Trainings, CEUs & More!

I always get asked by medical interpreters where they can go to attend virtual trainings for professional development. If an interpreter is certified by NBCMI or CCHI, they’re typically looking for CEUs or Continuing Education Units to maintain their certification. This page will provide you with some free and paid options for webinars and workshops, whether you’re certified or not. All interpreters should engage in continuing education!

Trainings that are eligible for CEUs will be marked with a star (⭐), whereas trainings that cost money will be marked with a dollar sign (💲). Some trainings are free-to-view, but a fee is required to earn CEUs. An additional note is provided for these trainings.

Kelly’s Trainings

It’s incredibly important to me that the trainings I give are accessible and affordable, which is why most of the trainings listed below are free-to-view on YouTube. Some have the option to get a CEU certificate, but that does require a(n affordable) fee.

• Differences Between Medical Interpretation & Mental Health Interpretation
  An hour-long webinar presented on November 16, 2022 in conjunction with MDTranslation.com*
• ⭐ Mental Health Interpreting Series on Americans Against Language Barriers YouTube
  All trainings are free-to-view on AALB’s YouTube, but in order to earn CEUs you must pay a small fee.
  • The Role of the Mental Health Interpreter (1hr)
  • Interpreting in The Mental Health Care System in the U.S. (1hr)
  • Mental Health Interpreting Techniques (1.5hrs)
  • Mental Health Terminology for Interpreters (2hrs)
  • Trauma-Informed Interpreting (1hr)
  • Interpreting for Substance Use Disorders (1hr)
• Using Inclusive Language in Medical Interpretation
  Think of this as your introductory primer to the large umbrella of inclusive language. You’ll learn about different examples of inclusive language, why people use it, and how we as professionals can and should reflect someone’s choice to use it. This is an hour-long webinar presented on June 24, 2022 in conjunction with MDTranslation.com*

*Webinars marked with an asterisk were sponsored by the Bureau of Rural Health & Primary Care, Division of Public Health, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Funding was made possible by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Idaho Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities, Assistance Listing Number 93.391

The National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC)

The NCIHC has a bunch of webinars on their website, both free and paid. Did you know you can sign up for membership with the NCIHC? As of August 2023, it’s only $55 per year. If you’re not a member and want to take one of their new webinars, it’ll cost you around $30 without membership. They have new webinars every month, meaning if you sign up for membership, you get around 12 webinars for the price of two!

• ⭐💲 NCIHC Webinars Page
  Here you can find all of the NCIHC’s past webinars on one page. From what I can tell, these either require for you to be an NCIHC member to view them for free, or if you’re not a member you will have to pay a fee to view them.
• NCIHC Podcasts Page
  While these aren’t webinars, they’re also great for continuing education!
• ⭐ Kelly-Recommended NCIHC Webinar: Interpreter Advocacy in Healthcare Encounters: A Closer Look
  The NCIHC published a paper in 2021 that shares this webinar’s name. I always recommend this to my students when discussing the roles of the interpreter, and it appears that this webinar may provide free CEUs (but don’t quote me on that!).

The Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI)

CCHI also has regular webinars but unlike NCIHC, many of these webinars are free-to-view BUT if you want CEUs (and the webinar is eligible for them) you have to pay a small fee. CCHI does not have a membership that makes these webinars free, however their CEUs are very reasonably priced. This is an especially great resource for interpreters who need continuing education but are not certified.

• Upcoming CCHI Webinar(s)
  If you sign up for CCHI’s newsletter on their homepage, you will be the first to find out about these!
• Past CCHI Webinars
  Not all of CCHI’s past webinars have recordings available, and not all of the recordings are eligible for CEUs. However, many of the past webinars have slides and additional resources available to download for free. Some of the webinars are available as self-paced continuing education courses, and you can also find all of these self-paced webinars here:
  • ⭐💲 CCHI’S Training Portal
    These are CCHI’s self-paced trainings, eligible for CEUs and they are some of the least expensive continuing education courses you will find!

The California Healthcare Interpreting Association (CHIA)

CHIA is resuming their monthly webinar series following the pandemic and I had the pleasure of presenting for them in August of 2023! “But Kelly, I’m not in California…” neither am I! You don’t have to be located in California to take advantage of their webinars and CEUs.

• CHIA’s YouTube Channel
  Many of CHIA’s past webinars are uploaded to their YouTube channel. While they may or may not be eligible for CEUs, if you subscribe to their channel, you’ll get notifications when they upload new ones!
• ⭐💲 CHIA’s Events Page
  You can check CHIA’s events page (or their homepage or social media) to see what trainings they’re going to be giving soon!

Northwest Translators & Interpreters Society (NOTIS)

NOTIS regularly hosts live webinars for interpreters and translators, and they also have self-paced CEUs as well. This is one of the best places to get Washington state DSHS CEUs! As of February of 2024, membership is $55/year (there is a $25 student membership too) and gives you a hefty discount on their webinars. Some of their webinars are also free for members. If you aren’t a member, you can still pay for each webinar individually at a higher price. It appears they also regularly offer ATA, AOC, OJD, as well as IMIA/NBCMI and CEAP/CCHI CEUs. Pro tip: you don’t have to live in the northwestern U.S. to be a member!

• ⭐💲 NOTIS’ Events Page
  This gives a rundown of all of NOTIS’ upcoming webinars. You can also click on “Return to complete event listing” on the right hand side of the screen to view non-NOTIS events in the T&I community as well.

Other Organizations with Trainings

These are organizations that I like to recommend to folks for CEUs. Many of these interpreters are people who I know personally and admire professionally.

• Blue Urpi
  Gloria offers recorded versions of her webinars in both English and Spanish and they are accredited by many different entities including: CCHI/CEAP, NBCMI/IMIA, Washington DSHS, and the California Courts (Court Interpreter Minimum Continuing Education or CIMCE). She even has hard-to-find performance-based CEUs for medical interpreters!
• Blue Horizon Interpreter Training Online (Cross-Cultural Communications)
  Blue Horizon is CCC’s online interpreter training platform. They have a FREE CEU webinar series, but you must attend the trainings live in order to get a certificate. They also have a bunch of self-paced CEU trainings, most of which are bundles that are actually reasonably-priced for the amount of CEUs you get. Blue Horizon even has those hard-to-find performance-based CEUs for medical interpreters!
• TransInterpreting
  TransInterpreting is an online interpreting school and they have tons of continuing education courses for medical and legal interpreters alike. They have live webinar offerings as well as a TON of self-paced continuing education courses taught by many accomplished interpreters/trainers. They also have many longer courses, meaning you can knock out your CEU requirements quickly.