Estrella Mountain’s SouthWest Skill Center is now listed with the International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA) as Arizona’s only “acceptable training site” for Spanish Medical Interpreters. The IMIA is the only trade association representing medical interpreters in the United States and abroad. In addition to developing the first Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice for the profession, it also established the first national annual conference on medical interpreting and the first National Continuing Education Unit (CEU) Program specifically for medical interpreters.
“Certification is not mandatory to work as an interpreter, but is now finally available after almost 20 years of industry conversations and healthcare and interpreter professional collaborations defining their future and the credentials by which they will be known and respected. Certification is a goal that we encourage all our program completers to achieve, and with a program at the SouthWest Skill Center that is only three years old, we are excited to be recognized by the IMIA,” said Karee Peigné, program manager for the Spanish Medical Interpreter program at the SouthWest Skill Center.
All SouthWest Skill Center Spanish Medical Interpreter program students, past and present, are now eligible to apply for national certification, exceeding the standards of training for interpreters. For additional information about the Spanish Medical Interpreter program at Estrella Mountain Community College’s SouthWest Skill Center, call 623-535-2700.