Our Website’s New Look
As you may have noticed, CCHI’s website (cchicertification.org) got a new look! We had two main goals in redesigning the site: to make it mobile-responsive since many of us access the web on our phones, and to make finding information on it easier.
We’d like to highlight three features of the updated website.
1. Quick access buttons in the top right corner
If you already have an account with CCHI and need to continue your application, pay testing fees or start the renewal application, you need to click the “LOGIN” button to get to our online applications system.
If you click on the “GET CERTIFIED” button, you are given two options to proceed. “Certification Process” gives you access to the info about certification and testing if you are not certified yet. “Certification Renewal” takes you to the webpages with all the info about how to renew your certification.
2. Navigation menu
By clicking on the menu icon  that appears in the top right-hand corner on every page, you can access the menu with quick links to the main areas of the site or you can search the website by typing any keyword.
3. Search and FAQs
We have updated the Frequently Asked Questions, and you can access them either by typing a question in the Search field of the menu, or by going to the “Contact us” page.
At the “CONTACT US” page, you can scroll down to see all the FAQs or type your own question. The question will appear in the search results if we answered it previously. Use most general keywords to ask a question, e.g., type words like “score,” “certificate,” “badge,” “webinar,” etc.
If your question is not answered already, click “No,” and a popup window will allow you to send us an email.
EtoE Project National Task Force
Perhaps the most misunderstood aspects of interpreting, among those who are unfamiliar with interpreting, is the fact that being bilingual (or multilingual as is the case with many interpreters) is not an interpreting skill in and of itself. At a minimum, bilingual skills are necessary, but the skill of interpreting is, in fact, not a single skill at all. It is a series of skills that, when working in harmony together, allow the interpreter to convey meaning between two languages and facilitate communication between two (or more) people.
In healthcare and other interpreting settings, the interpreter’s competencies include skills that have either no direct correlation to language proficiency or are not exclusive to language proficiency. Some of these competencies include knowledge, cognitive skills, and personality traits.
Professional interpreters are acutely aware that skills such as memory recall, active listening, message analysis, and speech quality are just a few of the subskills that are essential to rendering a successful interpretation. While these skills are among the critical competencies for interpreters, they do not necessarily require knowledge of a second language. This raises several questions regarding the feasibility of testing performance-based interpreter competencies.
Is it possible to test an interpreter’s performance-based competencies using a monolingual modality? If so, how could this be done? What will the research demonstrate? Those are the questions that CCHI has begun to explore.
In the Fall of 2017, CCHI held several focus group calls and interviews with 40 national experts on healthcare interpreting and/or interpreter testing. The complete summary of these discussions is published in the paper Assessing Healthcare Interpreting Performance Skills in and English-to-English Format, which is available to the public on the CCHI website at the Publications page.
In June, CCHI continued this EtoE (English-to-English) Project by convening the EtoE National Task Force Panel of 22 experts who have been working under the guidance of CCHI’s psychometric consultant Dr. James P. Henderson of Castle Worldwide/Scantron Corporation. The Panel’s goal is to provide recommendations to CCHI about the types of items to include in the English only interpreter performance exam. These recommendations will be the foundation of the research study CCHI is planning to conduct and will be publicly available.
The EtoE study will be conducted with volunteer candidates applying for the CHI™ certification. The study participants will take two exams – the English only performance exam and the regular, dual-language CHI™-exam in Arabic, Mandarin or Spanish. The comparison of the results will inform us if there is a correlation between the two tests. If a valid correlation is found, the English only performance exam will enhance the existing CoreCHI™ certification by providing performance testing to interpreters of any language.
To stay current on the developments on this project and discover how you might participate in this groundbreaking research, sign up to receive CCHI’s newsletter or connect with CCHI through LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter.
CHI™ Summer 2018 Testing
The Summer 2018 testing for CHI™ candidates will take place between July 23-August 13, 2018. Call to schedule your exam now if you have the CHI™ Notice to Schedule. Contact our scheduling service at (844) 704-1487
You can search for the test center locations for any of our exams from one page – click here – thanks to our testing vendor PSI (formerly Comira).
 The CoreCHI™ exam can be scheduled at any time year round (now including Sundays at some locations). However, the oral CHI™ exams for Arabic, Mandarin and Spanish interpreters are available only 4 times a year (for specific dates in 2018 click here and then on the blue bar titled “Scheduling your CHI™ exam”).
Keep in mind that testing locations may change during the year; ask our representative (at 844-704-1487) about a location closest to you when you call to schedule. If you have any questions about the application process, scheduling or paying for any exam, please contact Malika Sadi-Goodman, our Director of Operations, at CMSspecialist@cchicertification.org.
