The Misha Sep 12, 2016:

Well, imagine the never ending amazement of this "Anglophone reader" at the attempts by certain folks to translate between two languages, of which neither is their own, and which they don't seem to have a particularly good command of, and do so based on "my thinking" rather than any knowledge of the actual state of affairs, and then persist and persevere when told by those who do know they are wrong. Moreover, they insist on doing this in a public forum, apparently oblivious to the inconvenient fact this may not be the most efficient way to promote themselves as competent professionals in their purported field. Now, that's what I find amazing and totally incomprehensible. "But why, Spongebob, why?" as a certain cartoon character put it. Indeed, why do such a thing?

Ellen Kraus Sep 12, 2016:

I could well imagine Anglophone readers`amazement when reading the long winded explanations as to what is to be understood by the said term in Russian. To my thinking the term one usually finds i.e. "representative of the Chief surgeon!" or Chief surgeon´s deputy, is understandable in both languages without running the risk of being misinterpreted.

Maksym Nevzorov Sep 12, 2016:

The relationship links between the words are like this:

(заместитель главного врача) по хирургии

and NOT like this:

заместитель (главного врача по хирургии)

In post-Soviet hospitals, there is no such thing as "главный врач по хирургии". Hospital has only one "главный врач", all other senior officers are usually called "начмед (по...)" or, equivalently, "заместитель главного врача по..."

Maksym Nevzorov Sep 12, 2016:

Deputy chief surgeon would actually mean "заместитель главного хирурга". Here the meaning is different: that's an officer directly under the chief medical officer of the hospital whose responsibilities cover all surgical services and departments/subdivisions. It could possibly called "chief surgeon" or "deputy of chief medical officer responsible for surgical services", but not "deputy of chief surgeon".