El perfil y las competencias del traductor médico desde el punto de vista de los profesionales: una aproximación cualitativa

Abstract

Este artículo presenta los resultados de un estudio cualitativo de carácter exploratorio cuyo objetivo era obtener información sobre el perfil del traductor médico y las competencias necesarias para el ejercicio profesional. Para ello, se ha entrevistado a doce traductores de diversos perfiles formativos (médicos, biólogos y traductores) que trabajan como autónomos o en plantilla para organismos diversos. El estudio nos ha permitido obtener datos variados sobre el ejercicio de la traducción médica (géneros y temas traducidos, dificultades encontradas, requisitos exigidos, clientes, etc.) y ha puesto de manifiesto interesantes diferencias en el desarrollo profesional de los traductores según el perfil formativo o el régimen laboral. Los resultados muestran, además, que la adquisición de conocimientos médicos básicos o el dominio de las fuentes de documentación son algunas de las competencias que los informantes consideran clave para el ejercicio profesional.palabras clave: perfil del traductor médico profesional, competencias, estudio cualitativo, formación en traducción médica. (genres and topics translated, difficulties encountered, employers' requirements, clients, etc.) The profile and competences of medical translators from the professionals' point of view: A qualitative approach This paper presents the results of an exploratory qualitative study aimed to gather information on the medical translator profile and the competences required for the practice of the profession. To do so, twelve translators with different training profiles (physicians, biologists and translators) working as freelancers or staff workers in different organizations were interviewed. The study allowed us to obtain data about the practice of medical translation

Assessing how closely postgraduate translation programmes fit the reality of professional practice: a case study of the Spanish context

“…the capacities, knowledge and skills possessed by professional translators [Kelly 2002, 14]) in designing, implementing and assessing training programmes before these were prescribed by the Bologna process (Kelly 2005(Kelly , 2007Calvo 2011). However, the creation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), with its ultimate goal of enhancing education by taking professional practice into account, has intensified the need for empirical studies aimed at identifying the competences translators actually possess and establishing what they are required to do in their professional practice (Vigier 2010; Sachinis 2011;Cerezo 2012;Li 2012;Toudic 2012;Muñoz-Miquel 2014, 2016a. But do the competences taught in current translator training programmes match those that professional translators actually use or consider important when practising their profession?…”

“…As mentioned earlier, the study presented in this paper focuses on medical translation. This specialisation is one of the most fertile in terms of job prospects and career development (Muñoz-Miquel 2014). However, it is still relatively young from an academic and disciplinary point of view, and there is a lack of studies that deal with professional and training issues in this area.…”

“…However, it is still relatively young from an academic and disciplinary point of view, and there is a lack of studies that deal with professional and training issues in this area. As far as I am aware, very little empirical research has been conducted on the profile and competences of medical translators (with the exceptions of the studies by O'Neill 1998; Jensen and Zethsen 2012;Muñoz-Miquel 2014, 2016aand Martínez 2016). Most studies appear to be based on anecdotal evidence or personal experience.…”

Differences between linguists and subject-matter experts in the medical translation practice

“…Medical and health professionals with language skills have been those traditionally in charge of carrying out medical translations since Translation Studies at university level are relatively recent (Navarro and Hernández 1997;. This situation started to change with the creation of translation degrees and, in the last few years, with the development of the first postgraduate programmes which focus exclusively on medical translation Muñoz-Miquel 2014a); witness, for example, the Master's Degree in Medical and Healthcare Translation of the Universitat Jaume I in Spain, which has been training future medical translators since 2007. Thus, we assume that today both translators with a scientific or medical background (hereafter TSBs) and translators with a linguistic background (hereafter TLBs) meet the medical translation and communication needs.…”

“…Despite being undoubtedly interesting, these works are largely based on intuition or personal experience of either a professional or teaching nature, without being complemented with empirical data that reflect the features observed in professional translators (Mayoral Asensio 2001, 111); data which could be used as more objective evidence to corroborate any kind of judgement that may be made about the profile of medical translators. With very few exceptions (Jensen and Zethsen 2012;Muñoz-Miquel 2014a, 2014b, 2016, there are practically no studies that provide systematic data about who translates medical texts or what features characterise their professional practice. This situation led us to ask the following questions: what is the academic and socioprofessional profile of medical translators, and are there any differences between TLBs and TSBs in terms of their professional practice or training needs?…”