Summer Medical Interpreting Training Program at Brooklyn College
My name is Revital, and I was accepted to participate in a Medical Interpretation course on the Brooklyn College campus this past summer intersession. I was referred to the course via CUNY EDGE and Student Affairs. The training was of no cost to enrolled Brooklyn College students. The classes were taught by Professor Xiao Huang, CHI™ Language Services Coordinator. She is a great educator; it was an honor to be her student.
The field of interpretation is widely popular. Medical interpreters assist patients in their communication with doctors when a language barrier is evident. It was an organized program with a packed schedule of 48 hours overall. The meetings were held once a week from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and spread over the course of a few weeks. The day may be long, but it goes by in the blink of an eye. I had the opportunity to learn a lot of medical terms, practice, and work on memory development. It's not hard as it seems!
There are fun activities held each session. One my favorite activities is roleplaying. I would act as an interpreter for a "patient" speaking with his "doctor." The doctor speaks in English and I must interpret to the patient in his spoken preferred language.
I would recommend this course to any bilingual student. The benefits of taking this include:
- Qualifying to take the CHI or core CHI certification exam and pursue employment in medical interpreting
- Great addition to résumé
- Free of charge
- It's an intellectual course, and you have the opportunity to meet and network with other bilingual students.
I love networking; I think it is very beneficial in any career. In this course, I was able to meet students who spoke Arabic, Russian, Spanish, Hebrew, French, and more. What a great time to educate myself in the summer!
