by
Sean Ruck, Contributing Editor | May 30, 2014
From the May 2014 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
I think whether or not they’re titled that way — there are already IT/clinical engineering people. I foresee that being in job hiring descriptions in the future. “This person needs to have biomedical training as well as IT networking and software/hardware skills.” I think the U.S. biomedical market is already moving into that direction as far as the training goes.
Frederick McMurtrie: Sure, like any technology-based profession continuing education is a given, but if I had to offer specifics as a Biomedical technician, it would have to be networking and understanding both the firmware as well as the infrastructure of WAN and LAN on my short list. Also, I would push more management training since as technology increases in complexity and integration there is less to repair and more need to manage outcomes. In addition, the management training will provide the skills to generate meaningful reports, benchmarks and dashboards.
Patrick Lynch: Today, more than ever, we spend over 50 percent of our time fixing the customer instead of the equipment. And are we ever taught how to provide excellent service to our customers? No. We still have about half of the biomeds in the country that will not look you in the eye when talking to you, offer a limp-wristed handshake, and mumble their name when forced to introduce themselves. We need a lot more personal skills. This is reflected by every hiring manager I have spoken to in the last 10 years — personal skills over technical skills. We can teach the technical skills. It is tough to turn a painfully shy person into an extrovert.
Scott Bosch: HTM professionals must have a working knowledge of the technical functions of every division of IT — database admins, application owners, network engineers, enterprise solutions admins, interoperability/EMR engineers, PACS admins, IT security, BI/BA analysts.... the complete function of many medical systems depends on the work done in these roles. Managerially, I work in five areas (medical device inventory management, operational leadership, standards and policy admin, project management and contract management); there may be more roles in your hospital depending on your org chart and who leads your team, but you should be involved in each of those areas as an HTM professional.
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