Get 5% Discount on $50,000 Business in a Quarter (Terms and Conditions Applied)

Tag Archive for: Guides

A Complete Guide on How to Become a Qualified Medical Translator

/in , /by

People often keep looking about how to become a medical translator. Medical translation is a challenging role and complex as compared to other domains of translation services. As it involves a high level of risks and errors it gets tough for the translators to translate the medical content. Medical translation is an extremely specialized area of activity that requires translators to be vigilant and active so that there are no mistakes.

Basic Traits to have for a Career in Medical Translation

Medical translation is a dense and complex job. It asks for a vigilant and active mind who can consider all the basic factors before he indulges in translation. However, a few basic traits that are inevitable for it are

Language Proficiency

Language proficiency is the first and foremost thing. For a translator, it is important that he is at least bilingual and proficient in more than 1 language. So, that he can pull off the process of translation from one language to another language well. As the labor Bureau of Statistics suggests a translator is a bilingual person who converts content from one language to another.

Qualification Required

In order to become eligible for a medical translator and to offer medical translator services, a high school diploma is a must-have. However, having a relevant full-time degree or medical assistant program is a plus and even more beneficial and a high school diploma is the least degree that is expected from medical translators.

Diploma and Certification

Along with being bilingual the knowledge of medical terminology is another must. A lot of translation companies and even people who outsource the project to medical companies look for a certified medical translator and for that purpose one might need certification from the National board of certification for medical interpreters (CMI) before being a professional medical translator.

Certifications

For certification in some more common and high-in-demand languages such as Chinese, Spanish, Russian or Korean from the National Board for Certified Medical Interpreters, you need to pass the exam. The candidate:

  •    Must be 18+ years old 
  •    Must have a high-school diploma or U.S GED
  •    Have some diploma or accredited degree to present proficiency in the English language. 

As per the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters, once you pass the written exam, you can get a certification in some of the less commonly used languages. 

In order to get the certification, the applicant:

  • Must be at least 18 years old
  • Have a high-school diploma or U.S GED
  • Must have taken a minimum of 40 hours of medical interpreting training course
  • Proficiency in English and target language 

Core CHI exam

If you want to become a certified healthcare interpreter, you need to pass this exam. It’s computer-based and includes multiple-choice questions covering the fundamentals of healthcare interpretation.

Want to know more about their certification? It’s better to contact CCHI and get their handbook of examination for better understanding.

Familiarity with Medical Terminology

Medical translation comes with certain responsibilities and translators should understand how medical translation requires translating a lot of medical text to translate and it is not possible for an individual to do it all. A beginner who aims to be a medical translator should go for this niche and should specialize in this category.

The new translators can start by trying their hands on product information leaflets or SmPCs which is a summary of product characteristics. Starting with these offers a lot of experience and helps to master this category. The first thing, however, is to process the approval in the target countries.

Communication Skills

A certified medical translator is one who not only is bilingual but also has a good grip on the good glossary and terminology. They should invest in good medical translation books and the content of their language pair. They also need to be updated and well aware of the fact of laws related to the medical field of the target country and audience. This practice of self-studying improves medical translation skills and makes the translator confident about the work he is doing. It is also wise for translators to get good medical dictionaries so they can consult these whenever needed.

Honing Medical Skills

Other than excellent grammar and language skills, medical knowledge is also of foremost importance. It implies the combination of three elements so that one knows which verb goes well with the medical term and the difference between identical items. The translator also needs to be well aware of the workings of the human body.

Teams of medical translators online are also acquired by pharmaceutical companies. In order to hone the medical knowledge translator should also read nursing books that are easier to study and follow. The potential translators can take help from the medical materials as well. A translator should also ensure to bookmark all the excellent online sources as they will be doing a lot of research online and offline as well.

Different Practices in Different Countries

There could be different procedures for becoming a medical translator in different regions. The individuals who intend to be medical translators in the European Union, however, should go for the four approval procedures and then should also be mindful of the country’s law and compliance. It is important to be aware of the guidelines. Medical translators work online as well as onsite. Moreover, the European medicine agency website is an authentic and good source. The site’s database can be used for practice translation. The content can either be translated into the source language or later downloaded. The translated version in the target language to compare how well the translation goes.

