MEDICAL ILLUSTRATOR
Medical Illustrators are highly trained, specialized artists who work in the field of medicine. They may be asked to make detailed drawings for textbooks and medical journals, create graphs and charts to depict research results, build models of the human body for use in lectures or seminars, prepare illustrations for television or video use, and even to create artificial parts, such as ears or eyes, for patients. Their drawings range from very detailed step-by-step illustrations of new surgical techniques to simplified sketches that emphasize the relationships between body structures for novice health science students.
HOW DO I BECOME A MEDICAL ILLUSTRATOR?
While in high school take coursework in mathematics, art, communications, English, human anatomy and physiology, biology and zoology.
Schools of medical illustration require a four-year college degree for entrance, with concentrations in the biological sciences and fine or commercial art. An art portfolio and personal interview are usually required of program applicants. Graduate programs in medical illustration most often take two or three years to complete. Schools of medical illustration are usually located within a large medical teaching hospital where students can integrate their artistic skills with their knowledge of human anatomy.
WHAT WILL I LEARN IN SCHOOL?
Graduate school training for medical illustrators combines the fields of art and science. In addition to coursework in human anatomy and physiology, human pathology and medical terminology, students develop their artistic abilities in the areas of computer textbook publishing, illustration, printing and photography.
LIFE AFTER GRADUATION
The employment outlook for medical illustrators is good through the next decade. This is a small field however, and there may be stiff competition for openings.
Medical illustrators work in art studios, laboratories and offices, although sometimes they are asked to sketch a body part while observing surgery in an operating room.
Medical illustrators improve their skills and eventually specialize in one area, such as cardiology or neurology. Some prefer to “freelance,” while others are employed by large publishing firms, medical schools or pharmaceutical houses.
PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION SOURCES:
Association of Medical Illustrators
201 E. Main Street, Ste. 1405
Lexington, KY 40507
(866) 393- 4264
www.ami.org