Catherine Richards
Medical English ServicesAbout
Medical English has been my specialism for over 15 years, as an editor, teacher and plain language consultant.
I edit medical research papers, book chapters, grant applications and conference presentations working principally with Swiss medical practitioners. As a language consultant, I work with medical communication agencies, publishers and authors in the UK and Europe writing and reviewing Plain Language summaries of clinical trials, research and other scientific and medical text.
I am a director and co-founder of EALTHY, the European Association of Language Teachers for Healthcare, a global members’ association dedicated to the improvement of the teaching and learning of English for medical purposes. We organise a bi-annual international conference and promote professional development opportunities for teachers of English in medical schools throughout the world.
I hold a PhD in Applied Linguistics, with a thesis and publications that examine the lexical characteristics of medical patient information.
I was born in the UK and have lived for 20 years.
I am a skilled writer, editor and proofreader.
My expertise is language and my passion is the language of medicine and science.
When Editing, most of the language issues that I correct fall into one of two groups: Grammatical (e.g. syntax, prepositions, tenses) and Style (e.g. dull, repetitive or inelegant prose.) Weak Discussion sections or too much text in the Results? For less experienced writers, I can help to improve the quality of the research writing itself.
When working with Plain Language Summaries I have expert knowledge of the concepts of Readability, Health Literacy and Plain Language. This knowledge is enhanced by my sensitivity to language, my ability and experience of rendering complex concepts accessible and after 30 years teaching English, my expertise and understanding of syntax and semantics.
- I am happy to edit text in many medical disciplines. I am particularly experienced with the following: Neurology
- Neurosurgery
- Rheumatology
- Immunology
- Vascular surgery. For Plain Language Summaries
- I work on text from most biomedical disciplines.
“By the way, your corrections and proposals are great. I felt the whole thing needed some ‘fresh air and inspiration’.”
“The paper has been revised and nothing was criticised regarding the language! This is to your credit.”
“A quick update regarding our last manuscript: it has been accepted in the best vascular surgery journal (EJVES). Thank you!”
“I really liked your comments: it is the reaction of the reader and in all cases, I noticed the lack in clarity and changed the text. Yours is essential feedback.”
“The paper was (finally!) reviewed and found suitable for publication. I think that your excellent editing was very helpful in attaining this result.”
“Thank you for your accurate work, your contribution to the article is really important.”
“Thank you for your work, excellent as ever: I followed all your suggestions.”
“Thanks for your professional work. I appreciate a lot your style.”
For more information get in touch with Catherine using the form below or at info@medicalenglishediting.com:
