**Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of 24×7 Magazine.**
By Barbara Christe, PhD
In a recent piece profiling “wonder women” in healthcare technology management, Sue Schade, AAMI board member and IT professional, explained that she encourages women not to “take the crap.” This statement is a tough stance when ‘the crap’ is coming from superiors or other people who possess a power distance.
Unfortunately, steps to stopping these issues can be extreme and carry a high price. Most of us love our profession and are committed to it. As a result, we may tolerate more than we should in order to accomplish broader goals and advance the field.
But, in tolerating ‘the crap,’ I believe we often balance our expectations with a realistic view of the HTM landscape. This is very true in higher education. With fewer than 40 academic programs in the country feeding thousands of hospitals, the clash between a realistic vision of academic training and available options drive many people to accept lower standards and dubious academic credentials.
For example, an employer who seeks to understand academic accreditation to evaluate potential candidates may be wasting his or her time if graduates are only available from one institution. If no selection or variety exists, then the one choice available is a fine choice, indeed.
A Vicious Cycle?
In my opinion, we have become a profession entwined in a vicious circle—not enough academic programs produce not enough graduates, yielding not enough employees with solid academic credentials who could move on to become educators to support academic programs. This vortex of shortages seems to be worsening!
Could we establish a requirement that all HTM professionals need an academic degree? Would employers find college graduates to hire? Brown Mackie College tried to fill the shortage nationally but eventually closed its HTM-related programs. Is a college degree required in our profession?
Of course, as an educator, I would like to think that the academic training I provide offers significant value to both employers and patients, but, as a realist, I know that many HTM professionals disagree with my position. Yet, I suggest that downplaying the importance of an academic credential runs countercurrent to the world of healthcare where training expectations, prior to employment, are the norm for everyone from surgical techs to nurses.
If the creation of new academic programs is the answer, where would the instructors with minimum academic credentials (usually a master’s degree or bachelor’s degree) come from? And how would they manage the low salaries of educators? And those hurdles are just the beginning.
As a member of the engineering technology department here at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, my colleagues readily admit they are uncomfortable with the patient care environment. Faculty members are squeamish and wince when retrieving an anatomy worksheet from the shared printer. As a unique breed: blending technical skills with compassion and empathy, HTM educators do not fit into the typical engineering technology workforce. There’s something so incredibly satisfying about serving your family and friends a perfectly cooked meal. And nothing says perfectly cooked like sweet and tender meat the just falls right off the bone, full of delicious smokey flavor. A great kamado grill such as one of these best kamado grills of 2020 can get you that. The post is helpful in directing you towards the best kamado grill for your particular needs. We’ve looked at a big variety of grills, made from different materials and of various sizes, some with stands, others stand-alone, and in a range of prices. It’s my hope that you found what you need.
As a profession, I believe we need to recognize that all academic credentials are not created equal. Many institutions offer degrees in creative ways, some validating life and professional experience, while others provide an “accredited” degree (Remember: Almost every school is accredited by some organization.) based on a fee payment.
Too often, I am trying to characterize the Purdue University name and rigor in comparison to other schools, some prominent in our profession, advertising on websites related to our profession, or seeking start-up donations. Academic reputation seems to play a limited role in our field. I find this futile and disheartening!
Moreover, I believe this stance is hindering HTM growth and our ability to reach the C-suite leaders. We must acknowledge the role campus rank, reputation, and rigor play in our ability to communicate with medical colleagues and hospital administration.
Let me be clear: I recognize that individual student quality varies widely. In a one-to-one comparison, a graduate of my program may not be as desirable as a graduate from a different program for a wide variety of reasons. However, I am suggesting that, for example, the grade point average of students from Purdue University should be viewed differently than the grades attained at other schools, where grades may be awarded based on a wide variety of criteria. In a second example, I posit that the depth and breadth of our course content may be stronger than schools who offer only online materials.
Advocating for Academic Quality
To guide this evaluation, some programs have sought program accreditation through ABET. This voluntary review is supported by AAMI, with AAMI members involved in the campus visits. Even if only a few programs have attained ABET accreditation, it is time that employers, especially the ISOs and manufacturers, seek out programs that have achieved recognition of program quality—and support those programs!
While I understand that the dearth of academic training opportunities does offer fertile ground for the “anything is better than nothing stance,” our profession needs to expect more. We simply cannot throw our hands up and tolerate everything because that is all that is available.
HTM leaders must support the academic programs that produce high quality graduates, offer opportunities to recruit students, take action to retain students once enrolled, and carefully consider the quality of a program when selecting candidates. As Sue Schade suggested, we need to end tolerating mediocrity and instead actively work to advocate for academic quality.
Barbara Christe, PhD, is program director of healthcare engineering technology management and a professor in the Engineering Technology Department of the Purdue School of Engineering & Technology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Questions and comments can be directed to chief editor Keri Forsythe-Stephens at [email protected].
I am a seasoned Biomedical Director in the Children’s Mercy Network. I belong to the Midwest HTM society, here locally we have many hospitals with need of pipeline BMETs, many of us offer internships. The problem is many positions with few candidates. We are trying to get some of the local technical colleges to start a BMET program, we can provide the criteria and internships and possibly training in some subjects. Feel free to contact me for information on a startup program in the Kansas City area.
