Case Study: National Interpreter Certification

National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters

The National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters (NBCMI) provides a professional credential to medical interpreters throughout the United States. The NBCMI allows interpreters to take one certification exam which can then serve as validation of their interpreting skills for any healthcare facility to which they apply across state lines. The board strives to improve care and enhance the quality of interpretation in the healthcare industry by assuring that all interpreters in a clinical setting have the requisite skills.

NBCMI contracted a psychometric services firm to help them create an assessment for certifying a medical interpreter's ability to effectively communicate between Spanish and English. The resulting exam consists of both written and oral components. The oral portion is a consecutive translation test that alternates questions between Spanish and English to replicate clinical scenarios. It is evaluated with a scoring rubric that was constructed exclusively for this exam.

The board was looking for an efficient way to deliver this exam using one consistent platform at multiple testing centers across the United States. NBCMI found OWL's test management system to provide an ideal vehicle to deliver their certification assessment.

	USER Need		OWL Solution
	Smooth Transition from Paper/Tapes NBCMI wanted to ensure that the transition from paper and tape assessments to a computer-mediated process went well.		OWL's Test Conversion Service The OWL conversion team coordinated closely with the test's developer, to create an interface that maintained the assessment's integrity and closely followed professional testing standards.
	Control Cost of Exam Evaluations The board wanted to eliminate the costly and cumbersome process of disseminating candidates' completed tapes and test booklets for evaluation by the board's raters.		OWL's Integrated Rating Module Using OWL's rating module, NBCMI is able to easily access the OWL test management system to rate tests. Using OWL, raters can evaluate performance and score exams from any internet-enabled computer in any location.
	Efficient & Standardized Delivery NBCMI wanted a way to manage their assessment process that was cost-effective and efficient, as well as consistent and standardized.		OWL's Web-based Test Management Using OWL's Web-based system, NBCMI can deliver their certification exam at various test centers throughout the United States. Although the assessments are monitored, proctors are not required to be trained on the intricacies of delivering the oral certification exam. This makes the OWL solution not only cost-effective, but also ensures a more homogenous assessment process at any available test locale.

Although the current focus of the board is Spanish, their goal is to expand to include additional languages such as Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, and Vietnamese. OWL's localized user interface and virtual keyboards will help to facilitate and enhance this expansion.

In less than one year, the board has delivered more than 300 interpreter assessments through various testing sites throughout the United States.