Institute of Medical Illustrators (IMI)
As well as the Medical Artists’ Association there is a second UK association where qualified medical artists can join as members, the Institute of Medical Illustrators or IMI. Since we have been members we have attended every conference, enjoyed a great welcome and hospitality and are able to mix with medical photographers, to medical illustration department managers as well as freelance medical artists and NHS staff. At the conferences we feel that being able to spend three days listening to staff that work directly with patients on a daily basis is a huge bonus. This is because medical photographers primarily work in hospitals working with patients. Unless you work in a hospital its this direct contact that freelance medical artists do not always have, especially on a daily basis.
Established in 1968 the IMI has set and maintained standards for the medical illustration profession, bringing together the disciplines of clinical photography, medical art, illustration, graphic design and video within healthcare. It makes for a very diverse group who are a highly specialised and skilled contributing to the care of patients and the teaching of medicine and allied health subjects.
This range of delegates at the conferences creates some fantastic workshops, learning the latest 3d software techniques, to life drawing, to listening to new members and being able to enter illustration work into the IMI exhibition and awards. Its great to see an exhibition with medical photography as well as medical art. It brings home the value of both skills within patient education.
In summary we are really pleased to have been accepted as IMI members and our gain is huge. The fact that the IMI have negotiated full registered status with the National Register of Medical Illustration Practitioners for all its qualified Members means automatic status of RMIP and entitles members to use the letters RMIP after their name.
As an independent medical illustration studio the IMI provides us as members an umbrella of a Code of Professional Conduct and a Continuing Professional Development scheme. And we shall continue to be active members having held two workshops in 2015 on how to create a ‘digital’ medical illustration.
One of those workshops was written as a paper and accepted into the IMI’s major refereed publication, the Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine. A widely recognised publication and the leading European publication in its field.
