This 2-hour webinar will take place on Tuesday, November 11, 2025
at 11:00 AM US-Eastern / 10:00 AM US-Central / 8:00 AM US-Pacific.
This webinar will be recorded. The recording will only be available through the NCIHC Learning Center. Once the recording is available, individuals will need to submit a separate registration form to view the recording, including those who registered for the live broadcast. Recordings are free for NCIHC members and $30 for non-members.
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CEU Approvals are Pending
CCHI
IMIA
RID
Considering Technological and Policy Developments in Healthcare Interpreting & Translation Education: a Roundtable Conversation
with Panelists: Chris Kirwan, PhD, Christopher D. Mellinger, PhD, and Lynne Bowker, PhD, C. Tr.; and Moderator: Jaime Fatás Cabeza MA, USCCI, Healthcare Interpreter
Technological innovation is transforming healthcare interpreting and translation, reshaping both professional practice and language access programs. Interpreter trainers are uniquely positioned to prepare practitioners to navigate these changes while upholding ethical standards.
This webinar considers the significant shifts introduced by emerging technologies, noting that adaptation involves more than simply keeping pace with innovation. It explores ways professionals can help shape the use of technology and how trainers might assess and integrate new tools into curricula to support equitable and ethical language access.
Panelists will discuss technological trends and policy developments affecting the field, with a focus on implications for interpreter education, training and curricular development. While specific tools may be referenced for illustration, the session will not provide technical instruction or endorse particular products.
Learning Objectives:
- Analyze the opportunities and challenges that emerging technologies pose for the translation and interpreting profession.
- Examine the implications of technological adoption and policy frameworks for promoting ethical and equitable language access across diverse linguistic communities and socioeconomic sectors.
- Develop strategies and educational materials that support practitioners in engaging productively with evolving technologies while upholding rigorous standards of professional practice.
About the Panelists:
Chris Kirwan is the Director of Interpreter Services at Massachusetts General Hospital, a faculty member of the MGH Disparities Solutions Center, which addresses healthcare disparities and a board member of the Boston College Connell School of Nursing’s Diversity in Nursing Action Board. He holds a doctorate in ethics from the Accademia Alfonsiana in Rome, Italy.
Chris is the past President of the Board of Directors of FOCIS (Forum on the Coordinators of Interpreter Services) and has co-authored five articles in peer reviewed journals on the importance of language access in healthcare.
Christopher D. Mellinger is a Professor of Spanish Interpreting and Translation Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is the co-editor of the journal Translation and Interpreting Studies (John Benjamins), editor of The Routledge Handbook of Interpreting and Cognition, and the co-author of Quantitative Research Methods in Translation and Interpreting Studies. His research focuses on translation and interpreting technologies, cognitive aspects of translation and interpreting, and T&I research methods and ethics.
Lynne Bowker is Full Professor and Canada Research Chair in Translation, Technologies and Society in the Department of Languages, Linguistics and Translation at Université Laval in Canada. She is a certified French-to-English translator with the Ordre des traducteurs, terminologues et interprètes agréés du Québec. She is the director of the Machine Translation Literacy Project (funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada), chief editor of the Digital Translation journal, and author of numerous works on translation and technology, including the open access book De-mystifying Translation: Introducing Translation to Non-translators (Routledge 2023).
About the Moderator:
Jaime Fatás Cabeza is an Associate Professor in the Spanish Department at the University of Arizona, a U.S. Court Certified Interpreter, and a healthcare interpreter with over 30 years of expertise. Jaime has trained hundreds of interpreters, developed specialized legal and medical curricula, and authored and translated a wealth of academic and professional texts spanning diverse subjects. Jaime is a member of the editorial board of NCIHC’s Access journal and serves on the NCIHC’s Home for Trainers Webinars Work Group. Proudly an immigrant and an impassioned advocate for civil rights, Jaime’s work is a testament to his unwavering commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Access Statement: The goal of the NCIHC is to provide full access to anyone wanting to participate in our programming. We must receive your request for a reasonable accommodation no later than two weeks before the date of the event. For those who request accommodation after that date, every effort will be made to provide reasonable accommodation; however, we may not be able to do so given potential time constraints. If you need accommodations to participate, please email [email protected] by October 28, 2025.
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