Welcome to the Medical Interpreter Program

Welcome to Culture Advantage:

Thank you for signing up for the Medical Interpreter Program! Marlene V. Obermeyer, MA, RN Director Culture Advantage (Music by Nicholo Boschetti ) Welcome to Culture Advantage

As a Culture Advantage Student:

As a Culture Advantage Student You will be better prepared to work in acute clinical care settings with 30-hours of training in medical terminology and 20 hours in medical interpreting principles. You receive Hands-On instructor involvement in an online program. You receive the benefit of a flexible and convenient program that allows you to proceed at your own pace. You start practicing what medical providers say to patients on your very first audio assignment. You will gain understanding of professional medical interpreting principles and the ability to apply them to the clinical setting. Develop your oral interpreter skills in a supportive online environment. For the English-Spanish Program, you have the benefit of at least 2 instructors reviewing and grading your performance.

General Guidelines:

General Guidelines Please take a few minutes to read the following information about the program. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me by email or by phone. I am here to help you obtain a quality online learning experience. Please take some time to read the tutorials on how to use the site. Here are some tips to help you succeed in the course.

Contact Information:

Contact Information How to contact me: You may email me at anytime at: director@culture-advantage.com. Or at marleneo@culture-advantage.com or at mvobermeyer@yahoo.com . I respond to emails within 24 hours. If you don't receive a reply from me within 24 hours, please email me again or call me and leave a message. I log in to the course at least twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. I will reply to postings, discussions, and requests during that time. My phone number is: 620-382-6934. You may send me a text message at this number. I’m able to reply to text messages faster than email messages. I usually return calls before 10 am Central Time or after 8 pm Central time. I try to return calls on the same day. If your call is urgent, please let me know and I will return your call within a couple of hours. Please note that if you send me a message outside these hours, I may not be able to respond to you until late evening or until the next day. However, if you have an urgent call, please leave me a voice mail at 620-382-6934 and I will return your call as soon as possible.

Instructor-led Independent Study:

Instructor-led Independent Study This program is an Instructor-led Independent S tudy Online C ourse. This means that students are expected to be active participants in the learning experience. By being an active participant, you will learn more, you will retain more information, and you would be able to use the information more effectively in the clinical situation. We do not expect you to memorize any information; we expect you to understand the information and re-express the same information in a way that a person with no medical knowledge would understand. We focus on patient education and information that the patient needs to know in order to understand their diagnosis and treatment, and to make an informed decision about their health.

Introductory Program:

Introductory Program This is an introductory program to medical terminology. We encourage you to utilize the recommended resources to broaden your knowledge and to explore topics that are of interest to you. All of the materials needed for the quizzes and exams are in the lesson files. Outside links are optional (unless marked "required") but highly recommended for additional information. The more you invest in your own learning, the more benefits you will gain from the program.

Program Overview:

Program Overview Graduation!

List of files to help get you started::

List of files to help get you started: Suggested Study Schedule Course Completion Checklist Brief Tutorial Summary of Program Requirements

General Information:

General Information This course is instructor-facilitated online independent study with discussion forums, and telephonic assignments and discussions. All of the information that you need for the course is provided in the lessons and in the external links to online articles. We will start slowly in order to help you become comfortable with the course format. Students are required to participate more in the learning activities as you go through the course. You are expected to utilize the offsite resources (external links provided for your reference) to supplement the course materials as needed.

Part 1 Overview:

Part 1 Overview The English-Spanish Medical Terminology course is divided into five sections or modules. Each module contains 2-3 lessons. Module 1 must be completed before access is given to Module 2, and so on. You would complete the lessons sequentially starting with Lesson 1. The Course Completion Checklist is required for every module in order to help you keep track of your progress. Ensure that you have completed all of the requirements of your current module before you request access to the next module. We have a 48-hour time period of reviewing and grading your work so please plan accordingly. After you complete the 5 modules, you would request enrollment to the Final Exam for Part 1. Our Language-Neutral Program also has a similar format as the Spanish program.

Part 2 Overview:

Part 2 Overview Part 2 is made up of 3 modules and an Oral Skills Evaluation or Practicum The first module is Standards of Practice The second is Code of Ethics The third is Roles of the Interpreter. Each module is completed sequentially. Request enrollment to the next module after completing the Course Completion Checklist. The emphasis of Part 2 is the understanding of concepts, and the ability to analyze and apply the concepts in the clinical setting. Schedule your Oral Skills Evaluation upon enrollment in the third module. The Evaluation is done over the phone. If you are currently employed as an interpreter, you need to complete the Practicum Evaluation instead of the Oral Skills Evaluation.

