Our exams

Multilingual Clinician Spanish Certification Exam

For clinicians and trainees

Examinees will participate in a telehealth encounter with a Spanish-speaking standardized patient. The exam is conducted virtually during 45-minute time slots, including a 15 minute clinical encounter. Examinees will receive a performance report, a quantitative score on the Physician Oral Language Observation Matrix (POLOM) and narrative feedback on POLOM components: comprehension, fluency/fluidity, vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and communication.

  • The Exam has two main goals:

    • To tell examinees whether or not they are ready to use Spanish for direct communication with patients without a qualified interpreter. This is known as the summative purpose of the exam. 

    • To help examinees improve their use of Spanish in clinical contexts. This is known as the formative purpose of the exam. Careful, detailed feedback is provided by a team of verified POLOM raters with linguistic and medical expertise.

    Examinees who pass the readiness threshold are considered POLOM-Certified. This certification is transferrable and nationally recognized: the POLOM is the only validated and reliable proficiency-rating instrument for clinical contexts.

  • The POLOM is the only validated and reliable instrument for rating language proficiency during observed clinical encounters.

  • The Multilingual Clinician Spanish Certification Exam is recommended for individuals with the following qualifications:

    • Clinical background: Physicians and physicians-in-training (medical students, resident physicians, fellows), nurse practitioners and physician assistants or those in training. Examinees should feel comfortable with general patient interviewing skills, such as taking a medical history and discussing a plan of care.

    • Language skills: individuals who self-assess their Spanish-language skills for orally communicating with patients at the “Very Good” or “Excellent” level on this scale. Self-assessing at these levels does not guarantee passing the exam, and some individuals who self-assess at lower levels may also pass or may choose to take the exam primarily for formative purposes (in other words, to obtain useful feedback for advancing their skills).

Institutional Partnerships

Institutional partnerships enable eligible clinicians affiliated with an institution to be included as part of a group rate when taking the Multilingual Clinician Spanish Certification Exam.

    • Discounted exam cost

    • Customizable packages to address your specific institutional setting, such as number of clinicians, their educational needs, and desired timeline for testing.

    • If desired, CCM can conduct a needs assessment to determine the number of clinicians and trainees eligible to take the Multilingual Clinician Certification Exam to inform institutional cost calculations and resource allocation for greatest value and impact.

    • Prioritized scheduling and results

    • Re-testing at no additional cost for examinees within a pre-determined score range

    • Complimentary access to the Multilingual Clinician Spanish Certification Exam’s Prep Course

    • Discount for affiliated faculty to enroll in the CLIC faculty development course 

    • Institution will be featured on CCM’s digital platforms, allowing current and prospective trainees and clinicians to see the institution’s efforts in supporting evidence-based language-concordant healthcare.

  • • Partnership costs are variable because all institutional partnerships with CCM are customized to address your institutional preferences and priorities, such as the number of eligible clinicians and trainees, the languages prevalent in your patient population, and the types of services your institution requires.

    • Services may include some or all of the following components:

    • Multilingual Clinician Spanish Certification Exam for a set number of clinicians or trainees

    • Courses

    • Needs assessment to identify institutional needs, such as number of eligible clinicians and trainees

    • Other consultation services upon request

    • CCM’s team is delighted to discuss your institutional needs and provide an estimate for corresponding partnership costs.

If you are interested in learning more about an institutional partnership, complete the following form, and our team will be in touch to discuss next steps in customizing a partnership specific to your needs.

Partnership Interest Form

Individual Registration

If you are a clinician or trainee ready to take the Multilingual Clinician Spanish Certification Exam, and your institution does not yet have an established partnership with CCM, you can register individually.

  • • You will receive access to the Multilingual Clinician Spanish Certification Exam’s Prep Course. This online, asynchronous course will help you understand the exam’s expectations so you feel fully prepared on exam day.

    • You will indicate your scheduling preferences on the registration form, and CCM’s team will work with you to schedule your exam at a convenient time. You will be scheduled for a 45-minute appointment, of which 15 minutes will be a recorded clinical encounter.

    • About 2 months after your exam, you will receive your Exam Results Report, which will include the following: 

    • You will learn whether or not you are ready to use Spanish for direct communication with patients without a qualified interpreter. This is known as the summative purpose of the exam. 

    • You will receive practical feedback to improve your use of Spanish in clinical contexts. This is known as the formative purpose of the exam. Careful, detailed comments are provided by a team of verified POLOM raters with linguistic and medical expertise.

    • You will receive personalized recommendations for your next steps in providing language-appropriate care for Spanish-speaking patients.

    • Examinees who pass the readiness threshold are considered POLOM-Certified. This certification is transferrable and nationally recognized: the POLOM is the only validated and reliable proficiency-rating instrument for clinical contexts.

    • By taking the exam, you will become part of a growing community of multilingual clinicians 

    • Individual registration for the exam costs $950 per examinee.

    • Exam fees ensure you receive an accurate and fair assessment that appropriately compensates the expertise of the individuals involved in CCM’s exam process.

    • Exam fees cover the verified POLOM raters, standardized patients, proctors, exam software, and administrative support needed to produce the detailed Exam Results Report and certificates for examinees who achieve POLOM Certification.

    • Yes! You may qualify for a 15% discount if you are an active member of the National Association of Medical Spanish (NAMS), a 501c3 non-profit organizational partner. NAMS member discounts are subject to verification to ensure the registrant’s membership is active.

    • Trainees may apply for a scholarship through the NAMS-CCM Multilingual Clinician Scholarship Program. Potential sponsors and applicants can find out more here.

    • Your fee may be covered by institutions with an active institutional partnership with CCM. If you are not sure whether your institution has an active partnership, you can reach out to CCM at admin@multilingualhealth.com or approach a leader at your institution to inquire.

    • You may be able to use institutional professional development funds to cover your exam registration fee. Consult with your supervisor or department chair.

To register as an individual, complete the following form. Once your registration and payment are processed, our team will be in touch to schedule your exam.

Scholarship Program 

To reduce financial barriers to accessing the exam, CCM has partnered with the National Association of Medical Spanish (NAMS) to create the NAMS-CCM Multilingual Clinician Scholarship Program. This initiative supports students, residents, and fellows who may not have the resources to cover exam fees. 

  • Sponsors can customize the scholarship program to benefit trainees from their alma mater, hospital, city, county, or state. 

  • Scholarships will be awarded through a competitive application process led by NAMS Selection Committee. 

  • Potential sponsors and applicants can find out more here.

Individual Registration Form

What sets the Multilingual Clinician Certification Exam apart?

Designed for clinicians by clinicians

Reflects authentic conversation that mirrors real-life clinical interactions with patients

Grounded in years of strong research that proves its validity and reliability

Supported by linguists, educational assessment experts, and doctors

Tests clinicians’ skills for using a shared language with patients for direct communication, different from the skills needed for medical interpreting

What exam participants are saying

  • "The exam is realistic and clinically centered."

  • "I liked how realistic it was - I felt comfortable speaking with the patient!"

  • "For other exams, I was speaking to a recording. The live interaction was a really cool aspect of this."

  • "The exam is short and manageable."

  • "A clinical encounter is a great way to assess proficiency!"

  • "It felt like what I do with patients every day."

  • "Amazing!"

  • "I am excited for this exam to become standardized!"

  • "The exam structure was easy to navigate."

  • "It felt applicable to any clinical specialty."