If you have passed your CoreCHI™ exam, click here to log into your CCHI profile and take the next steps to schedule your CHI™ exam during the upcoming testing window.
Don’t forget that you have 6 months from the date your application is approved to take the CoreCHI™ exam and 12 months to take the CHI™ exam after you pass the CoreCHI™ one. You will have to repeat the process if you miss these deadlines.
We wish you the best of luck on your exam!
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Volunteer Arabic SMEs Needed
CCHI is looking for certified Arabic interpreters to volunteer in the CHI™ test development activities. Apply by July 9, 2018. We need representatives from different Arabic-speaking countries.
CCHI’s accreditation by NCCA requires that all our exam items (questions, dialogs, etc.) are created by volunteer practicing certified interpreters. This is how it is done in all professional certifications, i.e. for nurses, physicians, accountants, lawyers, etc. The reason for such requirement is two-fold: 1) to ensure that the exam content reflects the actual practice and not the text-book version of it, and 2) to prevent the undue influence of non-practicing stakeholders (e.g., instructors, managers, etc.). After volunteer SMEs create the content, CCHI and its testing vendor build the test forms, conduct necessary psychometric analyses, train the raters on scoring the new content appropriately. The process of any exam update takes 8-12 months.
Before you apply, please review the following expectations of the project to make sure you can commit to it:
- Be available for prompt discussion via email or online collaboration tools for the duration of the project, which is between July 17, 2018 – February 22, 2019.
- Be available to connect via computer (you need to see and share the screen) for two-hour conference calls on Saturdays at 10 am ET/ 9 am CT/ 7 am PT.
For specific dates of the project calls and other details, visit http://cchicertification.org/volunteer-for-cchi/ and click on the blue bar “Current Recruitment of SMEs.”
Interpreter Education News
HIT Services, LLC offers a 1.5-hour webinar on July 10 at 3 pm EDT. The webinar focuses on helping interpreters understand the complexity of sight translation and providing them with the knowledge to improve this skill. It is accredited by CEAP for 1.5 performance based CE hours. To register, visit https://www.crowdcast.io/e/sight-translation-where/register
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HCIN-Learn offers a 1.5-hour webinar “Interpreting for Chemical Dependency Patients” on July 19 at 12 pm EDT. Presenter Judit Marin, introduces (English <> Spanish) healthcare interpreters to medical terminology related to chemical dependency and to the challenges interpreters face when interpreting in this medical specialty. To register, visit https://hcinlearn.org/
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The Interpreter Training Center of MUSC Health offers a range of services such as monthly continuing education activities that are RID, CCHI, and IMIA CEU approved trainings, Language neutral – 40 hour foundation training for Medical Interpreters, Certification Prep Course for Interpreters, One-on-One practice/mentor sessions through our Practicum program, Testing site for RID, CCHI, NBCMI, and ATA, also offer Diagnostic Testing for Interpreters preparing for National Certification.
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Upcoming 2018 Conferences
Don't miss these upcoming conferences (click on their names to get to the corresponding registration website):
Visit our Interpreting Industry Conferences webpage for ongoing updates throughout the year.
Interpreter Insurance
We’ve been getting more and more inquiries from freelance interpreters about finding appropriate insurance. There are several options, some of which are available through some interpreter or translator associations. CCHI is not a membership association, so we reached out to DHH Insurance to ask about their products. CCHI does not endorse any particular insurance agency, we simply offer this information.
DHH Insurance specializes in risk management insurance for interpreters and translators. They offer competitive rates on a Professional (Errors & Omissions) & General Liability policy.
Professional Liability insurance will cover errors in your translation or interpretation while General Liability covers bodily injury to others or property damage that could happen while on a job. For example, you are interpreting in a client’s office and spill water on their laptop, you will likely be expected to replace the laptop. Coverage can pay for the replacement cost of the laptop and cover any legal fees you might face in the event of a lawsuit. Certificates of Insurance are often requested for contracts or jobs, these can be obtained in moments through the service center and are free of charge.
DHH Insurance policies start at $286 per year for $1 Million per claim & $2 Million aggregate limits. If you are interested in coverage, answer eight simple questions online and get a quote instantly.
To learn more please reach out to Jmeyer@chinsurance.cc or visit their website at www.DHHInsurance.com.
You may download a pdf file of this Issue
Go to CCHI Stakeholders webpage & click on the blue bar titled "CCHI Newsletters" at http://cchicertification.org/our-community/.
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