Competencies of our Graduates:

Competencies of our Graduates

GRADING:

GRADING We utilize different assessment methods: 1. Audio Assignments: Audio assignments are graded on Fluency, Accuracy, and Comprehension. The passing grade is B. Instructors may ask you to repeat the assignment or substitute a new assignment in order to assess your comprehension of the subject matter. Most of your learning experience will come from submitting the audio assignments. 2. Participation in Discussions Participation is strongly encouraged and points are awarded for participating in discussions. These points may be used toward your overall grade points. Questions about the lessons should be posted in the Forum Post Discussions so other students may benefit from your questions.

Grading:

Grading 3. Quizzes Quizzes are multiple choice or oral exams. Oral quizzes are to be submitted by recording over the phone or over the Internet. A VoiceBox number is provided and an Internet link is provided for those with computer microphones. Quizzes are open book. The passing grade for quizzes is 70%. 4. Part 1 Final Exam: Open-book exam time-limited to 60 minutes. Passing grade is 90%. All of the requirements for Modules 1-5 must be completed before requesting enrollment to the Final Exam. The Course Completion Checklist must be filled out and submitted by email or by fax to 866-808-5574.

Assessment Methods:

Assessment Methods

Course Description ESMT:

Course Description ESMT Each English-Spanish Medical Terminology (ESP or ESMT) modules require the following to be submitted: Audio Assignments Quizzes Forum Posts (some may be optional) This program is presented in English with medical terminology provided in English and Spanish. This is not a language course, which means we do not teach Spanish or English. Participants are expected to have advanced knowledge and fluency in both English and Spanish in order to be able to complete the requirements. The Spanish versions of major topics are provided as complementary methods to explain the concepts and not as exact word-for-word translations.

Slide 17:

If you feel that this course is too basic for you, please let me know and I can transfer your registration to our Comprehensive Program which is language-neutral. Or you have the option of submitting different assignments that are more to your level. We will continue to revise, improve, or update the course content, lessons, and exams. Students are required to complete the requirements at the time they take the modules. Once you have completed a module and more lessons are added, you are not required to go back to the previous module. However, you may do so in order to benefit from the new or updated lessons.

Course Updates:

Course Updates Please make sure that you keep up with any course updates. You may be required to subscribe to the Student Newsletter in order to receive course updates as posting them on the website takes longer than simply emailing the updates to everyone. Once you pass the Final Exam for Part 1, you may still come back to read any new material provided it is still within your 3 month access period. We offer two free continuing education courses in cultural competency upon completing the program. You may request enrollment to these courses within 1 year of your course enrollment date. If you are planning to take the national certification exam, please let us know. We would like to help you prepare for the exam as a benefit of joining our Alumni Program. You will learn more about the program after your graduation.

Lessons:

Lessons The course lessons are located under CONTENT NAVIGATION on the left side of the screen. DISCUSSION FORUMS are located under FORUM POSTS on the left side of the screen. EXAMS and QUIZZES are located on the Announcement Page by clicking on the TESTS/SURVEYS icon at the top of the page. All course materials are provided in the lessons and in the links. Since this is an online-based course, some external links might not be available as Internet information changes rapidly. Please let me know if a link is not available so I can update the links.

Program Policies and Terms and Conditions (TOC):

Program Policies and Terms and Conditions (TOC) You will receive more information about your specific program after you start the course. Students enrolled in the Fast Track Program may have different requirements than students in the regular programs. We may update policies and TOCs on occasion. These are updated on the website, under TOCs or Program Policies. We offer Referral Fees for referring students to the program. Contact Marlene for details.

Continuing Education:

Continuing Education We are developing specialty course for advanced interpreters. Contact me if you would like to join our Advanced Programs. Professional interpreters should be well informed about new developments in the medical field, new procedures, and treatments. We are developing new courses for continuing education so visit us after you graduate!

Instructors:

Instructors ESMT Instructors: Rafi Merle, RRT, RPFT, NPS, BS: Spanish Moderator, Instructor Sherrie Kreiser , RN, BSN: English Medical Terminology, American English Pronunciation Language Coach, Engrade Administrator Principles of Medical Interpreting Instructor: Marlene Obermeyer, MA, RN Instructor Curriculum Designer Continuing Nursing Education Provider

Thank you!:

Thank you! Thank you for taking a Culture Advantage Program. We are here to help you succeed in your goal of becoming a professional medical interpreter. Please let us know how we can serve you better! Marlene, Rafi and Sherrie 2011 Culture Advantage http://www.cultureadvantage.org