Medical Terminology
38%of exam
Medical Specialties
23%of exam
Medical Interpreter Ethics
15%of exam
Roles of the Interpreter
8%of exam
Cultural Competence
8%of exam
Interpreter Standards of Practice
5%of exam
Legislation and Regulations
3%of exam
Quick Facts
- Credential
- CMI by NBCMI
- Ribbon shows
- Written exam weights
- Written exam
- 51 scored questions
- Written time
- 75 minutes
- Written pass
- 75% or higher
- Oral exam
- 12 scenarios, 2 sights
- Oral time
- 45-60 minutes
- Oral pass
- 70% in four languages
- Fees
- $40 + $190 + $300
- Languages
- Spanish Russian Mandarin Cantonese Korean Vietnamese
- Valid
- 5 years; 3.0 CEUs
- Delivery
- Prometric or ProProctor
- Retake wait
- 3 months
- Blueprint
- Feb 13 2026 handbook
Written Exam Weights
38 terms, 23 specialties, 15 ethics
Terminology 38%Specialties 23%Ethics 15%Roles 8%Culture 8%Standards 5%Law 3%
Sign vs Symptom
Sign
- Clinician observes it
- Fever, rash, swelling
- Objective finding
Symptom
- Patient reports it
- Pain, nausea, dizziness
- Subjective report
Observed vs reported
Word Parts
- -itis
- Inflammation
- -osis
- Abnormal condition
- -algia
- Pain
- -ectomy
- Surgical removal
- -otomy
- Cutting into
- -ostomy
- New surgical opening
- -emia
- Blood condition
- -scopy
- Viewing with a scope
- -pathy
- Disease
- hyper-
- Above normal
- hypo-
- Below normal
- brady-
- Slow
- tachy-
- Fast
Surgical Endings
-otomy cuts, -ostomy opens, -ectomy removes
-otomy: incision-ostomy: new opening-ectomy: removal-itis: inflammation
Ureter vs Urethra
Ureter
- Kidney to bladder
- Two of them
- Stones lodge here
Urethra
- Bladder to outside
- Only one
- Catheter passes here
Into bladder vs out
Abbreviations
- NPO
- Nothing by mouth
- PRN
- As needed
- BID
- Twice a day
- TID
- Three times a day
- PO
- By mouth
- IV
- Into a vein
- IM
- Into a muscle
- SubQ
- Under the skin
- SL
- Under the tongue
- STAT
- Immediately
- Dx
- Diagnosis
- Tx
- Treatment
- CBC
- Complete blood count
- BP
- Blood pressure
Acute vs Chronic
Acute
- Sudden onset
- Short duration
- Often an emergency
Chronic
- Months or years
- Ongoing management
- Baseline condition
New vs long-standing
Body Systems
- Musculoskeletal
- Bones, muscles, joints
- Endocrine
- Hormone glands
- Cardiovascular
- Heart and vessels
- Respiratory
- Lungs and airways
- Urinary
- Kidneys, ureters, bladder
- Nervous
- Brain, cord, nerves
- Digestive
- Stomach, intestines, liver
- Reproductive
- Male and female organs
- Integumentary
- Skin, hair, nails
Tests and Procedures
- CT scan
- Fast X-ray imaging
- MRI
- Magnet and radio waves
- Ultrasound
- Sound wave imaging
- EKG
- Heart electrical tracing
- Colonoscopy
- Large intestine scope
- EGD
- Upper endoscopy
- Biopsy
- Tissue sample removed
- A1C
- Average glucose, three months
- Dialysis
- Filters blood for kidneys
Benign vs Malignant
Benign
- Stays local
- Does not spread
- Monitoring possible
Malignant
- Invades tissue
- Can metastasize
- Cancer treatment
Local vs spreading
Medical Specialties
- OB/GYN
- Pregnancy and gynecology
- Pediatrics
- Infants through adolescents
- Emergency medicine
- Acute and urgent care
- Oncology
- Cancer care
- Cardiology
- Heart and circulation
- Neurology
- Brain and nerves
- Orthopedics
- Bones and joints
- Radiology
- Imaging studies
- Nephrology
- Kidney disease
- Endocrinology
- Hormones and diabetes
- ENT
- Ear, nose, throat
- Psychiatry
- Mental health care
- Dermatology
- Skin conditions
- Ophthalmology
- Eyes and vision
Stage vs Grade
Stage
- How far it spread
- TNM system
- Size, nodes, metastasis
Grade
- How abnormal cells look
- Microscope finding
- Not a stage
Spread vs cell appearance
Emergency and Cardiology
- Angina
- Chest pain, no damage
- Myocardial infarction
- Heart attack, muscle dies
- Cardiac arrest
- Heart stops pumping
- Ischemic stroke
- Clot blocks blood flow
- Hemorrhagic stroke
- Bleeding inside the brain
- Triage
- Sorted by clinical acuity
- Sprain
- Ligament injury
- Strain
- Muscle or tendon injury
- Fracture
- Broken bone
Eight Ethics Principles