Medical translator services are now provided by a lot of hospitals, clinics, and health centers all over the globe. Medical translators once they know their field and are confident about being medical translators are unstoppable. However, they need to be mindful of the responsibilities and intricate details of the translation job. Moreover, they should be updated about medical knowledge and the laws that keep on changing on regular basis through constant reading and updated knowledge.

Final Head Start

Head starting the job as a medical language translator is indeed tough. It is particularly hard and complicated at the start because of the tough nature of the job. Being a medical translator is not going to be easy, however getting subject expertise, fluency in both languages, and experience consistency is the key.

The initial phase is particularly tough in this regard when everyone looks for an experienced candidate, and you have no experience. During such situations, the individual should always go for volunteer jobs to have some experience. They can work with hospitals,s NGOs, and other healthcare centers. In order to build a portfolio, it is imperative to offer the services voluntarily initially and make some sacrifices, and not lose patience. Good and right traits need to be developed from the very start. A professional medical translator is one who goes through every single medical term with detailed attention and makes sure he delivers work that is error-free as mistakes and negligences in the medical translation may lead to grave consequences.

Conclusion

Being a medical translator is not an easy task. When it comes to the paper qualification even a high school diploma may work. However, experience and practice are extremely important with the right subject matter expertise. Translators also need to be well aware of the rules of regulation of their target audience and market.

Also Read: Medical Interpreter Vs Medical Translator – All You Need to Know!

10 Translation Industry Trends in 2023

/in , /by

COVID-19 has changed the way we live our lives. The global business is no exception to it. People are confined to their homes to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The global business that has brick-and-mortar stores has shifted its business to e-commerce. Thanks to digitalization have given great leverage to e-commerce stores. The e-commerce stores faced the challenge of communication. This is because people opt to buy products and services from a website that is in their native language. This has increased the importance of translation services more than before. Let’s dive into the 10 translation industry trends in 2023.

Globalization and Technology

In this era of globalization, the objective of entrepreneurs is to expand their business across borders. They can only tap into foreign markets when they speak the language of the target market. Here translation services play an important role in attracting the target market. At present, globalization is associated with translation. In 2023, due to technological advancement, there will be no problem for entrepreneurs to connect with the target market in their language because translation agencies are just a click away from them.

Globalization demands that more and more people should be connected in their language while keeping regional and cultural intricacies in view. According to Forbes magazine, translation services are growing tremendously with the global economy. This is good news for translators and global companies that want translation services to operate their business globally.

Technology advancement is the main driving force behind the progress of the translation industry. It makes people communicate in a language that they understand despite the location where they are. Online tools such as Skype and Google Translate are facilitating communication between thousands of businesses and companies globally. We expect to see more technological advancement in 2023 in the translation industry. They will use more software to enhance the speed and accuracy of translation services. However, due to regional and cultural references, human translators will still be in demand. Moreover, they can give instructions to the machine to operate efficiently.

Use of Videos and Podcasts

At present, global businesses are using videos on social media platforms to increase traffic. Thus, this has created a demand for video and audio translations. As per the survey by Wyzowl, 81% of business owners use video content on their websites. This number will increase more in 2023. Podcasts and videos are an important part of many global companies’ marketing strategies. For this purpose, many translation agencies have to train their translators for translating multimedia content. In this regard, translators should have the know-how of the subtitling and dubbing process. So, if you want to pursue a career in translation, you must know how to translate videos and digital content.

E-learning and Translation

Many global companies spend a large amount of money on the training and development of their employees. This is very important in this era of fierce competition because if global companies have to compete in the international market, they need to train their employees. Covid-19 has also affected the training procedure of companies. Traditional in-class training is finished and the concept of e-learning is introduced. E-learning training is a cheap form of training as it saves money from in-class training and transportation. In the unprecedented time of Covid-19 when global companies have asked their employees to work from home, they keep on training their employees through e-learning programs. According to the report by Statista, e-learning will continue to grow at a rate of 15% from 2017 to 2023.

