The Professional Medical Interpreter®

This self-paced, online medical interpreter course is for aspiring medical interpreters who are looking for a 40-hour comprehensive training program that will prepare them to work as professional interpreters in medical and healthcare settings.

In this online course, students will learn the standards of practice and code of ethics from both the International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA) and the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC). This 40-hour professional medical interpreter course will prepare you to become a Certified Medical Interpreter (CMI). Students who enroll in The Professional Medical Interpreter will also be given access to the Academy’s medical oral language proficiency tests. Students must take the proficiency test for English and for their target language(s) if the Academy offers testing for their particular non-English language.

Multilinguals will learn the specialized skills they need to meet the demands of professional interpreting in today’s world. After taking the Professional Medical Interpreter course, you’ll earn the title of Qualified Medical Interpreter (QMI). You’ll be qualified to work as a QMI for hospitals, medical offices, rehabilitation centers, and other healthcare settings.

After successful completion of the course, participants will be able to do the following:

• Perform the necessary basic mediation techniques for successful interpreting
• Use the necessary basic techniques to interpret in real-life situations
• Use the consecutive mode to interpret during routine medical assignments
• Perform basic simultaneous interpretation
• Provide accurate sight translation of a document
• Understand anatomical, diagnostic, and treatment terminology
• Understand interpreter codes of ethics, ethical decision-making and use that understanding to interpret ethically

• Be qualified to work as a freelance medical interpreter (independent contractor) for language service providers* across the US.
• Be qualified to apply for staff interpreter positions at hospitals and medical facilities. (Note: Some states may require that medical interpreters earn their accreditation as a CMI or CHI before working professionally.)
• Fulfill the 40-hour medical interpreter training pre-requisite to apply for the national medical interpreter exam with either NBCMI or CCHI.

• Students must be at least 18 years of age and have a high school diploma or equivalent. A 4-year or bachelor’s degree is recommended.
• Students must make full payment or an initial installment before gaining access to the course.
• Students must have a computer and microphone to be able to complete the oral language proficiency tests. The proficiency tests are included in the price of tuition.

Below is a list of third-party language proficiency exam results that we will accept if you do not plan to take the Academy of Interpretation's proficiency tests OR if we do not offer testing for your language.

• ACTFL Oral Exams (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages): 3.5+ or at least Advanced Mid lvl.
• CAE (Certificate in Advanced English, Level 4): B
• CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English, Level 5): B
• ECPE (Examination for the Certificate of Proficiency in English): PASS
• ELPT (English Language Proficiency Test): 950+
• FCE (First Certificate in English, Level 3): A
• IELTS (International English Language Testing System) 7.0+
• ILR 2 correlates with 3.5 Advanced Mid ACTFL (Being reviewed for equivalence)
• MELAB (Michigan English Language Assessment Battery) 80+
• TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language): 570+ on paper; 230+ computer version; 90+ on iBT.