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11 Sep 5 practical tips for medical translation

If you work in the medical translation field, pay attention to these practical tips which will ease your daily work. They will also make a more effective translation job, so give an opportunity to the following advices.

– Feed up your medical knowledge

If you studied a Medicine Degree or any medical specialization master/course, then you have the basis of knowledge. Anyway, do not be a conformist as you have to keep on training. Continuity is essential; so read, read, and read. Your brain should absorb any new idea and you must use such information in the medical translation field.

– Select your resources

Choose the most practical and important medical translation resources for you: dictionaries, glossaries, manuals, publications… But do not bite off more that you can chew, so just choose the essential ones for you; otherwise, too many resources will make your head spin.

– Do not fear about asking

A second opinion – even a third or fourth – might be essential. If you have any doubt, do no hesitate to ask experts and professionals of the sector. You may contact a specialised doctor and/or resort an Internet forum for obtaining answers to your questions.

– Use common sense

Does it make sense what you are translating? In medical translation, common sense is essential. Pay attention to false friends and read carefully your target text for avoiding misunderstandings. If you find anything strange, it might be a translation mistake.

– Kill ambiguity

You know that your medical translation can save lives, so pressure is always present. Unless the original text is ambiguous, avoid any unnecessary ambiguity in your medical translation. Surgeons, doctors, nurses or any other health specialist should perfectly know what to do at any moment. Pay a special attention and be sure that you have clarified any detail.