I believe this is a worthy topic of discussion. Unfortunately, I am not sure what the author is advocating in practical terms. Perhaps a follow-up article on ‘how’ HTM leaders can support quality programs?
I personally believe that we need to have multiple, and clearly defined levels of HTM employment (not just BMET I, BMET II, etc.) that distinguish someone who only wishes to be a bench tech from someone who wishes to become engaged with the C-Suite. Too often, someone with almost no educational background is promoted to Department Manager or Supervisor based on years in the field rather than solid management skills. This lack of solid academic skill has often led to a lack of respect from the management level and subsequent frustration from those who strive to be represented at that level.
Where do I start?
I think I’ll start where I’ve been starting from for at least a decade but never seem to get across: Where is the economic demand? Wherever it is, propspective students don’t see it. Either it doesn’t exist, or it’s not being made visible.
As an adjunct faculty member of a community college in Maryland, I taught BMET courses for four years in the early 1980s. The program emphasized not just technical but also communications skills as well as an understanding of the nature of the point of delivery of care and the other professionals who work there. At the time, that breadth of knowledge was seen as a defensible niche for both CEs and BMETs. Why? Because at tge time, there was demand for that skillset. Does that demand still exist? If not, why not? Perhaps opportunities will arise out of exploring those questions.
In fact, I’m sure of it. But as I approach the end of my career, I also believe they’re for others to answer for themselves. I’ll close with Einstein’s definition of insanity:
Insanity is doing the same thing the same way, over and over, and expecting different results.
Hello Barbara,
This is a good look at some of the problem with developing a new generation of HTM’s but again and again I am not reading, from numerous articles, about the future of our career field. I am a 20+ year BMET III, CBET, and now adjunct instructor at our local community college teaching Biomed Engineering Technologies. The most consistent problem I am seeing across the country and even around the world is lack of identity. Society including the people we work for in Hospitals and healthcare do not even know what we do or who we are. If you tell someone you are biomed they immediately think I work with cells or something in the lab. Once I explain to them what I do they raise their head and respond with “Oh yeah I guess someone does need to take care of that stuff?”
Todays HTM’s need to promote more to local High Schools, Community colleges, job fairs, Vocational Schools. Arrange to meet with local news to sound the alarm about the national shortage for a great CAREER. we are hearing from vocational industry’s such as plumbers, construction, electricians, auto mechanics about the severe shortage of young people coming into these programs. America has pushed so hard for higher education as the only career path that we have talked our kids right out of quality jobs.
In my class, the first day I asked the students what does a biomed do. All of them had a fairly good idea but when I started talking about job opportunities not just hospital but Manufacturing service and repair, third party HTM, depot repair, volunteer service work, private company. They had no idea.
Our Hospital is 4 techs soon to be 5 short, that we have not been able to fill for over 4 years. Most of these positions were vacated in the last 5-6 years by retirements. With the changing scope of HTM in the hospital setting we need to be snagging candidates from IT, and nursing, OR Techs, people with an aptitude for mechanical and logical thinking. For to many years these departments have stolen from us. We are now at a critical point that we need to step up the game and letting people know what a great career field Biomed is.
Joe you are correct about the identity problem. I have worked in Biomed for 45 years and this has always been a problem. Some of the problem has been created by the profession. Changing the name from Biomedical Department, to Clinical Engineering, to HTM has added to the confusion. Changes do cause problems as the profession grows.
When I started in the profession most hospital departments did not know what Biomed was or that I was working at the hospital. So education about someone in-house had to start from square one. I had to introduce the concept of in-house Biomed service to the departments. At the time they would just call the manufacture. I had to become first call on problems with medical equipment. Had to let the staff know who we were, how to contact us, and make the Biomed Shop was visible by going to departments to see if there was equipment problems. No surprise to find broken equipment shoved back in a closet someplace. Getting the department name out there and the respect for the department had to be earned.
So if it was hard to get established in-house, the general public knowing is even harder. I do work with a Biomed program with a college in Madisonville KY. Getting the word out to schools is no easy task. The professor has to really work at getting information out to schools, people changing careers and so on. When the name changed to HTM the number of students enrolled dropped about 50%. Potential students were thinking the course was for bookkeeping only. This almost killed the Biomed program. Changes had to be made quickly in order to save the program.
All in all there are a lot of Biomed jobs out there, but there is a shortage of people to fill the positions. You need good Biomed programs and good students to enter the profession. Over the next few years I would expect a number of Biomeds will retire and those positions need to be filled. Actually some of the current class of students have been hired by manufactures and they are still students.
I do not wish to push any conspiracy theories, but the lack of educational/trade/OJT programs out there very nicely fits into the OEM world of trying to do away with any service options for healthcare providers other than their own. A National Organization of Retired Biomedical Service Providers would be a fantastic forum to impart our knowledge to a new, dynamic generation of technicians and engineers. I have no resources to begin such a venture, but would be the first to jump on the bandwagon! I can offer some time, just not a lot.