Confidential, accurate, impartial, in scope
ConfidentialityAccuracyImpartialityConflict of interestScope of practiceDisqualificationProfessional courtesyProfessional development
Accuracy vs Impartiality
Accuracy
- Render the whole message
- Keep register and tone
- Correct your own errors
Impartiality
- No opinions or advice
- No taking sides
- Disclose conflicts
Complete message vs neutral
Ethics Picker
- Asked to explain diagnosis→Refer to the provider(Scope)
- Patient is your relative→Disclose, then withdraw(Conflict)
- Speaker uses profanity→Interpret it fully(Accuracy)
- Asked for your opinion→Interpret the question(Impartiality)
- You misinterpreted a word→Correct it openly(Accuracy)
- Colleague makes an error→Correct transparently(Courtesy)
- Dialect is unfamiliar→Disclose and withdraw(Impediment)
- Asked about the case→Say nothing(Confidentiality)
Ethics Principles
- Confidentiality
- Nothing leaves the encounter
- Accuracy and completeness
- Render all, add nothing
- Impartiality
- No opinions, no sides
- Conflict of interest
- Disclose, usually withdraw
- Scope of practice
- Interpret only, never advise
- Disqualification
- Withdraw when unable
- Professional courtesy
- Respect colleagues and staff
- Professional development
- Keep skills current
Four Interpreter Roles
Conduit, clarifier, culture broker, advocate
Conduit: defaultClarifier: ask speakerBroker: inform bothAdvocate: act on safety
Conduit vs Clarifier
Conduit
- Render as spoken
- Add nothing
- Default role
Clarifier
- Ask speaker to rephrase
- Never explain yourself
- Announce the switch
Repeat vs request explanation
Role Picker
- Message is understood→Conduit(Default role)
- Term will not transfer→Clarifier(Ask the speaker)
- Culture blocks understanding→Culture broker(Inform both parties)
- Safety or dignity threatened→Patient advocate(Last resort)
- You leave conduit role→Announce it(Transparency)
- Asked to give advice→Decline, redirect(Scope)
- Only a child interprets→Request qualified interpreter(CLAS Standard 7)
Interpreter Roles
- Conduit
- Render everything, add nothingDefault
- Clarifier
- Ask the speaker to explain
- Culture broker
- Name a cultural barrier
- Patient advocate
- Act on a safety riskLast resort
- Transparency
- Say role switches aloud
- First person
- Speak as the speaker
Oral Exam Shape
12 scenarios, then 2 sight translations
Scenarios: 30 minutesSights: 10 minutesTotal: 45-60 minutesEnglish into other language
Oral Exam Blueprint
- English linguistics
- 15% of oral exam
- Other language linguistics
- 15% of oral exam
- Interpreting knowledge, skills
- 25% of oral exam
- Cultural competence
- 10% of oral exam
- Medical terminology
- 25% of oral exam
- Medical specialties
- 10% of oral exam
Oral Exam Format
- Mini-scenarios
- 12 items, 30 minutes
- Sight translations
- 2 passages, 10 minutes
- Total length
- 45-60 minutes
- Sight direction
- English into other language
- Not tested
- Simultaneous, written translation
- Recording
- Spoken answers are recorded
- Allowed
- Paper bilingual dictionary, notes
- Results
- Emailed in 8-10 weeks
Broker vs Advocate
Culture broker
- Names a cultural barrier
- Information for both
- No action taken
Patient advocate
- Acts beyond the message
- Safety or dignity risk
- Last resort
Inform vs act
Cultural Competence
- Health beliefs
- How illness is explained
- Folk illness terms
- Interpret words, flag gap
- Traditional remedies
- Render without judging
- Family decisions
- Group or elder decides
- Modesty norms
- Same-sex clinician requests
- Nonverbal norms
- Vary widely by culture
- Broker limit
- Inform, never decide
- Stereotype risk
- Individual before group assumption
Fee Ladder
$40 apply, $190 written, $300 oral
Register: $40Written: $190Oral: $300Renew: $300
CMI vs Hub-CMI
CMI
- Written and oral passed
- Language specific credential
- Renews every 5 years
Hub-CMI
- Written exam only
- Any target language
- Renews every 4 years
Both exams vs written
Exam Path Picker
- Starting the program→Apply, pay $40(Prerequisites)
- Application approved→Book written exam($190)