Global business is turning to e-learning. Therefore, the important thing to keep in mind is that people will learn and retain information in mind if they are provided training in their native language. Therefore, training material, quizzes, games, and books should be translated and provided to the learners in their mother tongue. Many companies that are providing online education and distance learning need to develop the content in such a way that it can be translated into multiple languages easily.

Artificial Intelligence

Tech-savvy people have predicted that soon human translation will end, and artificial translation will grow. But due to cultural and regional intricacies, we cannot remove the human touch from translation. For instance, Google Translate cannot translate the complicated text with local and regional words. In many circumstances, human translation is faster than machine translation. With the amalgamation of a machine and human translation, a hybrid translation platform will provide a better option for language translation in the future. The human translator is kept in the loop with the help of computer-assisted translation. They review and edit the translations that are done by machines. CAT tools are a well-used tool in the translation industry and their use will increase more in 2023.

Remote and Online Working

COVID-19 has shifted the world towards digitalization. As people cannot go out, they need to communicate online. This has increased the importance of translators and resulted in the emergence of live translation. Although these both are available for a long time due to pandemics, remote translation and live translation have become the norm in companies, clinics, seminars, and courtrooms.

Medical Translation

Medical translation services are in great demand because of the pandemic. As developed nations worked on the development of vaccines, there is a great demand for medical translation to share the use of vaccines among people that speak different languages. The government also needs translation services to guide the masses about the precautions that they can take to save themselves from this lethal pandemic. Unless the pandemic is eradicated from the world, the demand for medical translation will prevail in 2023.

Growing Workforce of Translators

Many people have lost their jobs because of the economic turmoil caused by COVID-19. This has turned people towards learning linguistic skills. Many people have adopted a career in translation because of the growing demand for translation services. This career is more for those people that can speak Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese. It is expected that the workforce of translators will grow more in 2023.

Multilingual Customer Support

People tend to visit websites that are in their native language. They make purchases if they are communicated in a language that they understand. After purchasing, comes the importance of customer support. According to the survey, 76% of consumers use messaging apps to take after-sale assistance. They take this assistance if they are communicating in their native language. AI is helping the translation industry to enhance the response time of customer services in the language they understand.

Speech-to-Speech Translation

Speech-to-speech translation is a technology that helps to translate spoken language into their preferred language. Skype translators and wearable translation devices are important innovations in the era of translation technology. These technologies have simplified the lives of people when they are restricted at home. People are now getting used to this technology, and it will proceed to rise in 2023.

Language Demand

In terms of languages, the trend of translation services will increase in 2023 which is in high demand. It is predicted that languages that are increasing according to the number of speakers are Arabic, English, and Portuguese. Moreover, the languages like Chinese, Malay, Korean, Spanish, and French are also increasing. The translation of the content in these languages will be at its peak in 2023.

Wrapping Up

The above-mentioned trends will shape the landscape of the translation industry in 2023. They will help to mitigate the communication barriers among the nations and do not stop the smooth functioning of your global business in the tough times when the world is facing the consequences of the pandemic.

Why Insurance Companies Need Translation and Interpretation Services

/in , , /by

Due to globalization, people need to travel frequently to foreign countries. It can be for business purposes, higher education, and vocations. Whatever the purpose of your traveling is, you must secure yourself financially in a foreign land. Here the insurance services are of great help to you. They help you greatly if you face any unexpected accident. For instance, if you face any injury in a foreign land then you must go for medical insurance services. How can you understand insurance services in a foreign land because of language differences? For this, you must go for medical translation and interpretation services.

Difference Between Medical Translation and Medical Interpretation

Insurance services help to claim the money in case of an accident. Most often medical interpretation and medical translation are used interchangeably so people often confuse one with the other. Let’s remove the ambiguity between the two. Hospitals and clinics use both the services of medical translations and interpreters. The main difference in both is the use of communication mediums. The translation is about converting the written content from one language to another whereas interpretation is about altering the language orally. Some skills are common in translators and interpreters. The important thing to keep in mind is that a good interpreter might not be a good translator and vice versa.

Interpreters must work with objectivity because they are independent in their work. This thing sometimes causes a problem for them especially when they are interpreting for family and friends. Interpreters should be bilingual but this cannot ensure their success.

