A Message from Louis Provenzano, President & COO, Language Line Services

Friends and Colleagues,

Today, April 30th, marks an important day and yet another milestone in our industry's history.

We join colleagues and partner organizations from 30 states today as we begin more than 200 scheduled congressional meetings to advocate on behalf of medical interpreters!

The planning committee, which includes members of:

• The International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA) and state representatives,
• The Medical Interpreter Network of Georgia (MING),
• The Nebraska Association for Translators and Interpreters (NATI),
• Area Health Education Centers (AHEC),
• Cardinal Point,
• Language Line Services,
• The Global Advisory Council and
• Some very dedicated interpreters...

...has been coordinating all of these congressional meetings and planning for the medical interpreters' first rally, ever!

You may be wondering what we will be talking about during these many meetings.

Topics to be discussed (and explained in this free informational flier distributed at the event) include:

• What types of reimbursement we are lobbying for - Medicare, Medicaid and Private Insurance
• What Medical Interpreters do exactly
• Healthcare Disparities and Language Access
• Benefits of National Certification for Patients, Providers, the Health Industry and Government
• Impact of Certified Medical Interpreters
• Benefits of Working with a Certified Medical Interpreter
• Consequences of Using an Unqualified Medical Interpreter
• Health Care Reform and our Next Steps

If you're reading this and will be in the DC area later today, come join the rally?

The rally begins at 4:00pm Eastern on the grounds of the Capitol, across from the Supreme Court Building and adjacent to the Russell Senate Office Building on Constitution Avenue.

If you are not in the area, you can still help. Read this message and email us about participating in the Advocacy Task Force for certification of medical interpreters at may1st_nmic_forum@yahoo.com

We've come a long way, but there is much work still to be done. I hope to see you at the rally, or to hear from you soon!

Best regards,

Louis

News from NBCMI

Industry-Leading Provider of Professional Testing and Certification Credentialing Services Releases Report Confirming National Certification Exams Meet Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing and the Institute for Credentialing Excellence

PR Log (Press Release) - Apr 28, 2010 - Washington DC - The National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters has finalized the first-ever national certification program with the release of a Technical Standards Review and Validation Report by leading professional testing and certification credentialing services provider PSI.

The report, which can be downloaded at www.certifiedmedicalinterpreters.org, documents that the National Board's oral and written exams required to be credentialed as a "Certified Medical Interpreter" (CMI) in a specific language meet the standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA, APA, NCME, 1999), and that the overall process of national medical interpreter certification adheres to the Institute for Credentialing Excellence's (ICE) best practice standards.

Read the rest of this news release from the National Board for Certification of Medical Interpreters here.

Interpreter Trainers to Convene in New Brunswick, New Jersey for First Ever National Symposium Focused on Medical Interpreter Education.

Trainers, instructors, language coaches, and curriculum designers of medical interpreting educational programs will gather on the New Brunswick campus of Rutgers University, in New Jersey, on Saturday, June 12, 2010 for the first annual National Symposium on Medical Interpreter Education.

The theme of the symposium is: Medical Interpreter Education, A New Standard.

"Now is the time to embrace the new national standard and educate our peers of its value. Symposium participants can take an active role in this national process by joining various projects that are in progress, whose work will be discussed at the symposium," said Hank Dallman, medical interpreting instructor at Rutgers University.

Participants will learn of the latest best practices and trends in medical interpreter instruction, and how to overcome the current challenges of interpreter education professionals.

Key topics to be discussed include an overview of the different types of training programs and venues in which interpreter education takes place, the latest updates on different technologies, training for national certification, internships and practicums, applying for CEU credits, the National Trainers Code of Ethics, and the upcoming IMIA Accreditation Standards for interpreter training programs.

"This event marks a great networking opportunity for interpreter educators nationwide to meet in a more focused way to share ideas and knowledge related to their own working needs," said Izabel S. Arocha, M.Ed, IMIA President

For the "save the date" flier go to: http://www.imiaweb.org/uploads/pages/533.pdf

To register go to: http://www.imiaweb.org/conferences/2010TrainersSympReg.asp

For more information about the First Annual Medical Interpreter Symposium, please contact IMIATrainersSymposium@gmail.com.

Some are doctors, some are nurses, and some are admissions clerks.

Some were lawyers or engineers in their own countries and, on one occasion, even a TV reporter.

Some, like myself, came to this country as refugees, others learned a second language by studying abroad or joining the Peace Corps, and still others learned it at home.

A few have had to interpret all their lives, as children helping their parents, attempting to interpret concepts that they were too young to understand.

Others have had to practice their skills on the battlefield, knowing that their renditions might result in someone's death.

Continue reading "Beautiful Interpreters" by Ofelia Sorzano, Senior Language Specialist and Trainer for Language Line® University

Selected News of the Month

• Language Line Services' - Cross-Cultural Update for April 2010. Useful Cultural News, Tips and Timely Information


• "Non-English Speakers Struggle To Get Up To Speed As States Try To Keep Them Off Roads" - HuffingtonPost.com - By Louis Provenzano


• Language Line Services Expands Workforce. Following Recent New Product Launches, Leading Interpretation Company to Add More Than 1,000 New Positions to Meet Growing Client Demand for Language Solutions"


• Video Interpretation Takes Evolutionary Leap Forward Through Convergence of Technology and Human Capital | Language Line Services and NexTalk

More Language Line Services news here >>

Language Line Services, the leader in language interpretation, is seeking to increase its over the phone interpreter team in many languages including:

• Chru
• Edo
• Garre
• Kotokoli
• Kpelle
• Mam
• Mixteco
• Trique
• Punu
• Putian
• Sango
• Sinhalese
• Uzbeq*

An exciting new opportunity is available to experienced interpreters living in the Los Angeles area. Interpreters will now be able to do both on-site, face-to-face interpreting as well as over-the-phone interpreting in the following languages: Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Farsi, Armenian, and Japanese.

And, finally, among non-interpreter positions, here is a selection for which we are interviewing:

• Account Manager
• Collections Specialist
• Customer Contract Salesforce Administrator
• Interpreter Response Center Specialist
• Payroll Specialist
• Business Development Executive
• Response Center Specialist
• Graphic Designer/Production Artist, and
• Several other positions

For non-interpreter positions, please apply at: www.languageline.com/careers. Click on "Apply Today" under "Corporate Careers" and follow the directions to add your profile.

EEO/AA Employer.

* Some positions may have been filled by the time you apply. However, new positions open every week.

Visit our Career Center here >>

Each month you'll receive our free monthly email newsletter...

featuring news, tips, interviews, surveys, stats, special offers and other useful information to help you better serve limited English speakers.

If you enjoyed this issue, share it with your colleagues and friends. Just ask them to visit our website and subscribe.

They'll receive the bonus "11 Tips for Working with an Interpreter" as our way of saying thank you.

By the way, your information will never be shared with anyone, ever! See our Privacy Policy here.