What is a Biomedical Equipment Technician?
A Biomedical Equipment Technician (BMET) is an electro-mechanical technician who ensures that medical equipment is well-maintained, configured and installed properly, will function safely, and is all-around ready for use. BMET is a versatile position often employed by hospitals, clinics, private sector companies, the military, and more.
If you are an individual who likes to be hands-on while also educating and training staff, being a BMET might be the right fit as it combines hands-on engineering with educating others on best practices for handling equipment, specifically in the medical field. Many BMETs specialize in specific kinds of medical devices, including:
- Medical imaging
- Laboratory equipment
- Healthcare technology
- Nuclear imaging
- Surgical equipment
A Day in the Life of a BMET
BMETs can work on projects ranging from electric wheelchairs to nuclear imaging devices to surgical robots. These technicians ensure the safety and proper functioning of crucial medical devices that both patients and healthcare professionals rely on every day to achieve safe and accurate diagnoses as well as successful treatment. Specifically, BMETs use their engineering understanding to prevent mechanical and computer errors and provide routine maintenance check-ups.
Daily duties can range from installing equipment, regular inspections, repair, and device calibration to the modification and even designing of biomedical equipment and support systems. Due to their experience, BMETs are uniquely qualified to create or modify biomedical devices to provide specialized programming and functioning to perform a hyper-specific role within healthcare agencies.
Beyond the hands-on responsibilities, BMETs are also trained to educate, advise, and train an organization’s staff on theories of operation, safe clinical applications, equipment maintenance, and more. They work closely with the nursing staff and facility management to obtain necessary supplies and materials, keeping them in stock, coordinating installations, and ordering necessary facility infrastructure modifications.
At a senior level, BMETs oversee the daily maintenance and operation roles while helping to problem-solve issues that go beyond the standard repairs and scheduled maintenance. Senior BMETs assist in capital asset planning, project management, budgeting, personnel management, the design and integration of medical systems, training, and evaluating new devices for acquisition.
How to Become a BioMedical Equipment Technician
In order to become certified beyond a bachelor’s degree, BMETs need to pass exams from the International Certification Commission (ICC) and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) to gain the proper certification.
For students at Santa Fe College interested in pursuing a career as a Biomedical Equipment Technician, read more about what the position involves below and be sure to check out the InterMed Scholarship, which covers annual tuition and books for qualifying Biomedical Equipment Technician students.
InterMed is partnering with the Santa Fe College Biomedical Equipment Technician Program to offer a scholarship covering annual tuition and books for up to 15 credit hours per semester for qualifying students.
If you are a full-time student at Santa Fe and the dynamic, life-saving career as a Biomedical Equipment Technician sounds right for you, be sure to submit an application outlining your financial need and a GPA of 3.0 or higher to Kaisey Arena at karena@intermed1.com to be considered for this scholarship.
SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomedical_equipment_technician
https://www.innerbody.com/careers-in-health/how-to-become-a-biomedical-technician.html
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1avszBaRz9RtGDhR8XxJ4CdbvAOF7_n9Knj2v0YuFTY0/edit