Screening and Placement Evaluation (SPE) Page
The SPE is a third-party validation of a person's language, medical knowledge,and interpreting skills. It is an assessment of the candidate's baseline language and interpreting skills specific to the medical setting. Candidates are evaluated by bilingual healthcare professionals (MD, RN, PT, NMT, etc).
Based on the level being tested, detailed reports and evaluations will be returned to the candidate. For individuals, access to the the general SPE is available on the same day if paid before 12 pm Central Time. Please email or send a text message so we can confirm receipt of payment.
SPE is included at no extra charge for Fast Track Program Healthcare Professionals enrolled in the program.
The SPE fee is not refundable.
Before signing up, please contact us about the availability of evaluators for your language pair. We currently offer evaluations for: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish with results available in 5-7 days. To sign up, choose "Available Languages."Cantonese, Farsi, Nepali and Hindi languages available with advanced arrangements. Choose "Special Arrangements Fee." For all other languages not listed, please contact us.
For employers, please contact director@culture-advantage.com to make arrangements for Comprehensive Testing: Bilingual Employees and for group fees.
Who is the SPE for?
- Employers: To assess the language fluency and interpreting skills of their bilingual employees. There is an extra fee for a more comprehensive evaluation than the general evaluation for Culture Advantage applicant.
- Experienced interpreters: To prepare for job interview or to prepare for interpreter testing, or national certification exams.
- New interpreters: To have an assessment of their baseline skills in both languages in order to decide on the appropriate training based on their proficiency level.
- Applicants to the Culture Advantage Professional Medical Interpreter Program. Your Program Plan will be depend on the results of the Screening.
For more information, please scroll down the page. Please contact me before you sign up for SPE.
Who evaluates the candidate?
- Healthcare Professionals: Physicians, nurses, physical therapist, nuclear medicine technologist who speak the language pair.
- In some cases, a healthcare professional may partner with a trained interpreter and/or another healthcare professional who speaks the non-English language to evaluate the fluency and accuracy of the candidate's rendition.
What is included in the Evaluation?
- For employers, we provide a comprehensive evaluation that includes fluency, accuracy, comprehension, standard word usage, accuracy of terminology in both languages, and principles of medical interpreting (consecutive interpreting skills, Standards, Code of Ethics). Please request Comprehensive Evaluation (extra fee applies) if requesting Bilingual Employee Testing.
- For experienced interpreters, we will include assessment of consecutive interpreting skills and assessment of compliance with the Standards and Code of Ethics for Medical Interpreters.
- For candidates to the program, the evaluation includes fluency, accuracy, and comprehension in both languages and our recommendations for the Program Plan.
- Please note that candidates are tested in the language pair unless otherwise requested by the employer.
- Detailed report and recommendations from healthcare professionals.
Bilingual Employee Testing: Evaluated by either MD, RN, PT or NMT.
- Anatomy and medical concepts: Accuracy in interpreting common diseases, procedures, treatments, and patient education materials in both languages.
- Fluency: No hesitations, self-corrections, and long pauses. Correct pronunciation of terms in both languages.
- Accuracy: Ability to convert the original message into the target language completely without omission, addition, editing, summarizing, or changing the meaning of the message.
- Comprehension: Ability to restate the source message into the target language using knowledge of the target message's sentence structures and grammatical rules to produce a coherent message equivalent to the original.
- Analytical Skills: Ability to listen to a brief discussion of a basic medical topic and ability to answer basic questions about the topic with fluency and accuracy in both languages.
- Demonstration of the Standards of Practice, Code of Ethics and Roles of the Interpreter.
- Testing of knowledge of specialty areas may be arranged: Labor and Delivery, Diabetes, Cancer, Emergency/Trauma, ICU/CCU, Pediatrics, etc.