---

To develop the JTA Survey, CCHI identified and gathered 10 healthcare interpreting professionals to provide a balanced representation of the profession.  CCHI achieved this balance by defining the important characteristics of interpreters, estimating how the profession is represented by these characteristics, and then creating a matrix of characteristics and percentage weightings of the profession including:

 -  Individual demographics: Gender, Age, Race, Education

 -  Career Demographics: Years of Experience, Career Path, Language Acquisition, 

     Job Title

 -  Practice Demographics: Employer Type, Community Density, Geographic

     Location, Practice Setting, Language

 

This means that the JTA panel is not comprised solely of mainstream, highly experienced practitioners and educators.  It includes practitioners from non-traditional settings, languages of lesser diffusion and interpreters who are relatively new to the profession.  We can say with certainly that this panel represents the individual, geographic and work demographics of the industry – and we can prove it! 

 

CCHI will launch a national survey in January, based on work of the JTA Panel, to gather data from thousands of interpreters, their supervisors/managers and interpreter trainers across the country.  The results from this survey will provide the roadmap to creating a valid and credible certification program.

 

Distinguished members of the JTA Panel include the following healthcare interpreters: 

Weli Awale, Jewish Vocational Services, Kansas City, MO; Sonia Bowe-Gutman, Health Partners/Regions,  Minneapolis, MN; Ajdin Camaga, Spectrum Health, Grand Rapids, MI; Jeanne Farrow, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, WA; Maria Elana Gaitan, Office of Diversity and Cultural Competency -Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA; Jeanette Higgins, JMH International LLC, Columbia, MD; Maria Lara, Greenville Hospital System, Greenville, SC; Lien Huynh, International Language Services, Chicago, IL; Jasbeer Ratty, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA; and Di Wu, Midwest Association of Translators and Interpreters, Kokomo, IN.  Also included are CCHI Liaisons Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, University of Wisconsin Hospital & Clinics, Madison, WI and Karin Ruschke, International Language Services, Chicago, IL.

 

CCHI Healthcare Interpreters Job/Task Analysis Panel, from left, front row: Maria Lara, Sonia Bowe-Gutman, Jeannette Higgins, Weli Awale, Lien Huynh, Di Wu. Back row: Jasbeer Ratty, Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, Karin Ruschke, Maria Elana Gaitan, Ajdin Camaga and Jeanne Farrow.

 

What was it like, working on the front lines of the national movement to create CCHI Certification for healthcare interpreters?  Read Traduttore Traditore: Reflections on the Certification of Healthcare Interpreters in the U.S.

 

Here is another must read for everyone who wants to know what's behind the CCHI Certifications and what one should always look for or ask about when someone brings up the topic of certification. This is the  second in the series of articles by Clarence (Buck) Chaffee.  This explains the JTA process and what distinguishes the CCHI Certification as valid, credible, vendor-neutral and national (good in every state). Click here for more.

 

 

CCHI is leading the national dialogue on healthcare interpreter certification.  The talents and expertise of many interpreters, trainers and interpreter coordinators are critical to ensuring we get it right and we invite everyone to visit the CCHI website regularly for the latest updates.

 

Get into the dialogue on healthcare interpreter certification by making sure you have completed the CCHI mailing list form.  Click here to go directly to it.  This is a permission-based, opt-in list and used only to conduct the work of the CCHI and stay current with what matters most to interpreters and those they serve.