Alverno College Hosts Palliative and Spiritual Care Workshop for Medical Interpreters

March 21, 2014

Alverno College will offer a professional development opportunity for medical interpreters on Saturday, March 22. The workshop on palliative and spiritual care will focus on the specialized needs of people dealing with serious illness, providing support and guidance, as well as relief from symptoms, pain and stress.

Speakers include Bruce Goodman, a medical interpreter with Wheaton Franciscan healthcare; David Jerger, BCC, Pastoral Care, Aurora Healthcare; Kay Fischer, NO, Palliative Care, Aurora Healthcare and Chris Rubach, CHI, Alverno Interpreter Institute.

A pioneer in the metro-Milwaukee area, the Alverno Interpreter Institute workshop series provides working interpreters, in any spoken or signed language pair, a means to obtain continuing education units required for national certification. Certification is not currently required by area hospitals for employment as a medical interpreter, however according to the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters, the national trend “seems to indicate that we are moving towards that end as certification is gaining ground and wide acceptance.” For many employers, access to continuing education has been a barrier in enforcing such a requirement.

The Spanish/English Healthcare Interpretation Program at Alverno College began in 2007 to increase the medical terminology and interpreting skills of degree-seeking students with near-native proficiencies in Spanish and English in order to meet the increasing demands of a multilingual, multicultural workforce.

About the Alverno Interpreter Institute

The Alverno Interpreter Institute (AII) was founded by medical interpreters as a forum to disseminate information on topics of interest to practicing interpreters. The Institute fosters skill-building and continuing education through interactive workshops and enrichment sessions as a means of professional development for those at all levels of the profession. As an entity associated with the Spanish/English Healthcare Interpretation program at Alverno College, the Institute is a venue where medical interpreters across all language pairs can gain knowledge and learn from one another, building a network of professionals.