BMET Demand AND Requisites Are Rising
Biomedical equipment technicians or BMETs represent a growing group of technically trained personnel whose biggest responsibility is the maintaining and repairing equipment that deals with medical imaging like a a CT scanner, ultrasound, x-ray MRI, and so on. The job outlook for BMETs appears to be changing as quickly as newimaging equipment} is being developed.
The demand for BMETs is growing. The increase is due to the expansion in new equipment used for medical imaging and technologies that need BMET expertise, and, by the need for income by organizations that have medical imaging equipment. As medical services like hospitals examine that downtime on a piece of imaging equipment affects income generation, there is pressure to add BMETs to hospital staff to ensure that every piece of imaging equipment is maintained in working order so that costly service contracts are used as minimally as they can be. The U.S. Department of Labor and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Imaging (AAMI) think that the number of jobs available as a BMET in the US will increase 24% to 31% until the year 2010.
Historically, BMETs were trained in the workplace. But, as equipment for medical imaging technology has advanced, the need for quality and consistent training has too. Today, many BMETs have earned an Associates degree in medical imaging technology, electronics or an engineering-related study. Not too long ago an experiment by the AAMI found that 62% of all BMETs journeyed on to willingly become certified by the International Commission on Accreditation. ICC Certification for BMETs is a formal acknowledgement by the International Certification Commission for Clinical Engineering and Biomedical Technology (ICC) that candidates have shown achievement in theoretical and understanding of the principles of biomedical technology.
The BMET job description keeps evolving and, as it changes, the educational requirements have started to increase as well. The BMET profession has started to follow the trail of many other careers both within and outside of the medical field where more and more schooling is needed to get a job and/or excel inside a job category.
BMETs report that employers are starting to require bachelors degrees for advancement to a higher rank or in a few cases just to be employed as a BMET inside some institutions. While this requirement might constrain the job opportunities for few current BMETs, the great news is that increased schooling requirements bring the chance for greater income. Studies have determinedshown|found out} that entrance salaries for BMETs range from $20,000-$30,000. However, higher positions can command salaries as high as $80,000. The future appears bright for career growth in this area.
About the Author
Jesse Fisher likes composing articles for his customers which includes Transamerican Medical, a business that resells Philips Medical equipment and parts. See also Imaging Centers online directory. (Article may be republished online IF all links are kept intact.)
Tell others about
this page:
Comments? Questions? Email Here