This issue is exclusively about education and qualifications in the Medical Illustration profession. To be professional means to be a skilled practitioner, an expert – one who has acquired specialist knowledge and/or training.
Our profession has a long history of linking its various activities to the academic rigours of education and qualifications. Right from 1950 when Peter Hansell founded the London School of Medical Photography, there has been a succession of qualifications that could be undertaken in Medical Illustration. The earlier qualifications were developed and supported by the professional bodies such as the British Institute of Professional Photographers (BIPP) and the Institute of Medical Illustrators (IMI). Latterly, qualifications have been validated by Universities, most notably the Glasgow Caledonian University and Cardiff University. Some schemes of study have lasted longer than others, but all have been appropriate to their time.
Currently the recognised minimum professional qualification for practitioner level is a degree. There are various options open to those wanting to pursue a career in Medical Illustration, some of which are described in the various articles in this issue. Indeed, the importance of this journal over its long history, as a vehicle to support academic activities and courses, should not be overlooked or underestimated. Johnson (pp. 108–109) provides a useful summary of the current and proposed future provision of education and qualifications for medical Illustrators firmly linking the provisions to expected state registration. Cameron (pp. 125–128) describes the Postgraduate Programme in Medical Art run by the Medical Artists Education Trust and its links with the Medical Artists Association. Harrison (pp. 119–124) describes the background and rationale for a new postgraduate course in Health Communication Design to be offered by Coventry University from September 2007. The course will address an important field not currently catered for elsewhere by focusing on the skills knowledge and practical experience needed to create lifestyle communication artefacts tailored to the needs of the specific users. Lake and Young (pp. 110–118) report on the current training programme for Trainee Clinical Photographers in Cardiff, where formal education of Medical Illustrators has gone on for nearly 40 years.
The need for different and sufficient academic courses is cemented (at least for the photographic practitioners) by the acceptance by the Health Professions Council (HPC) of the application for state registration of clinical photographers. Although the timetable has been delayed, the rules are unlikely to change and new courses like those at Staffordshire and the proposed new course at Westminster, will advance our cause and levels of expertise and professional practice.
But of course in the modern world, the pursuit of training and skill development doesn't stop at qualification for practitioner level; there is a need to continue throughout the whole of one's working life. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a cornerstone of professional practice and compulsory for those professions registered with the HPC and those members of the Medical Illustration profession who belong to IMI. What has been commented thus far refers exclusively to the United Kingdom. The international scene appears to be a little more fragmented, although there have been some qualifications offered in Europe, Australia and the USA. To the best of knowledge, no formal exchange programmes for students have ever been put in place, but student visits and even temporary work placements have previously happened and certainly in Cardiff, courses have had a number of overseas students in the past. With the world ‘shrinking’ and the Medical Illustration profession under constant pressure from technology and DIY, perhaps there is some scope for more international collaboration between educators/qualifiers in different countries?