Why does ALTA offer testing for bilingual employees and for medical interpreters?
The job requirements from a language viewpoint are different for bilingual employees and for medical interpreters. Bilingual employees speak directly with the patient/client in the target language (e.g. Spanish) while providing the service. Medical Interpreters are not the direct service providers; rather, they are the means for the service provider to communicate with the patient/client. The language skills for a bilingual employee are to speak and understand at the appropriate level of skill in the patient’s/client’s language. A medical interpreter must not only speak and understand the patient’s/client’s language at the appropriate skill level, he/she must also speak English at the appropriate skill level and must be able to convert content accurately from one language to the other.
Related Questions
- Does the agency require any continuing education of its employees/contractors? If so, how much and what sort of proof do the employees/contract interpreters have to offer?
- Does Spheris offer a well-defined career path for its medical transcription employees?
- Why does ALTA offer testing for bilingual employees and for medical interpreters?
