Health care interpreters are bilingual individuals trained in interpretation skills and medical terminology who facilitate communication between people who speak different languages in health care settings. Health care interpreters interpret in all areas of medicine — from clinic registration to psychiatric evaluations, routine annual exams to bone marrow transplants, chest x-rays to angioplasty. The occupation involves listening and understanding meaning in one language and reproducing the most equivalent meaning possible in another language.

Waubonsee's health care interpreting program is comprehensive and students who complete it will be ready and able to work in a variety of medical settings, including hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, clinics and mental health centers.

Increasing Demand for Interpreters
And when our health care interpreting graduates are ready to enter the working world, there should be jobs waiting for them. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, employment of health care interpreters is expected to increase about 22 percent by 2014. More job opportunities should become available as health care providers begin to better comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which requires all hospitals receiving federal funds to provide language services to non-English speakers.

Learn more about the job propsects for health care interpreters.