Nearly 500 candidates have signed up for the certification exams since their launch one year ago.

The National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters has announced that after one year of its medical interpretation certification program, around 500 candidates have registered for the exams. Nearly half of them have gone into the testing phase.

Although only 80 Certified Medical Interpreter (CMI) credentials have been awarded so far, an October 28, 2010 press release emphasizes that “many more are expected to be issued by year's end.”

In order to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the certification process, the National Board has also made a video to document the history of the certification’s creation. An excerpt is available on YouTube, but for the moment it is just a “preview,” with the full documentary coming soon on a computer screen near you.

"With the designation of each CMI, we are raising the quality of medical interpreting in the United States and helping to improve patient safety for limited-English speakers," said Dr. Nelva Lee, Chair of the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters. "We've made tremendous progress in the past 12 months, and we are especially encouraged by the growing support from hospitals that are eager to embrace this national standard in the name of patient safety."

Yet there is still work to be done, especially expanding certification to include more languages, as well as gaining greater industry support. To this end, the National Board is calling for volunteers; the body proposes a number of ways to get involved in working for high standards in the crucial field of medical language interpretation.

Betty Carlson

See Also

• Language Translation, Inc.
  A leading language translation and interpretation service provider for more than 20 years.