Signs & Symptoms of Translation

As a medical translator with a background in nursing, I was delighted when my son Leo chose to train as an emergency medical technician (EMT) and join the Madrid ambulance service. He’s shown me round various ambulances and we often chat about trauma, technology and terminology. This March, I got the opportunity to find out how his experiences, and the terms he and his colleagues use, differ from their counterparts in the UK. I stepped on board a UK ambulance for a guided tour by my friend Jon Murrell, a paramedic practitioner stationed at Redhill, in Surrey. We spent the afternoon packing and unpacking equipment, locking and unlocking drug storage systems, opening and closing carry chairs and other transfer devices, and over a coffee we thrashed out the pros and cons of English and Spanish ambulance crew training, logistics and communications.