Medical translators work differently from interpreters because they need to provide services in written form. Therefore translators must possess good written skills in the language in which they are required to provide services. In the translation process, you must read an original context, and find relevant equivalent words in the target market. Finally, you must edit and proofread the content. If you are working with a medical translator then it is recommended to take the opinion of a second translator to get error-free medical translation services.

How to Translate Medical Documents for Insurance Companies  

Before going for medical document translation services, you must collect all the necessary documents in one place. They include hospital bills, medical check-ups, blood tests, and all the documents related to illness and injury. It is recommended to get a copy of each document to keep the medical record with yourself before giving them to the translation or insurance company. For the translation of medical documents, like medical claims you should not rely on software. For example, google translate will just give you an idea of the text. Therefore for the best health care services at economic rates, you should not take risks of both your health and wealth.

The medical documents about health and insurance contain difficult words and phrases that cannot be translated by a simple translator. For this, the translator should be a subject matter expert in the medical field. Therefore, you must hire a professional translation company because they employ a subject matter expert after strict scrutiny. You cannot make your health and wealth prone to different software.

Interpretation and Translation Required for Medical Insurance

For the processing of medical insurance, translators and interpreters are required throughout the process. It includes

  • The early phase of contact with the client.
  • Translation of medical reports, assessments, affidavits, and witness statements.
  • Client Meetings
  • Investigations for diagnosis
  • Trials

To get the required coverage from the insurance company, you must take the assistance of a reliable translation company.

Information Needs to be Accurate Both in Law and Language

If you require medical assistance in a foreign language then a translator should have a complete understanding of the foreign language with the law of that country. A minute mistake will harm the entire process and you must bear a high cost. Moreover, the interpreter is also required to interpret the foreign country’s law accurately. Additionally, they clear you regarding any ambiguities in understanding the law.

Happy Clients will Lead to Higher Retention Rates

When patients feel that they can rely on a specific insurance company then the next step is to look for translation and interpretation services. If the translation and interpretation services are not taken care of then people will not opt for your insurance policies. The health of the client and the growth of the insurance company are associated with impeccable translation and interpretation services.

The Role of Translation and Interpretation Services for Health Insurance

One of the worst things that one can come across in a foreign land is any ailment or unexpected accident. This one requires medical treatment. Not all of us can bear medical expenses in a foreign land. Moreover, it is not easy to understand insurance policies in a foreign land unless you understand their language. Here the translation and interpretation play an imperative role in making you understand the entire process and how to opt for it. Some hospitals don’t start treatment until you give them proof of insurance coverage.

In this regard, the hospital administrator contacts the victims to know the worth of their coverage. In such a situation, you must take the assistance of a medical interpreter that can act as a median between the hospital and the insurance company. Moreover, a translator would assist in translating documents for the hospital and medical facility to start a relevant treatment and to know how much money would be needed. Moreover, the insurance company also asks for police reports and witness statements to know the validity of your case.

Importance of Health Insurance Translation Services

Although English is a universal language it does not mean that everyone can speak and understand English. The translation of health insurance documents for people that do not speak and understand English is a critical process and requires experience and expertise in this field. Initially, bilingual people used to work as a translator in the medical field. To work according to federal and state laws, medical insurance translation services are the most critical translation services for the healthcare system. LEP, low English proficiency people like to communicate in their language. Health insurance translation services are significant for LEP because in this way they can understand the cost and terminologies used in the treatment in the best way.

a) Health Insurance Translation Services Help you to Understand Medical Rights 

Usually, the terms used in medical documents and insurance policies are obscure even for native speakers of the country. By getting a health insurance translation service, people can get aware of their health rights and know how they can take better leverage from them. This applies to the entire healthcare system. There are many cases in which people are unable to interact properly with doctors and insurance companies. For example, if you are an ex-pat and you have been given health insurance from your company then you can understand the health facilities given to you only by health insurance translation services. On the other hand, health insurance companies also want their clients to understand the health privileges given to them. Therefore translation services in health insurance are pivotal.

