6 Medical Careers in the Art Field

james

Feb 10, 2023
careers in the art field

We are a reader-supported education publication. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission to help us keep providing content.

If you can’t decide between a career in the art field or in health care, why not do both? Behind every textbook illustration, medical animation and delicately painted prosthetic eye is a dedicated, talented person with a penchant for helping others. Here are six artistic jobs that you probably haven’t heard of.

The Best of Both Worlds

Many of these jobs require a medical degree, art degree, or both. Though these careers in the art field are often competitive, they’re a great fit for people who excel in both health care and the arts. 

1. Medical Illustrator

People have been drawing the human body for thousands of years. This career involves drawing, painting, and making digital 3D models of the human body for medical purposes. Illustrations range from pictures of normal internal anatomy to different diseases, life stages, and treatments. 

You’d likely illustrate medical textbooks or websites. You may also produce content for lectures or ads. Above all, your artwork would educate people searching for answers. 

2. Art Therapist

Art therapists complete a master’s degree and clinical internship to heal people through the power of creativity. Your job would be to assess patients, create treatment plans, and help your clients develop coping skills by creating artwork. 

There are numerous avenues to explore as an art therapist. You could work with patients who have cancer, autism, schizophrenia, or dementia. Or, you could specialize in helping prisoners, disaster victims, children, or veterans struggling with PTSD after war. 

3. Anaplastologist

Deformities don’t just hinder people physically — they also have a massive impact on people’s social lives and careers. With the use of 3D printing and painting techniques, anaplastologists design prosthetics that improve patients’ appearance. 

Although prosthetic noses, ears, and eyes don’t restore a person’s senses, they do restore dignity and normal social functioning. Your job would be to take molds and create custom prosthetics to make people feel whole again.

4. Medical Photographer

Do you have a penchant for photography? Are you an expert when it comes to lighting, angles, and camera settings? As a medical photographer, you’d take pictures of patients during surgery, autopsy, and in the clinic to document their condition. 

Your photos might not be classically beautiful, but they would advance the field of medicine and help both patients and educators understand the human body.

5. Medical Animator

If illustrating still images isn’t your calling, consider becoming an animator for the health care field. Animations of the human body clarify internal physiology. They can also explain how something like an endoscopy or cesarean section works, helping patients feel more at ease before a procedure.

6. Paramedical Tattoo Artist

Much like an anaplastologist, paramedical tattoo artists restore people’s appearance after being born with a birth defect, surviving an accident, or undergoing treatment for an illness. The difference is you’d be working in two dimensions instead of three. 

People often stare at or mistreat those who look different. A scar cover-up, realistic tattoo of a fingernail, or even pigment that matches a vitiligo patient’s skin color can give people their confidence back and help them fit in better. 

Unique Careers in the Art Field

If you want to make a real difference, consider finding a job that combines medicine and art. Whether you work closely with people or behind the scenes, all of these jobs require compassion, dedication, and artistic problem-solving skills. So pick up your paintbrush and scalpel — it’s time to change some lives. 

Written By