Certainly not. Medical translation is a highly specialised field, and not all translators delve into these waters with the required specialised training and subject matter knowledge necessary to produce high-quality medical translations.
Before getting into the subject of medical translation and what it means to be a specialised medical translator, let me share some thoughts about translation services in general.
Translation Services
The translation service is generally—not always—provided by professional translators who are proficient in one or more language pairs; for example, English into Spanish, and have the formal translation skills required to reproduce a source file into the target version. The translator is a mediator that helps overcome language barriers and deliver messages to reach the client’s target audience. Translation is a profession that requires more than knowing two languages.
Medical Translation – A branch of Technical Translation
Medical translation is a branch of technical translation that focuses on the translation of documents mainly related to clinical practice, clinical research, regulatory and approval processes, sharing of scientific knowledge, drug promotion and patient education.
For marketing and distribution of medicinal products, most countries—through their competent authority on medicine regulation—require key documents to be translated into their national languages. Due to the highly technical, sensitive, and regulated nature of these documents, a deep understanding not only of medical and pharmaceutical concepts and industry terminology, but also of the procedures and regulations involved in both the source document and the target document is required.
Due to the rapidly multiplying global pharmaceutical industry marked by an accelerated expansion in the markets of developing countries, driven by growing demands on healthcare and an increasing prevalence rate of chronic diseases, the medical translation services are on high demand worldwide. However, not all translation services in the medical field are being conducted by qualified translators.
Specialised Medical Translation
When it comes to translating medical texts, being proficient in the languages involved, having translation skills and having translated some medical content in the past is not enough.
Specialisation in the context of medical translation means learning some of the theory the actual experts have learned; that is, delving into—and mastering—topics of chemistry, biochemistry, biology, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, biostatistics and regulatory affairs. This way the medical translator can properly approach the highly technical source file, appropriately interpret it, solve any translation problem that may arise—especially those related to conceptual errors in the original file—and faithfully transfer the source message to the final target version without interference or distortion of the original content due to lack of subject matter knowledge.
Of course, we, specialised medical translators—a very rare species—are not going to practise medicine, we are not going to provide healthcare to patients nor give second opinions, but we are going to accurately understand what the actual experts are talking about in the documents we have to translate.
Medical translation is a serious business. It’s not just a matter of merely being proficient in two languages. It’s not just transferring one term in one language into another language, indifferent to the highly sensitive document content and the consequences mistranslations may bring to our client’s businesses, the healthcare system, the network of healthcare professionals or the patient population it is serving.
When it comes to finding the right partner to translate your medical documents, only trust language service providers working with qualified specialised medical translators.