b) Health Insurance Services are Used for the Welfare of People

Many welfare countries also want health care providers of their country to take the assistance of translation and interpretation services in their practices. This shows that a large number of populations depend on their services. In the USA, healthcare facilities are very expensive. Therefore people who have taken health insurance services can save a lot of money and enjoy great health privileges. According to one study, 25 million US citizens have low English proficiency. Therefore, if they claim medical insurance then they must go for health insurance translation services to make their process more professional and efficient. Translation services in the healthcare industry are considered ethical because they help to save the lives of people.

c) Insurance Companies give you Leverage in Many Ways

If the insurance companies take the assistance of professional medical translation agencies, then they are in a better position to understand federal and state laws and can abide by them. It will increase both their financial and administrative efficiency. For LEP clients, the translation agencies come with communication strategies that can resonate with customer requirements. On the other hand insurance companies can improve the quality of customer services and help to process the insurance services in minimal time.

If the insurance company has its website, then translating a website into multiple languages will help to increase the customer’s enrollments and decrease expenses. Many insurance companies have included insurance forms online. People can understand and fill out the insurance forms if they are provided to them in their native languages. It will increase the information access and efficiency of the insurance firm. Over-the-phone interpreting can also increase the sales of the insurance company. In short, translation services will enhance the corporate image of the insurance company.

Miscommunication Prevented by Translation Services

One of the main reasons for the importance of medical translation services for insurance is to avoid miscommunication. Insurance companies are aware of the risks associated with wrong communication. The problems caused by errors in translation can result in lawsuits and the most dangerous part is the loss of health and death.

Do you know why miscommunication is in havoc in the medical insurance field? It is because of difficult terminologies used in medical and insurance. Therefore to have impeccable translation results one should hire a professional translation company.

Wrapping Up

The welfare states of the world take interest in providing the best healthcare services to their citizens. Many people from developing countries also visit these states to get better health facilities. To mitigate the communication gap between medical health and insurance companies, translation and interpretation services are of great help. It will ease the work of all three parties, patients, medical care providers, and the insurance company. For this, you must hire a professional translation agency. It will help the medical practitioner to treat the patient with utmost care. On the other hand, it will help health insurance companies to enhance their efficiency.

Translation Plays a Key Role in the Medical Industry

/in , /by

Every field has its importance, but the medical field is the most critical of all. This is because it deals with human life. No doubt that technological advancements have made our life easy, but on the other hand it has resulted in environmental pollution. Environmental pollution and a lazy way of life have made human life prone to many diseases. For this reason, many developed countries are spending a large amount of money on medical research and development. Here the problem is that medical developments are done in one language and there are around 7139 languages spoken around the globe. Here the question comes, how to share medical development with people speaking different languages? Translation services play a vital role in the dissemination of medical industry information.

Everyone in the world has the right to live a healthy life. Ailments and disease are part of life. Doctors can cure your disease on time if they are provided with the information in the language that they understand. The same is the case with patients, they can follow the prescribed medicines if they can understand the language. Medical translation services can give you great leverage.

What is Medical Translation?

Medical Sciences is a very vast field. Not only documents related to prescriptions and diagnoses are involved in medical translation. But the translation of pharmaceutical medicines and medical devices translation is also a part of it. Moreover, all the research and developments that are taking place around the world must be translated. Developing countries like the US lack proper medical facilities. Therefore, many people from these countries came to developed countries to get the best medical facilities. Medical translation services are of great help to people that speak different languages. With the help of impeccable MTS, patients can communicate well with the doctors and on the other hand, medical doctors can provide them with appropriate treatment by reading the patient’s history in the language that they understand. Thus, medical translation is a two-way process.

It has been observed that medicines and drugs are prepared by the countries that have done more research. Therefore, they export the drugs to less privileged countries. Here again, medical translation services are of great use. This is because the person that can interpret the medical translation can check the composition and dosage of the medicine and can use it more appropriately. This is very important if the patient is on life-saving drugs. You need to know the importance of medical translation to help you understand the side effects of the medicine.

Hazards Linked with Improper Medical Translation

The hazards linked with improper medical translation are as follows.

