COFA Interpreter Workshops (In-Person): Medical Interpreting for Patients with Serious Illness & Palliative Care (Jan 23–24, 2026)

COFA Interpreter Workshops (In-Person): Medical Interpreting for Patients with Serious Illness & Palliative Care (Jan 23–24, 2026)

Day 1: Friday, January 23, 2026 (9:00 AM–5:00 PM)
Day 2: Saturday, January 24, 2026 (9:00 AM–5:00 PM)

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Day 1 (Jan 23): First Steps Toward Becoming a Professional Interpreter (COFA Languages)

Are you a speaker of COFA languages interested in becoming a professional interpreter? This one-day, in-person workshop is designed to help you build foundational skills and understand the interpreter’s role in Hawaiʻi health care settings.

Day 1 covers:

• The role of the COFA languages interpreter in health care settings in Hawaiʻi

• Ethics and standards of practice for interpreters

• What to do when “there is no word for that” in your language

• Message analysis and conversion

• Next steps to becoming a professional interpreter and getting paid for your skills

Requirements:

• Fluency in English and one (or more) of these languages: Marshallese, Kosraean, Pohnpeian, Chuukese

• Available on-site in Honolulu, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM on Friday, January 23

• Interest in serving as an interpreter for your community in health care settings

Day 2 (Jan 24): Interpreting in Palliative Care (COFA Languages)

This interactive seven-hour workshop prepares experienced, trained medical interpreters of COFA languages to work in palliative care settings in Hawaiʻi—or it is appropriate for participants who completed the Day 1 training the day before.

Day 2 includes:

• An introduction to palliative care

• Interpreting skills applied to palliative care

• Palliative care vocabulary

• Sight translation in palliative care

• The impact of emotion and belief on interpreting

• 7 CEUs

Bilingual medical glossaries and practice activities are provided in Chuukese, Kosraean, Marshallese, and Pohnpeian.

Logistics (Both Days)

• Format: In-person (Honolulu)

• Lunch: Provided for registered participants

• Cost: $50 (scholarships available for qualified COFA language interpreters approved through the application process)

• Capacity: Limited to the first 25 applicants

Registration

Apply and register by 5:00 PM on January 14, 2026.

• Please submit a separate registration form for each person registering.

• After registering, you will receive an email confirmation. If you do not receive a confirmation, your registration did not go through.

Registration link: Use the “Apply and REGISTER” link on the Kōkua Mau event pages for Day 1 and Day 2.

Continuing Education

The Day 2 (Jan 24) course has been approved for 7 CE credits by CCHI and 0.7 CEUs for IMIA/NBCMI. Certificates of attendance will be awarded to participants who arrive on time and stay for the entire workshop.