METM16 presentation
Jason Willis-Lee, Madrid, Spain
Rationale: The 12-lead ECG is a common and routine test in modern clinical practice. ECG traces therefore often crop up in the medical reports we translate. A good grasp of the basics behind the heart’s electrical activity is essential.
Jason Willis-Lee, MITI, graduated in physiology after training as a doctor for over three years at Bristol Medical School including one year’s full hospital training. He put in a brief stint as a clinical research associate before switching into applied linguistics and earning a postgraduate diploma in translating and interpreting from the University of Bath. He now works full time in Madrid as a freelance Med Pharm translator in the Spanish-English and French-English language pairs. He has recently taken a livelier interest in training medical translators on medical topics and is working on developing a knack for explaining technical concepts to a lay audience. Recent work of note includes a publication on best practices whilst working for Spanish/Latin American doctors seeking qualification before the British GMC (ITI Bulletin) and a professional webinar on haematology (eCPD Webinars).
The ECG made easy
Jason Willis-Lee, Madrid, Spain Rationale: The 12-lead ECG is a common and routine test in modern clinical practice. ECG traces therefore often crop up in the medical reports we translate. A good grasp of the basics behind the heart’s electrical activity is essential.
Purpose: This knowledge update is aimed both at beginner and more established medical and pharmaceutical translators and authors' editors. It will give them a comprehensive picture of what lies behind a typical ECG trace in clinical and pathological terms.
Presentation content: The talk will start with a brief overview of the four heart chambers and their function. An elementary understanding of the blood flow cycle through the heart is essential before examining both normal and spurious ECGs. I will then explain which part of the cycle each wave refers to before presenting a normal electrocardiogram. We will study abnormal traces of common conditions that crop up in daily practice (e.g. atrial fibrillation, left ventricular hypertrophy or left/right bundle branch block). All ECG trace examinations will be interactive with audience participation strongly encouraged. Towards the end I will quiz attendees on the central messages before closing with some useful references for further study and a Q&A session.
Jason Willis-Lee, MITI, graduated in physiology after training as a doctor for over three years at Bristol Medical School including one year’s full hospital training. He put in a brief stint as a clinical research associate before switching into applied linguistics and earning a postgraduate diploma in translating and interpreting from the University of Bath. He now works full time in Madrid as a freelance Med Pharm translator in the Spanish-English and French-English language pairs. He has recently taken a livelier interest in training medical translators on medical topics and is working on developing a knack for explaining technical concepts to a lay audience. Recent work of note includes a publication on best practices whilst working for Spanish/Latin American doctors seeking qualification before the British GMC (ITI Bulletin) and a professional webinar on haematology (eCPD Webinars).