  • Health issues were raised due to improper medical translation. Sometimes, it will lead to death.
  • Failure to provide the best healthcare facilities because of language barriers.
  • Not getting proper treatment on time will result in the prolonging of the disease.
  • Legal issues are raised if patients claim that they have signed the consent because of improper communication.
  • Miscommunication between the patient and doctor because of improper medical translation. 

How to get the Best Quality Medical Translation?

Medical translation is very sensitive. There is no room for error in it. To save lives from threats of lethal disease, many people look for professional translation agencies. These agencies employ a team of native translators who are subject-matter experts in their fields and possess prior experience in the medical industry. The following steps should be considered while selecting a professional translation company.

  • Do thorough research to select the right translation company that can fulfill all your translation requirements. For this, you can check the recommendations of the people and check the ranking and review of the translation agency.
  • People consider old companies more, but this does not mean considering new players, especially if they are making their name in the market, and they have remarkable projects to show. Do check the list of previous clients and take their feedback. Moreover, check whether the translators working in the translation company are equipped with medical terminologies or not.
  • Check how the company performs the medical translations. Give attention to details of their translation processes, and analyze their quality control processes. Select the one that gives you regular updates and lets you know about ongoing translation projects.
  • It is very essential to get a medical translation service on time because if the diagnosis of any ailment is not diagnosed on time. It will result in the prolonging of the disease. Therefore, look for such translation companies that can provide error-free translation services in a fast turnaround time.
  • Price also counts while going for a translation agency but don’t make it a deciding factor. Quality matters more than price. This goes well for medical translation because health is wealth.

Whether to go for Google Translate or Professional Medical Translator

The study of medical translation journals shows a result of choosing ten phrases that doctors used in clinical settings and selecting Google Translate to translate them into 26 languages. The results that they get are

  • The African languages got 45% correct results
  • The Asian languages with  46% accurate results.
  • The Eastern European languages got 62% appropriate results
  • The Western European languages got 74% valid results

The entire average of translation services is 57.7%. These statistics show that you can get answers to many medical terminologies from Google, but it is not an appropriate option.

The Best Medical Translation Services

Medical translators face many challenges in providing a seamless translation service. They know slight mistakes can be dangerous for human health. You can get the best medical translation services from a professional translation company that is backed by ISO certification. This shows that they follow international standards in their translation services. Moreover, their translators are well-equipped to provide you with certified medical translation services. Additionally,  they deliver you the signed statement that validates the accuracy of the medical document.

Skills of Medical Translators

Unlike other fields, the medical industry has its terminology. It is such a difficult terminology that people find it difficult to pronounce. This terminology cannot be understood by a layman. Only a medical translator that knows the different aspects of the human body and medicines can provide you with impeccable medical translation services. The medical translator should have complete knowledge of medical terminologies for interceptor so that they can provide certified translation services with full confidence.

Although all documents in the medical industry are equally important, three of the medical documents are in great demand for translation. They are translating prescriptions, patient records, and documents related to medicine usage. To get error-free translations, the medical translator must possess the following qualities.

  • A qualified medical translator must be proficient enough to translate medical content from one language to another. No matter which language pair, they require.
  • A medical translator should be aware of difficult medical terminologies, as they need to translate every word with utmost care.
  • The medical translator must know the culture of the language for which they are providing translation.
  • If the medical translator is translating any medical project, then he should make sure that the patient’s information is kept confidential.

If you want to become a competent medical translator, then you should have a degree in a second language apart from medical information.

Get an Experience as a Qualified Medical Translator

Due to the sensitivity of medical industry translation, you should start taking simple medical translation tasks such as patients and medicine leaflets to introduce new drugs and medical devices in the market. This will help you in developing your translation skills. You can also translate the information given on medical websites to gain experience. Moreover, you should have a complete understanding of human organs because the medical industry revolves around them. You can translate the content from your source language and then translate it into the targeted language and compare it to know how good your translation is. It will improve your translation skills immensely.

Keep Yourself Updated

In your spare time, do read medical journals and medical research to keep yourself updated on the latest medical terminologies, medical equipment, and treatment. One important thing to note is that with every new research and development, the previous medical procedure gets void. The other thing you can do is to invest in buying some dictionaries to enhance and polish your translation skills.

