Translating medical text has become evident to cater to the growing medical needs all over the world. There are various rules and requirements that are associated with medical texts. This is one specialized field of translation that requires accurate and error-free translation or else the errors could lead to severe consequences. It requires detailed attention with the medical documents we translate most frequently including leaflets, patient journals, information leaflets, and a lot of other documents.
Despite the medical documents’ format and text type, one thing is universal and that is dealing with the medical text. It is always advised that translators follow certain rules to deliver quality work.
Here are a few golden rules that can help translators with better-quality of medical translation.
1. Accuracy
Medical translation services have to be accurate, to the point with relevant information, and without any exaggeration. This text needs to be transparent and without any fictional deviation. Also, the text requires to be correct and error-free.
2. Consistency
Consistency is a core ingredient of medical translation. One term should stand for one condition throughout the text. Changing the meaning of the terms and industry jargon can disturb the consistency of the translation, eventually affecting the quality of the medical translation. Therefore, translators should make sure they take care of the consistency during translation of the medical text.
3. Expert linguists
This is an unsaid rule of medical translation that the translators involved are experienced with the relevant subject matter expertise. They should have a prior experience in medicine and pharmacy. This is particularly important while translating the names of chemical substances and compounds including anatomy and diagnosis.
4. The right use of specific terminology
Another rule that translators should follow religiously is to use only specific and accurate terminology. They should also ascertain they understand the terminology well and can implicate their meanings to the text in the right and accurate manner. Moreover, additional linguistic skills can also bring more advantages. Usually, most of the medical terms are from Latin and Greek.
5. Knowledge of anatomy
The translators should have a fair share of anatomic knowledge to excel in their translations. In order to describe the side effects of specific medical knowledge in the field of anatomy is of foremost importance. Translation agencies who deal with medical translation services and pharmaceutical literature should ensure using specialists in the sciences. They should rely on experienced individuals. Many times medical professionals work as medical translators to have additional income.
6. Responsible translation of the text
The medical field is very broad now. It contains many branches and subdomains that are by any means connected to the medical field. People are often skeptical about homeopathy services. They have their reservations. Hence, while translating translators should ensure the information that they are providing is backed up with relevant proof and pieces of evidence. Extensive experience is required in this case. Translators should also be mentioning about the side effects of the medicine, they are writing about.
7. Adherence to a formal style
Medical documents come with certain patterns and layouts. A document is recognized by its layout and style pattern. Documents are always more formal in nature. Companies and organizations always ensure that the translated medical documents adhere to the formal style and should be as good as the original. The translators should also try to contribute to medical video translation services. Once they are proficient in translating the videos, they can excel in the field and translate accordingly.
8. Authentic translation of scientific findings
Medical translators are though quite experienced in their work. However, translators have to be familiar with the terminology and its origin. Medical terminology’s subject is treated as a separate and mandatory domain. Knowledge of science is a must. The source should be authentic and there should be no fake information. The medical text has to be accurate and authentic. Forged information can lead to serious consequences and often risk people’s lives.
9. Staying upgraded with the medical rules and regulations
The medical field is a sensitive and challenging field. Minor negligence or mistake often claims lives. Also, rules keep on changing in different regions. A good translator should follow this rule of always staying upgraded with the recent happenings in his field as well as with the translation of the medical field. It is also imperative that he knows about the basic rules of the regulatory authorities of his target audience so that he can translate the content accordingly and not mess up. As violating legal restrictions can land the company in court battles. It also tarnishes the image of the company and the translator also gets blacklisted often.
10. Owning the work and being responsible for it
The translators should own the responsibility for every translated word and phrase. They should understand and realize that translating medical texts comes with certain responsibilities. translators should keep themselves upgraded with the recent knowledge. They can check different platforms, listen to podcasts, go through medical research, and can also watch videos of the surgeries. Even if these are in different languages they can get help from video translation services. The translators should keep on trying to hone their skills to perform well in their field.
Conclusion
Medical writing is an extensive challenging task. the translators have to make sure they follow certain rules to excel in medical translation. they should make sure they are experts in medical translation, follow the patterns of important documents, use authentic information, and stay upgraded with the medical terms and terminology.
