Medical Illustrator: A New Position for Mayo Clinic - Essay Example

? Medical Illustrator: A new position for Mayo Clinic [Supervisor’s Medical Illustrator: A new position for Mayo Clinic The paper attempts to discuss roles and responsibilities of a medical illustrator which could be helpful in providing artistic drawings and can assist surgeons in diagnosing the disease and illness. The paper further discusses the evaluation and hiring of medical illustrator for Mayo Clinic and presents a pro forma for the specific job position. Roles and Responsibilities A medical illustrator is an artist who is professional in making internal organs designs of a human being and is an expert in medicine, science and art. The position it hold is known as visual translator who interprets visual materials while collaborating with different physicians and scientists. The job requirement for a position of medical illustrator includes a certification from Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (ACCHEP) or the Master’s degree from the same authority. The program allows students who have completed 16 or fewer years of their education. The job description is a collaboration of art and science, so the student should also possess a bachelor’s degree in art and should have potential in making drawings (National Health Service, 2012). The responsibilities for a medical illustrator includes professional drawings of human body parts that are published in text books and can also be utilized in publication materials which are then used by lecturers in seminars. They design both diseased and healthier part of the body of human being and illustrate steps that are taken by surgeons and other medical experts during operations. In mayo clinic, the major responsibility of a medical illustrator would be to assist surgeons and other medical doctors in identifying the various forms of injuries of a person without the help of a doctor. They can also work for a research team in mayo clinic which would help in understanding and better cure procedure for various injuries and illness. They can also write books for their contribution in the field of medical science (Clark & Fehl, 2006). The position also requires decision making in situations of medical operations in which patients are to be diagnosed with disease and illness. A medical illustrator would have greater responsibilities on their hand while examining the visuals and pictures accurately before making any decision. A certain amount of precision in color of the blood, movement of the vessels and the extraction and contraction of bones is required by this profession (Clark & Fehl, 2006). Other roles might include training of young doctors in providing them with comprehensive knowledge of working of the human body parts. They can also be helpful in providing the young doctors of modern techniques in understanding the nature of disease or illness. Medical illustrators are closely attached with surgeons so they have knowledge of their various techniques to diagnose and cure diseases. Their work also include in providing advice to graphic designers and making up of posters in order to make patients understand of their internal body parts (Field, 2007). The new position of medical illustrator would be difficult for candidates as they would have to achieve greater degree of expertise in science and as well as arts. They would have to correctly interpret the condition of a patient by viewing at the pictures which would be taken from their internal body parts (Field, 2007). Hiring and Evaluation The hiring if medical illustrator is similar to hiring a designer because it is a very specialized field that mostly people do not consider making this as a profession. Therefore, not many people would apply for the job which makes it difficult for employer. The hiring of a medical illustrator would firstly include education degrees that are essential for entering any field of medicine. The person should have expertise in art and science both before considering them for an interview. Previous artistic works would be examined in order to make an overview of artistic skills possessed by the candidate. The person should have comprehensive knowledge of handling visual machineries and objects that are frequently used in hospital departments so they could be able to decipher any illness or injury by looking at the visuals produced by the machine (Field, 2007). The key area of a candidate should be their knowledge in making artistic diagrams of human body parts which would be found out by an examination. This examination would comprise of different medical situations including accidental injuries and deficiency of any mineral in the body. These situations would then be provided to different candidates if they would draw and interpret particular condition of a patient (Clark & Fehl, 2006). Specifications are important while hiring a medical illustrator, and to inform the appropriate job description for candidates which would make work easier for employer. If Mayo clinic wants to hire medical illustrator for surgical purposes then it should specify that the hospital is in the need for surgical medical illustrator to narrow things down. The important thing is to test the knowledge of a person regarding interpreting the condition of patients by studying the visuals and pictures for their internal body parts. Furthermore, an interview would be conducted in which similar questions would be asked which includes the knowledge of science and art (Field, 2007). The list of candidates would be short listed and would be ranked in accordance with their positions and their expertise and seniority. The work that would be taken from those medical illustrators would then involve their knowledge in their field. The candidate that has previous work experience as an advisor to a surgeon will be governed position equivalent to a medical doctor. However, a person that would be new to this position shall be hired as an assistant to medical illustrator. Medical Pro forma Reports to: Surgeons or Medical Doctors Division: Division of General Surgery Unit: Medical Surgical Units Patients per day: Medical Illustrator are to view 20 patients per day which includes surgical patients and accidental injuries. Training Program: Medical Illustrator are to train young doctors once a week in providing them guidance for understanding various internal body movements. Hours of Work: 16 hours a day Reference List Clark, R., & Fehl, P. (2006). Career Opportunities in the Visual Arts. New York: Infobase Publishing. Field, S. (2007). Career Opportunities in Health Care. New York: Infobase Publishing. National Health Service. (2012). Medical illustrator/clinical photographer. Retrieved October 21, 2012, from www.nhscareers.nhs.uk: http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/explore-by-career/healthcare-science/careers-in-healthcare-science/careers-in-physical-sciences-and-biomedical-engineering/medical-illustratorclinical-photographer/ Read More