Wrapping Up

Every one of us wants to lead a healthy life. People seek out the best doctors in the town for their treatment. If the ailment is dangerous, they go abroad to get better medical facilities. There, they require medical translation services to understand the foreign treatment. For impeccable medical translation services, they hire a professional translation company that is prior experience in handling medical projects. People become translators if they have a passion for the language, but for becoming a medical translator, they should have a love for humanity. This is because medical translation services are all about saving human lives.

Also Read: Let’s flesh out the 5 major steps of the medical translation process

15 Key Terms of Medical Terminology for Interpreters

/in , /by

In this article, we are going to discuss the key terms of medical terminology for Interpreters in today’s world. Every field has a specific terminology that differentiates it from each other. To deal specifically in that field, you must be aware of specific terminologies. In the medical field, medical terminology holds great importance because it deals with human life. Although medical doctors know about these terminologies because it is a part of their education, what about the public? Here the medical interpreters play an important role. Many people from developing countries visit developed countries to get better health care facilities. The biggest problem they face is communication. How can they take advantage of the best medical services if they don’t understand the languages? Here, medical interpreters play a pivotal role by providing medical interpretation services to healthcare providers and patients so that they can understand each other perfectly.

Do You Know What Medical Interpreting Is?

To provide better health services to their clients, many doctors comprehend their questions so that they can provide better health services to their patients. For this many language translation companies provide interpreting services to their clients, especially to those that are not good at English proficiency. Medical interpreting is a very complex and specialized work. In this work, interpreters use their skills to mitigate the communication barriers between medical doctors and patients. This job is very critical because the diagnosis of the disease and its treatment depend upon it.

Work of Medical Interpreters

The main objective of a medical interpreter is to mitigate the communication gap between the patients and doctors so that they can detect the disease of the patients correctly and provide the right medication. You must be wondering, what is the role of medical interpreting when a person with limited English proficiency visits a doctor. The interpreter should be proficient in both the source and target language. He should be aware of medical terminologies. Each sub-field of medicine, such as rheumatologists and pulmonologists, has its own set of terminologies.

Therefore, to deal with a variety of terminologies, the interpreter should be a subject-matter expert. No doubt, becoming an interpreter in the health industry is very demanding. But on the other hand, they also get emotional satisfaction when they can save the lives of people. The type of interpretation services that people with limited English proficiency are looking for depends upon the size and location of the health care department. For instance, in rural areas, where the financial facilities are limited, and an interpretation is needed in specific languages, here the viable option is to go for over-the-phone interpreting. The large healthcare centers that are required to handle more patients can go for on-site interpreting and video remote interpreting. In some medical care centers, all these interpreting services are available.

15 Key Terms of Medical Terminology 

Medical terminologies are so difficult. Therefore, a layman cannot pronounce and understand them. Doctors sometimes speak such difficult terminologies that the patients have not heard them before, so they confuse them with other terms. Medical interpreters must be familiar with these difficult terminologies and must communicate effectively between patients and doctors. If they don’t, the doctors will not be able to diagnose the disease and the disease can easily become lethal.

There are many medical health conditions that lead to havoc results. The doctor uses a difficult medical term that a patient has not heard before. On the other hand, patients misinterpret it and follow the treatment plan without understanding it. The patient confuses his disease with a similar type of other disease. An interpreter conveys the wrong message to the doctor and the doctor keeps on giving the same treatment to the patient which is not up to the specific disease. To avoid such situations, let’s have a look at key terms of medical terminology for Interpreters.

Palpitation and Palpation:

Palpitation is an irregular heartbeat, whereas palpation is the method of doctors to check broken bones from their figures.

Strain, Sprain, and Fracture:

A strain is the body situation when you get your muscles damaged from overstretching, whereas a sprain is the misallocation of bones. Moreover, a fracture is a broken bone.

Sycosis and Psychosis:

Sycosis is an ailment that causes inflammation in hair follicles. Psychosis is a totally different disease related to mental health. It is a disease when the patient starts touching and hearing things that don’t exist.

