Interpreter Training | Equal Footing

UPCOMING EQUAL FOOTING
Dates:
– March 30th, 2024 – June 15th, 2024
– Offered entirely online via Live Webinar
Schedule:
– 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (CST) –
Cost:
-$800 – SWITS Staff interpreters may qualify for free training!

Prerequisites:
  • Be at least 18 years of age
  • Provide proof of competency in English AND one other language. Scholarships available for Languages of Lesser Diffusion*
*Please contact SWITS for more information at training@swits.us

Apply today to see if you meet the course prerequisites!

See what others are saying!


“The Equal Footing Training for LEP Persons offered by SWITS helped me to learn more in depth about the profession of interpreting. I now feel fully prepared to embark on this journey to further my skills as an interpreter and become medically certified. It was a great experience to learn alongside colleagues and develop professional relationships with multiple interpreters from various languages. More than just a learning tool in my interpreting career, this training was an experience that allowed me to assess my current interpreting skills and knowledge in order to further improve and reach my goals. Thank you Saul, Bob, my colleagues, and the whole SWITS team for offering this training.”

Dani Morillo

“Not gonna lie, the class was very thorough. So much so that I took the first part of the certification exam nearly two months after the class ended, and I passed without extensive studying”

Esther Velasco

Description

Enhance your professional development with the Equal Footing course, which prepares individuals to work as community and medical interpreters. This seminar focuses on critical concepts for interpreting in the medical and community settings, providing participants with a guide to identifying the setting at hand and empowering them to approach each communicative event professionally by observing established strategies and codes of conduct in the field.

Specific topics addressed will include the fundamentals of professional interpreting, the role of the interpreter in medical and community settings, medical terminology, the Codes of Ethics proposed by the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC) and by the International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA) as well as ethical dilemmas based on these Codes of Ethics. Participants will have the opportunity to practice and implement interpreting techniques in small groups, listen to and critique recordings of interpreting scripts, and record and critique their own renditions.

Mission

The mission of Equal Footing is to place Limited English Proficient (LEP) persons on an equal footing with those who understand English by preparing quality professional interpreters. The course provides interpreter training in three key areas of medical and community interpreting: linguistic proficiency, a clear understanding of ethics, and discernment regarding which role is appropriate for each setting. In addition to introducing relevant theory, we strive to provide practical, hands-on experience that prepares students for successful careers as medical and community interpreters.

Goals

Students who attend Equal Footing and complete all 60 hours will acquire knowledge that can be applied in the field of medical interpreting. Equal Footing shall lay the foundation necessary to sit for the national certification exam for medical interpreters.

Objectives

Upon successful completion of the Equal Footing course, students will:

  • Have a broad knowledge of medical terminology
  • Understand all components of the Interpreter Code of Ethics
  • Be able to perform simultaneous interpreting, consecutive interpreting, and sight translation in a medical setting

Curriculum

• Basics of Interpreting
• Consecutive Interpreting
• Interpreter Codes of Ethics
• Medical Interpreting and Sight Translation
• Simultaneous Interpreting
• Roles of the Interpreter
• IMIA Standards of Practice
• Best Practices of Interpreting & Job Outlook for Interpreters
• Interpreter Management of the Interpreting Session
• Interpreting in On-site, Telephonic, and Video Scenarios
• Interpreter Safety
• Professional Development
• Medical Terminology (14 hours)

Instructor

Equal Footing TrainingSaul Arteaga was born and raised in Lima, Peru. At 19 years old, he immigrated to the US where he worked while attending a community college. He further pursued his academic career by receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish and completing classes toward a Master’s Degree in Translation Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In 2002, Mr. Arteaga established SWITS, Ltd., a language service provider based in Delavan, Wisconsin which provides all language services, including signed languages, to healthcare organizations, law enforcement, circuit and municipal courts, and educational institutions.

In 2004, Mr. Arteaga passed the Wisconsin Certified Court Interpreter examination. Soon after, he became a member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Committee to Improve Court Interpretation and Translation in Wisconsin Courtrooms.

In addition to legal interpreting, Mr. Arteaga also pursued medical and community interpreting, passing the Medical Interpreter Competency Examination offered by the National Center of Interpretation at the University of Arizona and attending classes at the Agnese Haury Summer Institute for Court Interpretation and Medical Interpretation at the University of Arizona in Tucson in 2004 and 2008, respectively.

To further demonstrate his commitment to providing high-quality interpretation services, Mr. Arteaga passed the National Board of Certified Medical Interpreters examination in 2012. He also completed the Leadership in Language Access in Healthcare advanced certificate program offered by the IMIA Language Access Leadership Academy.

As a believer in interpreter education, Mr. Arteaga acted as an adviser for several community college interpreter programs in Wisconsin and Illinois. He originally developed Equal Footing to ensure SWITS interpreters had a better understanding of the role of the interpreter as well as best practices. This seminar grew into the 60-hour medical and community interpreter training that is now offered.

Contact Information

The Equal Footing program is administered by SWITS with Saul Arteaga serving as Equal Footing Program Director. He is available to assist students with administrative needs and provide more information on the program. If you have questions about the program that are not addressed in this Program Manual, please contact SWITS at (262) 740-2590 or send an email to saulart@swits.us

Program Manual

SWITS Certificate of Accreditation