Medical translation mini project!

[艾紫茉]

Dear forum friends, 

 

I learned Mandarin in college but haven't used it much since then. I am now entering my last year of medical school and the hospital I am in has a lot of patients who only speak Mandarin. In some cases there just isn't time to call up a translator on the phone and go through this time consuming process. I would like to ask you guys' help in translating a full history into mandarin. With my background I know I can be comfortable in getting these basic questions answered. It would help save a lot of time initially when we need to work fast. I want to be absolutely sure that everything is phrased correctly with proper grammar and vocab. 

 

Some of these are pretty basic, but just for completions sake I'm listing all the questions here. I will update this list with translations as they are completed. I really appreciate any and all help with this! I hope to use this to help educate other health care workers with basic language knowledge so we can get the information we need.

 

 

History of Presenting Illness

What brings you in today?

How are you feeling?

 

When did the pain / symptom start?

 

Is the pain constant? Does the pain come and go? How often?

 

How long do the episodes last?

 

Does the pain move / radiate anywhere?

 

What does the pain feel like? 

Pounding? Sharp? Dull? Strong? Burning? Tingling? 

 

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being very mild pain and 10 being very strong pain, how bad is your pain?

 

Does anything make the pain feel worse?

 

Does anything make it better?

 

Are you taking any medication / home remedy for the pain?

 

Have you felt pain like this before?

 

Past Medical History

Do you have any medical problems?

 

Hypertension/High blood pressure? 

Heart disease? 

Asthma/Tuberculosis? 

Diabetes?

Epilepsy? Mental illness?

Bleeding disorders?

 

Problems with your kidneys, urine infections, liver, hepatitis, diabetes, thyroid disease, seizures, or cancer (colon, breast)? 

 

Have you had all your vaccinations?

 

Past Surgical History

Have you had any operations?

 

Appendix removal/appendectomy?

Gall bladder removal/cholecystectomy?

Brain surgery?

Hip surgery?

 

Were there any complications?

 

Have you ever had a blood transfusion?

 

Social History, Meds, Allergies, Family History

 

Where were you born?

 

What d you do for a living?

 

Are you married?

 

Do you smoke, drink or do any drugs?

 

With whom do you live?

 

Is there violence in your home?

 

Do you take any medicines?

 

Do you have any allergies?

What type of reaction do you have to [medication]?

Rash?

Can't breath?

Swelling?

 

Has anyone in your family had…?

Do any medical conditions run in your family?

 

Sexual History

Are you sexually active?

 

When was the last time you had sex?

 

How many partners do you have?

Men or women?

 

Do you use protection?

 

Have you ever had a sexually transmitted infection?

 

Everything we talk about is confidential. I have to ask these questions to everyone.

 

Gynecologic History

 

What do you use for birth control?

Condoms? Birth Control Pills?  Three-month shot?  IUD? Patch?

 

Have you ever had an abnormal pap smear?

 

When was your last pap?

 

Are your periods regular?  Are they light, medium, or heavy?

 

Do you get cramps with your period?

 

When was your last mammogram?

 

Do you examine your breasts for lumps/masses?

 

Are you having nipple discharge / fluid from your nipple?

 

What age did you go through menopause?

 

Male History

Do you have any lumps in your testicles?

 

Do you have trouble getting an erection?

 

Do you have fluid / discharge coming from your penis?

 

Have you ever had a colonoscopy?

 

Review of Systems

Have you had any recent weight loss/appetite changes?

 

Have you felt weak? Tired?

Fever? Chills? Night sweats?

 

Did you hit your head?

 

Did you lose consciousness?

 

Do you have a headache? Vision changes? Hearing changes?

 

Do you have a sore throat? Runny nose?

 

Do you feel palpitations?

 

Do you have anxiety? Depression?

 

Are you having nausea? Vomiting?

 

Do you feel short of breath?

 

Do you have trouble pooping?

 

Has your poop changed color?

 

Do you have trouble peeing?

 

Do you feel numbness or tingling in your arms / legs?

 

Post-Operative

How do you feel?

 

Have you passed gas?

 

Have you had a bowel movement?

 

Do you feel constipated?

 

Are you dizzy when you stand up?

 

Do you feel pain? Nausea? Vomiting?

 

Your stitches will dissolve.

 

Stand in the shower and let soapy water run over the incision. This will clean the area.

 

Instructions

You are going to stay in the hospital.

 

You may go home.

 

You are in labor.

 

Take off your clothes.

 

Take off your underwear.

 

I am going to examine you.

 

Bend your knees.

 

Move your arms/legs against my hands.

 

Put your feet together.

 

Relax your body.

 

Lie down on your back.

 

Lie down on your right (left) side.

 

Move down (up) on the table.

