Welcome to a New Year and another edition of 24×7. Each month we work hard to provide you, our reader, with content that will not only make your job easier, but will also give you the tools to excel so that you can take your career any place you want it to go.

At 24×7, BMETs and CEs have our undivided attention. Our content focuses exclusively on information that you need to keep up with changing technology, regulations, and practices, as well as management strategies, ideas to strengthen your department, and tips to enhance your communication skills.

To reinforce our commitment to making things easier for you, we made some great changes this past year, starting with the launch of our redesigned Web site, which is now easier to navigate and find what you’re looking for. We created a special media center that highlights our online offerings such as our calendar (don’t forget you can add your own event listings), classifieds, archived issues, blog, and weekly e-newsletter. Whether you want to catch up on news that we have posted throughout the week, add an event to our calendar, find a Web site listed in resources, or search the magazine’s archives, it’s all readily available any time of the day or night.

While you’re here online, have a look at our redesigned e-newsletter, the Weekly Jolt, and be sure to subscribe to this free publication that is delivered right to your inbox every week. It offers a quick read that’s packed with information on new products, regulation updates, and industry news and events.

You will also find our latest poll online, an interactive feature that I encourage you to respond to. Have an industry question you’d like feedback on? Send me an e-mail at and I’ll post it for you.

Another interactive offering and a recent addition to our site is our Biomeds’ Best Practices blog, which directly addresses issues you face during your workday, and it offers suggestions, submitted by readers, on the best way to handle those challenges. Posts have covered—among other topics—RFID and EMI interference, how to get training included with equipment purchases, and a discussion on how many pieces of equipment a tech should be responsible for maintaining. The purpose of the blog is to provide a forum for you to share your best practices, so don’t be shy. We encourage your comments, and if you have an idea on a topic we haven’t addressed, I urge you to e-mail me and I’ll post your “best practice.”

In tandem with this issue, you also received an updated Buyer’s Guide. This key publication helps you work smarter and more efficiently by providing phone numbers, e-mails, and Web addresses of the companies you turn to regularly in the Company Profiles section. The Products & Services section breaks down companies by what they offer, further saving you time. Please keep in mind that our online Buyer’s Guide is an extended version of the print copy, and it gives you details on even more companies. An online exclusive of the Buyer’s Guide is the Associations section, where you can find industry organizations and resources.

We’ll keep you posted on other new offerings as the year progresses, so stay tuned in to our Web site. Happy New Year, and may it be a healthy, productive, and prosperous year for each of you. See you on our blog!

Julie Kirst