- Written exam passed→Hub-CMI granted(English exam)
- Oral offered in language→Take oral within 2 years($300)
- No oral in language→Keep Hub-CMI(Renew 4 years)
- Either exam failed→Wait 3 months(Full fee)
- Three retakes used→One attempt yearly(5 total maximum)
Written Exam Format
- Scored questions
- 51 multiple choice
- Pretest items
- Five to ten unscored
- Time
- 75 minutes
- Language
- English only
- Passing score
- 75% or higher
- Results
- Within 24 hours
- Materials
- None permitted
Consecutive vs Simultaneous
Consecutive
- Speaker pauses each turn
- Notes allowed
- Tested on oral exam
Simultaneous
- Near real time
- One-way information
- Not tested
Turn taking vs overlap
Mode Picker
- Two-way conversation→Consecutive(Tested)
- Written form to read→Sight translation(Tested)
- One-way presentation→Simultaneous(Not tested)
- Document must be written→Written translation(Not tested)
- Sight into English→Not on exam(Job analysis)
Exam Day Rules
- Arrival
- 10 minutes early
- Identification
- Government photo ID, signature
- Devices
- No phones or cameras
- Breaks
- None once started
- Oral notes
- Blank paper, then destroyed
- Problems
- Tell proctor before submitting
- Online written
- Once, then test center
Sight vs Written Translation
Sight translation
- Read a document aloud
- Spoken rendition
- Tested on oral exam
Written translation
- Text into text
- Produces a document
- Not tested
Spoken vs written product
Fees and Renewal
- Registration
- $40, valid one year
- Written exam
- $190 non-refundable
- Oral exam
- $300 non-refundable
- Reschedule
- $25
- CMI renewal
- $300 every 5 years
- Hub-CMI renewal
- $300 every 4 years
- Second Hub-CMI
- $100
- CEU requirement
- 3.0 CEUs, 30 hours
- Renewal deadline
- 45 days before expiration
Who Sets the Standards
- NBCMI
- Certifying board, IMIA division
- IMIA
- Medical interpreters association
- NCIHC
- Interpreting in health care
- CHIA
- California healthcare interpreters
- PSI
- Built the exam blueprints
- Prometric
- Delivers the computer exams
- ProProctor
- Remote proctoring platform
HIPAA vs CLAS
HIPAA
- Federal privacy law
- Minimum necessary rule
- Protects health information
CLAS
- 15 HHS standards
- Language access guidance
- Standards, not statute
Privacy vs language access
HIPAA, CLAS, Title VI
- HIPAA Privacy Rule
- Protects health information
- PHI
- Protected health information
- Minimum necessary
- Share only what is needed
- Covered entity
- Provider, plan, clearinghouse
- Business associate
- Vendor handling PHI
- CLAS Standards
- 15 HHS national standards
- Principal Standard
- CLAS Standard 1
- Language assistance
- CLAS Standards 5-8
- CLAS Standard 7
- Avoid untrained interpreters, minors
- Title VI
- Bans national origin discrimination
- LEP
- Limited English proficient
Common Traps
Clarify vs explain
Clarifier asks the speaker ≠ Interpreter never explains
Broker vs advocate
Broker gives information ≠ Advocate takes action
CMI vs Hub-CMI
CMI needs the oral ≠ Hub-CMI is written only
Helpful vs in scope
Questions go to provider ≠ Interpreter never advises
Sight vs translation
Sight is spoken aloud ≠ Translation is written text
HIPAA vs CLAS
HIPAA is federal law ≠ CLAS are HHS standards
Renewal vs retake
CEUs renew the credential ≠ Retakes wait 3 months
Scored vs pretest
51 questions are scored ≠ Pretest items are unscored
Family vs qualified
Relatives are untrained interpreters ≠ CLAS 7 discourages minors
Last Minute
- 1.Written exam: 51 questions, 75 minutes
- 2.Written passing score is 75%
- 3.Oral pass: 70% most languages
- 4.Mandarin oral needs 80%
- 5.Vietnamese oral needs 65%
- 6.Terminology is 38% of written
- 7.Conduit is the default role
- 8.Advocate only for safety risk
- 9.Scope: interpret, never advise
- 10.Hub-CMI comes from written exam
- 11.Pass oral within 2 years
- 12.CMI renews every 5 years
- 13.3.0 CEUs equal 30 hours
- 14.Retake wait is 3 months
- 15.Simultaneous interpreting is not tested
- 16.CLAS has 15 national standards
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