New Tool for Developing a Healthcare Interpreting Career

Do you have an interest in healthcare interpreting?  Without a clear structure for determining competency to interpret in healthcare settings, it is not surprising that interpreters, educators, and students are often unclear on the path to work in this specialized area.

Healthcare Interpreting Career Lattice

The Healthcare Interpreting Career Lattice is a new resource from the CATIE Center and NCIEC designed to provide a framework for developing the knowledge and competencies needed for the healthcare setting.
The Healthcare Interpreting Career Lattice maps the phases of development after obtaining a BS/BA degree and certification, to working autonomously as an interpreter in healthcare settings. Interpreters can enter and exit this progression at various points, depending on their background, knowledge, competencies, career goals, and job requirements. Each stage offers recommendations for professional development, and includes links to resources.
The Lattice is useful for:

• Attracting individuals to the specialty of healthcare interpreting.
• Providing guidance for those seeking professional development in healthcare interpreting.
• Offering interpreters at all levels of experience specific information about training, education, and experiences leading to greater expertise.
• Assisting educators, academic advisors, students and potential students in outlining careers and the critical experiences individuals should acquire to enter and progress through careers in healthcare interpreting.
• Informing individuals who may rely on interpreting services in healthcare about the general levels of experience, education and training of ASL-English interpreters.

Career lattices are common in many practice professions, such as nursing and physical therapy. They are designed to help people conceptualize professional development within a field. Because there are currently no national certifying or credentialing processes in place for ASL-English healthcare interpreters, the Healthcare Interpreting Career Lattice is a means for Deaf and hearing interpreters to better understand the progression toward competency in healthcare interpreting.
The Healthcare Interpreting Career Lattice relies on the individual interpreter to actively seek out and participate in specific activities and to document completion of the activities. In addition to the current resources included, observation and supervision, as well as mentoring are important components of the professional development of healthcare interpreters. The Lattice provides guidance while promoting individual accountability for one’s career development.
The Lattice is not meant to capture all the details related to specific training or educational activities for advancement in the field of healthcare interpreting, but rather to provide resources and guidelines for developing competency.
 
Click here to explore the interactive Healthcare Interpreting Career Lattice!
Be sure to check out the wealth of resources in the “additional preparation” boxes.
Please share this information with interpreters, educators, healthcare professionals, and others who may be interested.