Dementia vs Alzheimer’s:

People often get confused with these two terms. Dementia is related to memory loss, whereas Alzheimer’s deals with cognitive and functional impairment.

Dysphasia and Dysphagia:

Dysphasia relates to the injury of the brain, with which human beings are unable to communicate. Dysphagia makes a man unable to swallow anything.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Irritated Bowel Syndrome:

Inflammatory bowel disease is related to tiredness, bleeding, and ulcers, whereas irritated bowel syndrome is a condition of the digestive system which is not working properly because for unknown reasons.

Vein and Artery:

A vein is a blood vessel that deals with the blood flow when there is a lack of oxygen. Arteries are the tubes that supply blood full of oxygen from the heart to the body.

Hypotension and Hypertension:

Hypotension relates to low blood pressure, and it did not cause serious implications. Hypertension refers to high blood pressure and has serious health impacts.

Echocardiogram and Electrocardiogram:

An echocardiogram is a heart ultrasound. It shows the condition of the heart, and doctors can diagnose clots and tumors with this heart ultrasound. On the other hand, an echocardiogram checks muscle tissue damage, chemical imbalances, and irregularities in the heartbeat.

Perineal and Peroneal:

The Perineal is the pelvic floor. It can be male or female. Peroneal is a nerve outside the calf.

Cervical:

It is a term used for the cervical bones of a neck, or it can be a woman’s cervix which is related to the uterus opening.

Vesicle and Vesical:

A Vesicle is a type of bubble under the skin. It is filled with fluid. It can be a sac, cyst, vacuole, or blister.

Ilium and IIeum:

The IIium is a large part of the upper pelvic bone. The IIeum is the part of the small intestine that connects the colon.

Aural and Oral:

Aural is related to the ears, whereas oral is related to the mouth.

Coronavirus and Covid-19: 

These two words are being used interchangeably. Coronavirus is a type of virus that looks like spikes on the surface of the virus cell. MERS, SARS, and Covid-19 are a type of Coronavirus.

Importance of Medical Interpreting

The importance and value of interpreting are well assessed by the number of patients that are seeking proper medical care services. These services can be given by professional medical interpreters. They can not only facilitate communication between doctors and patients, but they can also help in the admission, consultation, and examination of patients. The interpreter helps the doctors and healthcare staff in direct communication in the language that they understand. Apart from interpreting at the backside, they can come into a conversation to ensure that information is disseminated correctly. Thus, they are an active part of healthcare services.

How to Become a Medical Interpreter?

  • If the patient is not dealing with any chronic disease, then first you should keep certain symptoms in mind. For example nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, or constipation. After that, start taking notes. This will help you in relating symptoms with the disease.
  • Secondly, as a medical interpreter, you should learn how the patients describe their pain. For example, throbbing, burning, stabbing, and sharp. You should repeat these words again and again in the language that the patient understands. After that, you must learn how to interpret the pain on the scale. Don’t panic while asking questions. You will come across many patients that can not describe the pain on a scale. This can be due to cultural intricacies.
  • Be comfortable in saying words like vomiting, urination, peeing, and bowel movements as they are all functions of the body. But do differentiate which words are used for animals and which are used for human beings.
  • Learn about body organs and systems. Many times, you will hear a question from the doctor about whether you have problems with your kidneys, lungs, heart, bladder, or liver.  Apart from these, do learn about different glands of the body like endocrine or endocrine glands. Also, try to learn how to say ducts.
  • You should know other stuff, which is in your body like ovaries, cysts, cartilage, ligaments, bones, muscles, and tendons.
  • Learn the terminologies related to medical devices, for example, MRI, CT scan, X-rays, Pelvic exam, urinalysis, colonoscopy endoscopy, and many more.

Wrapping Up

You can become a  proficient medical interpreter if you have a medical background and prior experience in the medical field. Only language proficiency is not enough. Moreover, you should be brave enough to see the lethal disease of patients. Apart from all these qualities, if you have a passion for saving humanity, then you can become a good medical interpreter. Are you ready to take on this challenge of becoming a medical interpreter? If you learn the key terms of medical terminology, then your medical interpreter career pursuit will become easy.