PALS for Health utilizes the Connecting Worlds Training for Health Care Interpreters © curriculum to prepare qualified individuals for the field of health care interpreting. The development of the Connecting Worlds curriculum spanned 3 years and involved a statewide collaboration of health care providers and experts in the health care interpreting field, including Asian Health Services, Clinicas de Salud del Pueblo, Healthy House and California Health Collaborative, Vista Community Clinic, and PALS for Health.  The Connecting Worlds curriculum is made possible through generous support from The California Endowment. 

The purpose of Connecting Worlds – PALS for Health’s health care interpreter training is to provide bilingual participants with:

• An introduction to the theory, concepts and skills associated with health care interpreting.
• An appreciation for the complexities of the roles and responsibilities of interpreters in the health care setting and the skills required to carry out those functions.
• An introduction to California standards for health care interpreters which includes ethical principles, protocols and guidance on intervention for the health care interpreter.
• Opportunities to apply concepts and theory through simulated interpreting sessions and scenarios on challenging situations.
• Opportunities to learn medical terminology, specifically anatomy and physiology and HIV/AIDS terminology.
• Opportunities to evaluate and improve their health care interpreting skills through language labs, role-play sessions, daily feed-backs and suggestions for improvement, and through a comprehensive pre- and post-test.
• Opportunities to shadow an experienced health care interpreter at an actual interpretation session.
• Opportunities to be observed, while providing interpretation services at an actual medical appointment, and to receive feedback from an experienced health care interpreter.
  

Graduates of our PALS for Health Care Interpreter Training can be found working hard at the following facilities:

• California Healthcare Interpreting Association
• Cedars Sinai Medical Center 
• Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles
• Rancho Los Amigos
• UCLA Medical Center 

In-class instructions are offered over a span of 40 hours, or 5 8-hour-days, the training is a highly effective and comprehensive introduction to health care interpreting as it combines a variety of teaching methods, including lectures, videos, large group discussion, small group activities, role-plays, language labs, research, home-work, and hands-on learning in actual medical interpretation sessions.  All sessions are taught by highly qualified trainers with extensive experience in health care interpreting. Class size is restricted to fifteen participants per class to maximize participant/trainer interaction.  Our classes are fun, informative, interactive and practical!  Please visit our Events page for up-coming trainings. If our training schedule or location is not convenient for you or your staff, we will be glad to work with your schedule or to hold the training at your facility. For more information, please contact Susan K. Choi at 213.553.1827.