companies and agencies – prefer or require certification as a prerequisite for hiring. The Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI) offers a national, valid, credible and vendor-neutral certification process for healthcare interpreters. The CCHI community of credentialed interpreters is growing fast. In the course of three and half years of the certification existence, over 1,280 interpreters have been awarded CCHI’s credentials. This PowerPoint is a practical, step-by-step overview of the CCHI certification application process.TRANSCRIPT
How to apply for CCHI’s
exams (and become
certified)? March 28, 2014
Natalya Mytareva, M.A., AHI™ Managing Director
Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI)
www.cchicertification.org
A National, Valid, Credible,
Vendor-Neutral Certification Program
National – A portable credential that follows the Interpreter throughout their career
Valid – The single most important concept – the certification test measures what it intends to measure
Credible – Created by Interpreters, for Interpreters and the public good
Vendor-Neutral – Developed from the ground up and not reliant on any existing certification, training, testing or assessment developed or licensed by other organizations. No individual, organization, vendor or entity has any financial or other stake in the program's administration
Accomplishments
By Interpreters, for Interpreters and the Public Good
13 Commissioners
20 Advisors and 1 Managing Director
50 Supporters
2,479 Job Task Analysis Participants
115 Test Development Subject Matter Experts
Over 1,280 AHI™ and CHI™ Credentials Awarded
47 Continuing Education programs accredited with CEAP
What is Certification?
Assessment of an individual’s professional competencies, and
Recognition that an individual has met certain predetermined standards recognized as sufficient for the professional performance
Voluntary process
Not a “teaching” experience
www.cchicertification.org
CCHI Certification
is available to
Interpreters of all languages
Interpreters working in all modalities:
Face-to-face
Telephonic
Video
Interpreters in any state
Staff, contractor or volunteer interpreters
www.cchicertification.org
Who is CCHI Certification for?
An Entry-Level Interpreter:
A person who is able to perform the functions of a healthcare interpreter competently and independently in a healthcare setting with the knowledge, skill and ability required to relay messages accurately from a source language to a target language in a culturally competent manner and in accordance with established ethical standards.
Credentials Offered
Associate Healthcare Interpreter™ (AHI™)
Core knowledge credential available to all interpreters EXCEPT Spanish-, Arabic- and Mandarin-speaking interpreters
Certified Healthcare Interpreter™ (CHI™)
Language-specific credential, currently available to Spanish-, Arabic - and Mandarin-speaking interpreters
www.cchicertification.org
Test Development Process
347 candidates participated in the pilot
A group of volunteers under the guidance of psychometricians evaluates and validated the results
The process was validated by NCCA accreditation of the CHI™-Spanish certification
Pilot & Validate the Tests
Two nationally recognized psychometricians directed the process
Followed the best practices for certification tests
Create Psychometrically
Valid Tests
115 volunteers became our Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
Demographic, linguistic, cultural, experience and geographic diversity
Select Volunteers to Represent the
Profession
National Survey – Job Task Analysis
2,479 participants
Describe the Profession
Step 1 - Review the Certification
Process
Review Eligibility Requirements, the certification process, and test center locations – at our website:
www.CCHIcertification.org
– and in the Candidate’s Examination Handbook: www.cchicertification.org/images/pdfs/candidatehandbook.pdf
www.cchicertification.org
Healthcare Interpreting
Training Requirement
It must be training, i.e. not just interpreting (even if under someone’s supervision) and not self-study
It may be on-the-job training provided by your employer, but you must have a document which states: Your name
Organization’s contact info that provided the training
Dates and specific hours of training
Specific topics of training
www.cchicertification.org
Healthcare Interpreting
Training Requirement
30 hours must be on the subject of healthcare interpreting
5 hours may be attending any interpreting conference
5 hours may be in a related professional training, e.g. court or conference interpreting, medical specialty
http://www.cchicertification.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=90&Itemid=4#HIT
www.cchicertification.org
Credentialing Exams
1. AHI™ credential – 1 exam:
multiple-choice AHI™ exam in English
2. CHI™ credential – 2 exams:
the same multiple choice exam as for the AHI™
+
An oral language-specific CHI™ exam
www.cchicertification.org
AHI™ Test Centers
AHI™ Test Centers
CHI™ Test Centers
Step 2 - When ready, create
a CCHI Profile
2. When ready, create
a CCHI Profile
Create a CCHI Profile
Your CCHI Profile
CCHI Interpreter Registry
Application Process
Fill out online application and pay $35 application fee, click “Submit” button.
It takes 30 days to review an application. Then you get an email “Your Exam Eligibility” –
this is your prompt to pay for the AHI™ exam. Our emails will come from the @cchi.learningbuilder.com address.
After you pay the AHI™ fee ($175), you will get an email “Scheduling Your AHI™ Exam” which explains that you need to get an AHI™ Notice to Schedule before you can call a test center and schedule your exam.
www.cchicertification.org
Payment
for Application & Exams
All payment is done online via PayPal.
All fees are non-refundable.
Exam fees is for one administration only.
Your employer may also pay for you. CCHI can issue an invoice to the employer. The employer may pay by check.
CCHI has volume discounts for employers purchasing 10+ exams. Contact us at [email protected] for details.
www.cchicertification.org
Your CCHI Profile
Your CCHI Profile
www.cchicertification.org
Notices to Schedule
AHI™ & CHI™ Notices to Schedule are issued twice a month by our testing vendor:
If you paid between 12:01 am on the 16th and 12:00 am on the 30th – your Notice will be emailed on the 3rd of the month, and you can call to schedule starting the 5th of the month.
If you paid between 12:01 am on the 30th and 12:00 am on the 15th – your Notice will be emailed on the 17th of the month, and you can call to schedule starting the 20th of the month.
www.cchicertification.org
Notices to Schedule
1. In the AHI™ Notice to Schedule email from Comira you will get a link to the test center network.
2. You will get a different CHI™ Notice to Schedule email from McCann Associates with a link to a different test center network.
3. Please DO NOT schedule your exam before you get the Notice for the specific exam. You will forfeit the fee you paid.
www.cchicertification.org
Notice to Schedule gives you a
specific link
www.cchicertification.org
Interpreter Registry and
Credential Verification
Credential Verification
www.cchicertification.org
www.cchicertification.org
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