 

Move.

 

Sit up. 

 

Take a deep breath, in and out. 

 

Breath through your mouth.

 

Do you understand?

 

Anatomy

Abdomen

Appendix (ruptured)       

Head                   

Breasts                

Nipple                  

Butt                    

Rectum               

Bladder               

Vagina                

Cervix                   

Uterus                

Fallopian tubes  

Ovaries               

Cyst                     

Penis

Testes

Prostate

[onebir]

This might help:

http://digem.med.ubc.ca/2016/03/23/a-chinese-english-phrasebook-for-english-speaking-medical-students/

[Shelley]

I would hesitate in calling this a "mini project". I think you should be prepared to pay someone to translate this.

 

One other question, will you be able understand the responses? If you can't is there any point?

 

I admire your desire to learn and help, but I am not sure this is going to be as easy as you think.

[艾紫茉]

Onebir, that is exactly what I've been looking for but I couldn't find one! Thank you!

 

Shelley, I'll be able to understand. Like I said, I took years of chinese in college and my comprehension retention has been better than my ability to speak. Thanks for the help!

[Shelley]

Ok, glad it will work for you.

 

If you have a smartphone or tablet you might want to invest in Pleco. They have a medical dictionary available. Have a look here http://www.pleco.com/

[onebir]

There's more (some with audio) if you google things like "chinese medical phrasebook" or "chinese medical phrases"

[陳德聰]

As someone who does medical interpreting, I feel like there is a serious ethical issue with you doing this rather than getting a professional in all for the sake of brevity. You say that you're interested in training others? Some of these questions are absolutely not "basic"... What happened to informed consent?

[Demonic_Duck]

Shelley, I'll be able to understand. Like I said, I took years of chinese in college and my comprehension retention has been better than my ability to speak. Thanks for the help!

Assuming most of your listening comprehension has come from your teacher and dedicated listening comprehension materials in class, this is unlikely. There are two main issues. Firstly, even after asking a closed question, you often get an open answer:

"Do you have a family history of heart problems?"

Expected answers: "Yes" or "No"

Actual answer: "Well, I'm not really too sure as my grandparents all passed away before I was old enough to remember, and Mom and Dad never mentioned anything about their health. But I did have this one uncle who had to go to hospital a few years back with a pain in his chest. He was fine in the end, but I can't remember if it turned out to be heart-related or not. Does that count?"

The second problem is dialect. Especially for older folks (who are most likely to need to go to hospital and least likely to know English), a lot of them don't know how to make their 普通话 more standard when talking to foreigners, nor how to use more controlled vocabulary.

There are also (so I've heard) significant differences between medical terminology between mainland China and Taiwan.

[Flickserve]

As someone who does medical interpreting, I feel like there is a serious ethical issue with you doing this rather than getting a professional in all for the sake of brevity. You say that you're interested in training others? Some of these questions are absolutely not "basic"... What happened to informed consent?

Sounds to me like you are over thinking things.

[abcdefg]

As a medical student in Galveston, Texas (about a hundred years ago) we had lots of Spanish-speaking patients. We were encouraged to learn to take a history and do a physical exam in Spanish during our Senior year. Sometimes it was straight-forward, but more often it really wasn't.

 

You frequently get vague answers and plenty of "maybe's" like Demonic_Duck illustrated in his post, above # 8. It's difficult to know what those things mean and clarifying them isn't simple.

 

I spoke pretty fair "street-level" Spanish beforehand and eventually wound up doing a three-month exchange program with a large tertiary teaching hospital in Mexico City. After that my language level improved enough that I often briefly translated for my colleagues in a pinch.

 

Still it was incredibly easy to go wrong. Something that seemed small and unimportant would turn out to be of major significance. Something that seemed OK to ask would turn out to be culturally inappropriate and deeply offensive. And so on. It was perilous.

 

Take off your clothes...Take off your underwear.

 

Something like this, for example, just said straight out with no preamble, could easily be perceived as rude. One must couch things in a socially-acceptable fashion in order not to give offense. One must know how to "soften things." And doing that can be difficult without a high level of language skill.

 

Not saying you should make no attempt to learn medical Chinese, just wanted to be sure you knew how large a task it was. It's essential to master not only the things that are black and white, but one must grasp the implications and nuances.

 

Furthermore, it's not an area in which errors would be easily forgotten or forgiven. If I order lunch here in Kunming and get things a bit mixed up, my meal might have thick noodles 粗的 instead of thin ones 细的。No big deal. But that's often not the case in medicine.

 

I admire your desire to learn and help, but I am not sure this is going to be as easy as you think.

 

Would echo Shelley's sentiment and urge an abundance of caution.

