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How to improve my medical/pharmaceutical specialization?
Thread poster: María C Turri
María C Turri
María C Turri  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 03:13
Member (2019)
English to Spanish
Sep 23, 2020

I've been translating medical and pharmaceutical content from English into Spanish almost exclusively for the last 8 years. Now I feel I need "something more" to improve that specialization. I am considering several trainings, but I wonder if there is one that is better recognized in the industry as a way to ease my consideration (by clients) for future projects. Can anyone help me with this?
 
Anton Konashenok
Anton Konashenok  Identity Verified
Czech Republic
Local time: 07:13
French to English
+ ...
Study the subject field itself Sep 23, 2020

Clients who pay well tend to care about the actual quality of your work rather than recognised diplomas/certificates, and in any event, 8 years of experience in the field would trump most translation-related certificates anyway. So if you wish to improve, study medicine and pharmacy rather than medical and pharmaceutical translation. However, you don't really have to go to a medical school for that, just get yourself a stack of good textbooks and keep reading them in your free time.
The s... See more
Clients who pay well tend to care about the actual quality of your work rather than recognised diplomas/certificates, and in any event, 8 years of experience in the field would trump most translation-related certificates anyway. So if you wish to improve, study medicine and pharmacy rather than medical and pharmaceutical translation. However, you don't really have to go to a medical school for that, just get yourself a stack of good textbooks and keep reading them in your free time.
The same applies to any other subject field.

[Edited at 2020-09-23 13:01 GMT] ▲ Collapse


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María C Turri
María C Turri  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 03:13
Member (2019)
English to Spanish
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you Sep 25, 2020

It's really helpful to see your point of view.
 
Rachel Waddington
Rachel Waddington  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:13
Dutch to English
+ ...
More info? Sep 27, 2020

Hi Maria,

Unfortunately, I'm not familiar enough with the medical/pharmaceutical field to give you any specific advice. I do agree with Anton that working your way through a good text book will often yield more in the way of real knowledge than attending some webinar aimed at translators. But paying for a course can also give you a powerful motivation to stick with it even when work gets busy, so that's worth considering too.

Perhaps if you give us an idea of the differ... See more
Hi Maria,

Unfortunately, I'm not familiar enough with the medical/pharmaceutical field to give you any specific advice. I do agree with Anton that working your way through a good text book will often yield more in the way of real knowledge than attending some webinar aimed at translators. But paying for a course can also give you a powerful motivation to stick with it even when work gets busy, so that's worth considering too.

Perhaps if you give us an idea of the different options you are considering it might be easier for people to understand where you're coming from. Are you looking for a free webinar or a Masters degree, or something between the two? I see from your profile that you already come to the field with a really solid grounding in the basics from what you have studied at school so that will make a difference.

Rachel ▲ Collapse
 
María C Turri
María C Turri  Identity Verified
Argentina
Local time: 03:13
Member (2019)
English to Spanish
TOPIC STARTER
Something in between Sep 27, 2020

Hi, Rachel.

I was considering something in between, like the non-official Masters or courses offered by Tragora (https://www.tragoraformacion.com/cursos/traduccion/curso-traduccion-medica/) or AulaSi... See more
Hi, Rachel.

I was considering something in between, like the non-official Masters or courses offered by Tragora (https://www.tragoraformacion.com/cursos/traduccion/curso-traduccion-medica/) or AulaSic (https://www.aulasic.org/es/de-especializacion/traduccion-medica.html) on line. I'm looking for a program that contains more practical and perhaps comparative material and not so much unrelated theory or semiology.

As you well mention, I find that paying for the course ensures my making the effort to complete it when I have busy periods, that's why I'm not that good at self-learning, because I always prioritize work. ▲ Collapse
 


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How to improve my medical/pharmaceutical specialization?







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