The Benefits of a Career as a Biomedical Equipment Technician

Employment as a biomedical equipment technician is not only rewarding, but the required schooling is reasonable and the starting salary is respectable. A job as a biomedical equipment technician provides a challenging career with a future that holds promise as the healthcare industry expands.

Basically, a biomedical equipment technician sets up, calibrates, repairs and maintains the more sophisticated and complex biomedical equipment found in today's clinics, hospitals and other healthcare and research facilities. For example, MRI machines, kidney dialysis machines, heart-lung machines, heart monitors, ventilators, PET/CT scanners, robotic radiosurgery units and numerous other monitoring and analyzing devices require operation and oversight by someone specifically trained to handle them - sometimes on a moment's notice and while a patient's life hangs in the balance.

Depending on who you talk to or where you get your information, the education or training required is at least an associate's degree in the field. According to the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), there are no fewer than 74 accredited biomedical schools in the U.S. that offer two-year programs as a biomedical technologist or in biomedical equipment technology. Some biomedical equipment technicians have four-year degrees; some also obtain certification. Of course, the more education and training, the better chances you have of being hired in the environment or facility where you wish to work

The starting pay for a biomedical equipment technician is respectable. According to PayScale.com, the average starting salary for an inexperienced (with just a two-year degree) biomedical equipment technician in Minnesota, for example, currently is just under $40,000 per year. Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount, Minn., reports the average annual salary for electronic and electrical engineering technicians in Minnesota in 2005 was more than $52,000. Dakota County Tech offers both an associate's degree and certification in their biomedical equipment technology program. Given their income figures, certification and experience in the field pays off significantly.

Further, most biomedical equipment technicians work for healthcare facilities, equipment manufacturers, research laboratories or the government, including the military, so the benefit packages for technicians are generally very good.

In terms of job security, the future looks promising for biomedical equipment technicians. Biomedical technology has grown significantly in the last ten or so years, and there is no indication that's about to change. Baby boomers are getting older, and the number of elderly patients is growing. This will mean a demand for more medical equipment, with increasing complexity, and more highly trained technicians. Some experts believe there will always be a need for skilled biomedical equipment technicians, specifically in the areas of nuclear medicine, radiology, dialysis and surgery.

Are there any drawbacks to a career in biomedical technology? Sometimes the hours can be long, the work schedules vary, and the stress can be high - especially when the life of a patient is depending on you.

Resources:

AAMI Resources; http://www.aami.org/resources/education/ed.map.html

PayScale.com; http://www.payscale.com/mypayscale.aspx

Dakota County Technical College; http://www.dctc.edu/prospStudents/programs/bioEquip.cfm