Project management and quality assurance in cover-to-cover translation of a medical journal

Experienced medical translators are fully employed in Barcelona, so when a well-indexed medical journal began cover-to-cover bilingual publication in 2003-adopting a policy of international communication in two languages rather than a single lingua franca-a new team of freelance translators had to be formed, trained, supported, and monitored. This case study spans the negotiation, early development, and later solutions that resulted in feedback loops that allowed the publisher, editorial board, and translation team to farm a community capable of learning and enhancing product quality. In addition to discussing practical issues, the author analyze why bilingual scientific journal publication is a viable strategy for non-native English speaking scientists who want to participate in international discourse in an organized group while retaining use of the language of local epistemic or clinical activity.