Page 12 - Encounters - Issue 1, Volume 1
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12
Texas Association of Healthcare Interpreters and Translators
A S S O C I AT I ON N E W S
I
n the three years since CCHI launched, we have accomplished an amazing
amount. And we are all incredibly thankful for the participation of literally thousands
of volunteers to ensure that our credentialing program was truly developed
by
interpreters and
for
interpreters. All of our work complies with the national standards
established for certification programs from the National Commission for Certifying
Agencies (NCCA), and
we are proud to have recently received NCCA
Accreditation.
We are proud to be the first certification program in the interpreting
industry to have earned such distinction. This accreditation puts the healthcare
interpreting profession on an equal footing with other healthcare professions.
You can read the CCHI’s report “Three-Year Journey to Credentialing Excellence,”
which was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, whose mission is to
improve the health and health care of all Americans, on the CCHI website:
(
.
Our next step
in developing a national, valid, credible and vendor-neutral
certification program is
to help our certified and credentialed interpreters
maintain their credential.
Attaining certification is one step in a process of the
lifelong learning required to perform successfully as a healthcare interpreter. The
passing of a certification examination documents a point-in-time skill. Interpreters need
ongoing access to education to ensure ongoing competency. After a healthcare
interpreter achieves a CCHI credential, they must maintain and improve their skills.
CCHI’s credentials are valid for four years. CCHI requires, as part of credential
renewal, demonstration of ongoing skill development through continuing education
and work experience.
The continuing education and experience requirements
provide a mechanism for credential holders to maintain their interpreting
skills and prevent professional obsolescence.
These requirements are intended
to enhance the continued competence of credential and certification holders.
CCHI has just launched a
Continuing Education Accreditation Program
to
assess, analyze and accredit continuing education programs for healthcare interpreters.
This project is made possible thanks to a grant from the Kaiser Permanente Community
Benefit Fund of the East Bay Community Foundation, whose goal is to improve the
health of the communities Kaiser Permanente serves. As always, we have invited
stakeholders representing our profession, such as safety net healthcare providers,
interpreter associations, certified interpreters, community colleges and universities,
independent interpreter trainers, trainers from non-profit and for-profit sectors, etc., to
help us develop a comprehensive program. We intend with this program to promote
the
National Standards for Healthcare Interpreter Training Programs
and
encourage
creation of abundant, diverse, high-quality training programs for healthcare
interpreters.
As always,
we are relying on your support
in this endeavor.
In 2013, we also plan to expand CCHI’s Professional Profile for Healthcare
Interpreters to allow candidates and credentialed individuals to manage their
personal information, upload information about continuing education and work
experience for review, share this information with prospective employers, and apply
to renew their credentials.
CCHI thanks all volunteers, TAHIT members, who helped us in 2012. We look
forward to working with you in the New Year! Please encourage your colleagues to
get certified so that together we can make our profession stronger.
CCHI Update: Milestone Achieved –
NCCA Accreditation, next – Continuing
Education Accreditation Program
By NATALYA MYTAREVA, CCHI CHAIR
T
he National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC) recently
launched the NCIHC Career Center, a new online career center designed
specifically to connect employers and healthcare language service
professionals. It can be found at
and can be accessed by NCIHC
members and non-members alike.
The service is free of charge for job seekers, and member organizations enjoy
discounted pricing on job posting products. NCIHC’s employment marketplace
distinguishes itself from generalist job boards in a number of ways, including:
• A highly targeted focus on employment opportunities in healthcare
language services;
• the ability for employers to post jobs easily, track activity on those postings,
send job opportunities to NCIHC members via email, generate brand
exposure, expose jobs via NCIHC’s social media channels, advertise in
NCIHC print publications, and more;
• the ability for job seekers to utilize
anonymous
resume posting and job
application—enabling candidates to stay connected to the employment market
while maintaining full control over their confidential information; and
• gain access to industry-specific jobs and top-quality candidates—a feature not
seen on mass job boards.
“Providing our members with opportunities for professional development, networking
and career growth are core to our mission of promoting language access in health
care,” said Joy Connell, NCIHC President. “The breadth of our member base also
makes us the best channel available to employers to expose open jobs to active
and passive job seekers,” she continued. “With the help of JobTarget technology and
expertise, our Career Center is populated with a large number of relevant jobs and
offers a variety of powerful tools for both employers and jobseekers.”
“Members can now rely on NCIHC to provide resources to help advance their
careers,” said Tristan Jordan, Vice President, Career Center Business Unit at JobTarget,
NCIHC’s partner in this new resource. “This valuable career resource will serve
existing members and attract new members, while at the same time providing access
for employers in the industry to a pool of highly qualified, niche talent.”
NCIHC Career Center Connects Job Seekers
and Employers to Improve Language Access in Health Care