[Flickserve]

I don't see the necessity for this negativity. You have to start somewhere and where better to learn a language where you absolutely need it!

But I do agree the English examples in the first post lack cultural sensitivity in English and surprise me in informality. Do doctors really go around saying 'poop' for opening the bowels or passing motions.

However, I really don't know if it comes across the same way in Chinese. There are plenty of complaints about HK doctors who speak English but yet cannot speak to Western patients with sensitivity. However, is the converse true? Do Chinese patients complain about western doctors who only have a limited knowledge of Chinese?

[abcdefg]

I don't see the necessity for this negativity.

 

My concern is that the Original Poster's mistakes will impact others who are counting on him for an important step in their medical diagnosis and treatment, and if he gets it wrong the consequences might be serious. Different from my just ordering the wrong kind of noodles at lunch or a taxi driver who misunderstood my speech taking me to the wrong address.

[Geiko]

I don't think people are being negative, just very cautious. After all, In The Hospital, A Bad Translation Can Destroy A Life.

[Shelley]

That explains my concerns very well Geiko.

 

I hope the OP understands our overcautious attitude now.

[Flickserve]

A) the OP will be an intern.

B) interns are supervised.

C) residents are also supervised.

C) cross checking validity is good practice

D) With greater language experience, mistakes will decrease. (With greater medical experience mistakes decrease)

[陳德聰]

The OP will become a doctor... So if perhaps one less doctor could have this cavalier attitude towards ensuring patients are fully informed and able to participate in every aspect of their care, that would be great.

[yueni]

I used to do medical interpreting for three years. I absolutely 100% agree with @陳德聰. A doctor's office is not the place for somebody to learn and/or practice your Chinese, because you are literally dealing with what could potentially be life or death issues. If you have access to a medical interpreter, you need to get one. @Flickserve, when medical professionals such as @abcdefg and medical interpreters like @陳德聰 and I are negative, it's not because we don't want people to learn Chinese. By all means, learn your language as well as you can. However, there are situations where this is inappropriate, and a medical situation is one of these.

 

There have been times when I've interpreted for an irate patient who was being treated for something they didn't have because the doctor (who spoke some level of Chinese) completely misunderstood what was wrong with the patient. In one particularly heinous situation, a language misunderstanding on both parties' sides resulted in the patient having to undergo additional surgery to rectify the problem. And this problem was only discovered when the misunderstanding got so big that they got a medical interpreter (aka me) on scene to facilitate communication. 

 

Medical interpreting is definitively not something a doctor should be doing when he's having to have an entire list of questions translated for him (and as previously stated, this needs to be done by a paid professional, not done for free on the internet). I've also interpreted for patients who have really strong accents, or who speak difficult to understand Chinese because of their dialects. Would a beginner be able to understand them? No way. These are situations where misunderstandings have the greatest chances to occur. And all this can be prevented by getting a trained professional.

 

I know doctors who speak a little Chinese, or who can have simple conversations in Chinese, and they have them with their patients. "How are you doing today?" "How are you feeling after the surgery?" It's great, and the patients definitely feel more comfortable because there's a sense that they can connect better with their doctor. However, when it comes to serious medical questions, it's always the interpreter who asks them, and who also interprets their answers for the doctor, just as a failsafe. In fact, a lot of the doctors I used to work with insisted on having a medical interpreter present with their non-English speaking patients. It's just better all around for everybody.

 

Even though interns and residents are supervised, the information they get is from the patient, and if there is a language misunderstanding, that can and does impact diagnosis and treatment. Language professionals are there to prevent this from happening. Medical interpreters do not diagnose patients, they let trained professionals i.e. the doctors do that. In the same fashion, if the doctor is not fluent in _language_ there should be a trained language professional i.e. a medical interpreter helping out.

[anonymoose]

I agree that there are risks with severe consequences with miscommunication across language boundaries in medicine. There have been well-publicised instances in the UK in which patients have suffered/died because they had been treated by doctors who could not speak good English (although, it's difficult to know the facts since the media tends to distort these kinds of stories).

 

Having said that, thought, there are many foreign doctors working in the UK, many of whom do not have English as their native language.

 

I worked in a hospital in Shanghai for a year, speaking exclusively Mandarin and Shanghainese to patients. I wasn't doing any difficult diagnosing or treating, so I guess risk of miscommunication was minimal, but it wasn't as hard as people are making out.

 

Besides, even local doctors would often have communication problems with old patients who could only speak dialect and not mandarin.

[Flickserve]

The original questions/instructions are for history taking and examination, not explanations of consent nor treatment.

I think people are extrapolating too far on the Original post.

If the OP had no knowledge of Chinese in the first place, that would be a different matter.

[lips]

Two days and many posts later, still not a single translation, from either side of the discussion. :O