Background ~
Photography can be a very difficult career to find a stable income in. However with a photography degree there are different options you can take as a graduate. One of those is a career in Medical photography as a medical photographer.
I discovered this career before starting university in 2019, while working in a hospital dealing with patient records, I then changed jobs to work in the Medical Imaging department gaining experience in the Medical Photography department. Based in a hospital the medical photographer is there to photograph and document wounds, physical conditions and other medical issues that need to be documented for the benefit of the patient and legal reasons.
Requirements and Qualifications ~
Due to the medical terminology, photographic ratios, legal requirements and anatomical knowledge needed, alongside a vast range of other skills, to be a fully qualified medical photographer you have to complete a PGCert in Clinical Photography, which can only be accessed if you already hold a degree in photography and a position as a trainee medical photographer.
Currently the only course that runs for the PGCert is at Staffordshire University. I attended a postgraduate talk for this on the 10/11/2021, where the course was broken down into the modules. The course is a long distance course, so you are taught from your place of work and supervised by a tutor from the University online, starting once a year in January.
Experience ~
One of the hardest requirements needed to start your own journey in the career is the experience to gain a job as a trainee. One of the ways that I am building my own experience is through my job at the hospital as a Medical Imaging Care Assistant, as this allows me to gain 1 to 1 experience with the medical photography team. There is also opportunity to volunteer to gain experience or work in another department in the hospital to then be able to directly talk to the team.
Further information can be found online or on this website https://www.careersinhealthcare.com/medical-photographer/ (Image was retrieved from https://www.careersinhealthcare.com/medical-photographer/)
PGCert information can be found on the Staffordshire University website here https://www.staffs.ac.uk/course/clinical-photography-pgcert