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Approved by CCHI, NBCMI and OHA
Interpreters have historically been taught there are specific “dos and don’ts” to ethical reasoning, and accuracy is often identified as the most important principle. Yet real world encounters often place interpreters at the intersection of accuracy, harm prevention, power dynamics, and human dignity. Making decisions about what is the “right thing to do” in this context is hard!!
This session reframes ethics as a dynamic decision-making process, preparing interpreters to navigate ambiguity, institutional pressure, and emotionally charged content with clarity, confidence, and integrity. Participants will consider how to preserve fidelity while exercising professional judgment, cultural awareness, and ethical responsibility without violating standards.
This interactive two-part workshop contrasts a “dos and don’ts” approach with dynamic values-based decision-making. Part 1 utilizes the revised NCIHC 2025 Code of Ethics and the framework of Cultural Humility to explore four key ideas: interpreting as a practice profession, the existence of multiple right answers, the interpreter as an active participant, and values-based decision-making versus rules-based decision making. Part 2 introduces one tool for evaluating ethical decisions aligned with the revised NCIHC 2025 Code of Ethics, Demand-Control Schema (DC-S).
*Please note this is a two part training. You must complete both parts to receive your CEU credits.*
This session examines the core skills that support successful simultaneous interpreting, including rapid meaning extraction, anticipation strategies, collocational awareness, coping strategies when terminology is missing, and techniques for managing high-density information such as numbers and names. Participants will explore how experienced interpreters develop the flexibility and resilience needed to navigate unfamiliar terminology and unexpected discourse while maintaining coherence and accuracy.
The session then turns to team simultaneous interpreting as a professional skill in itself. Participants will analyze the complementary roles of the active and supporting interpreter and examine how effective booth partners monitor information, assist with terminology, track numbers, and support error recovery in real time.
Finally, the session explores how practical technology can support interpreting teams in modern interpreting environments. Participants will discuss the use of tools such as messaging apps, shared terminology resources, alternate audio channels, and remote interpreting platforms to strengthen coordination between booth partners. The session will also briefly consider how emerging language tools, including large language models, can support preparation and collaboration while preserving interpreter autonomy and professional standards.
Through discussion and applied examples, participants will gain a clearer understanding of how individual mastery and effective teamwork combine to produce a single coherent interpreted voice.
Approved by CCHI, NBCMI and OHA
Artificial Intelligence is not replacing interpreters. It is changing how prepared interpreters show up.
This interactive workshop introduces the PREPARE Framework, a structured method designed specifically for medical interpreters to use AI responsibly, strategically, and professionally.
Participants will learn how to:
Use AI as a preparation tool for medical encounters
Strengthen subject-matter understanding in unfamiliar specialties
Generate practical terminology glossaries
Refine prompts to produce accurate, useful results
Evaluate AI-generated content using professional judgment
Through guided exercises and real-world scenarios, interpreters will practice building and refining prompts using the PREPARE method. Participants will leave with a practical framework they can immediately apply to improve preparation, confidence, and performance.
AI is a tool. Professional judgment is the skill.