CMI Ethical Standards & Professional Practices 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A medical illustrator is asked by a pharmaceutical client to subtly alter a molecular diagram to make a drug appear more effective. What is the ethical obligation?
- Comply if the alteration is minor
- Refuse and explain that scientific accuracy cannot be compromised (Correct answer)
- Alter the image but add a disclaimer
- Consult a peer before deciding
Correct answer: Refuse and explain that scientific accuracy cannot be compromised
Medical illustrators must maintain scientific accuracy and cannot manipulate images to misrepresent data, regardless of client pressure.
Question 2: Under AMI's Code of Ethics, how should a medical illustrator handle a situation where they discover a colleague has plagiarized another illustrator's work?
- Ignore it to preserve professional relationships
- Directly confront the colleague privately first, then report if unresolved (Correct answer)
- Immediately publicly expose the colleague
- Report anonymously to avoid conflict
Correct answer: Directly confront the colleague privately first, then report if unresolved
AMI ethics guidelines encourage addressing misconduct first through direct communication, then escalating to formal reporting if necessary.
Question 3: Which of the following best describes 'informed consent' as it applies to medical illustration involving patient imagery?
- The client approves the final artwork
- The patient or legal guardian explicitly agrees to the use of their medical data or likeness (Correct answer)
- The illustrator consents to the project terms
- The institution approves publication
Correct answer: The patient or legal guardian explicitly agrees to the use of their medical data or likeness
Informed consent requires that patients or their legal guardians explicitly agree to how their medical information or likeness will be used in illustrations.
Question 4: A medical illustrator is offered a gift by a vendor who supplies their stock imagery. Ethically, what should the illustrator do?
- Accept it as a normal business courtesy
- Decline if the gift could influence professional objectivity or purchasing decisions (Correct answer)
- Accept only if the value is under $50
- Report it to their employer and then accept
Correct answer: Decline if the gift could influence professional objectivity or purchasing decisions
Accepting gifts that could compromise objectivity or create a conflict of interest violates professional ethics standards.
Question 5: When a medical illustrator produces work under a work-for-hire agreement, who holds the copyright?
- The illustrator always retains copyright
- The hiring client or employer owns the copyright (Correct answer)
- Copyright is shared equally between illustrator and client
- The copyright belongs to the publishing journal
Correct answer: The hiring client or employer owns the copyright
Under work-for-hire agreements, copyright is legally owned by the employer or commissioning party, not the creator.
Question 6: An illustrator's contract does not specify ownership of preliminary sketches. What is the best professional practice?
- Assume the illustrator owns all preliminary work
- Clarify ownership of all deliverables, including sketches, in writing before starting (Correct answer)
- Destroy sketches to avoid disputes
- Assume the client owns everything submitted
Correct answer: Clarify ownership of all deliverables, including sketches, in writing before starting
Professional best practice requires that all intellectual property terms, including preliminary materials, be explicitly defined in the contract.
Question 7: A medical illustrator is credentialed as a CMI and is asked to review a colleague's work for a court case. What standard applies to their expert testimony?
- They may exaggerate findings to support their colleague
- They must provide honest, objective analysis regardless of personal relationships (Correct answer)
- They should decline all expert witness roles to avoid bias
- Their testimony should favor whichever party pays their fee
Correct answer: They must provide honest, objective analysis regardless of personal relationships
Expert witnesses, including CMIs, are obligated to provide truthful and objective testimony regardless of who retained them.
CMI Ethical Standards & Professional Practices 2
A medical illustrator is asked by a pharmaceutical client to subtly alter a molecular diagram to make a drug appear more effective.
What is the ethical obligation?