Medical Interpreting (English - Spanish)

Medical interpreting is a rapidly expanding field as more hospitals and other health industry services opt to provide language services to improve care and efficiency. As a collaborative endeavor between doctor, patient and interpreter, medical interpreting complements and contrasts with the more widely studied legal interpreting. CSULA Extension's classes are designed to prepare the student for medical-field work as a Spanish - English medical interpreter in inpatient and outpatient settings.

CSULA Extension offers a sequence of two special classes dedicated to medical interpreting A beginner class (ML 898, Medical Interpreting) is offered in the Fall and Spring, while an advanced class (ML 898, Advanced Medical Interpreting) is offered in Winter and Summer. The beginner class is a prerequisite for the advanced class.

The first class introduces students to the fundamental techniques and practice of translation and interpreting, including consecutive and simultaneous interpreting, and sight translation. The class presents basic medical vocabulary in English and Spanish and reviews grammatical and other structural differences between the two languages. Written and oral practice and reading comprehension exercises with medical vocabulary are included. The second class continues to develop these skills while also orienting students to the various forms of exam certification which exist in this field.

Differing Emphasis from the Legal Interpreting and Translation Program

Our certificate program in Legal Interpreting and Translation emphasizes the adversarial context of the courtroom. Medical terms receive coverage in this program as they often figure prominently in both civil litigation and criminal proceedings. However, the focus of the Medical Interpreting course is on the collaboration among doctor, patient, family, and interpreter that seeks the best interests of the patient. The emphasis in this context is on promoting "wellness" and patient care as much as on medicine. Neither of the ML 898 classes are required in, or count toward the L.I.T. Certificate core sequence. They can be taken by L.I.T. students as a complement, or as a solo suite of courses by other bilingual persons interested in medical interpreting but not legal interpreting.

The instructor

Soraya Alamdari (PhD, UCLA), is a certified medical interpreter and an experienced professor of Spanish who has taught at several universities in California and on the East coast.

Who Can Enroll?

Any interested Spanish-English bilingual or health worker with a working knowledge and use of Spanish can enroll in the medical interpreting classes.

Cost

As with LIT, the cost is $150 per unit. The ML 898 classes are each 3 units so the fee for each is $450.

Course Schedule

The beginner class is offered in the Fall and Spring; the advanced class is offered in Winter and Summer. The beginner class is the prerequisite for the advanced class. All classes are Saturday afternoons from 1:00 to 4:00, with 11 sessions in 11 weeks for a total of 33 hours, and follow the CSULA quarter schedule.

Fall 2011 (Sept 24 - Dec 10)	Winter 2012 (Jan 14 - Mar 19)	Spring 2012 (Apr 7 - Jun 16)	Summer 2012 (Jun 30 - Sept 8)
11F: Introduction to Medical Interpreting	12W: Advanced Medical Interpreting	12S: Introduction to Medical Interpreting	12Smr: Advanced Medical Interpreting

Click here for Summer 2012 Schedule

For full schedule information for the current or upcoming quarter, go the CESIP main page and choose the Catalog button on the Quick Links menu on the right.

Contacts and links

General information: LIT_Info@calstatela.edu
Coordinator: Piers Armstrong, parmstr@calstatela.edu
Tel. Direct (323) 343-4917
Registration: Call (323) 343-4900; Fax (323) 343-4954

California State University, Los Angeles
College of Extended Studies and International Programs
www.calstatela.edu/extension