The Need for BMETs Has Gone Up and So Has the Educational Requirements
Biomedical equipment technicians or BMETs represent an expanding division of technically trained personnel whose biggest responsibility is the maintaining and repairing equipment that deals with medical imaging such as x-ray, CT scanners, ultrasound, MRI, laser technology and so on. The job path for BMETs seems to be changing as fast as medical imaging equipment is changing.
The demand for BMETs is getting bigger. This expansion is fueled both by the expansion in new equipment used for medical imaging and technologies that have to have BMET expertise and by the necessity for revenue by institutions that have equipment used for medical imaging. As institutions like hospitals examine that downtime on a piece of medical imaging equipment affects revenue generation, there is demand to add BMETs to hospital staff to be positive that all medical imaging equipment is stored in good condition. 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) predict that the number of jobs available as a BMET in the US will come up 24 percent to 31 percent throughout the year of 2010.
In history, BMETs were trained on the job. Although, as medical imaging equipment knowledge has increased, so has the need for consistent, quality training. Today, most BMETs have earned an associates degree in medical imaging equipment technology, electronics or an engineering-related field. Not too long ago a study by the AAMI found that 62% of all BMETs journeyed on to become freely certified by the International Commission on Accreditation. ICC Certification for BMETs is an academic reward by the International Certification Commission for Clinical Engineering and Biomedical Technology (ICC) that individuals have demonstrated excellence in theoretical and practical knowledge of the principles of biomedical technology.
However, the BMET job continues to evolve and as it does, the educational requirements have begun to increase also. The BMET profession has begun to walk the trail of lots of other jobs both within and outside of the medical field where more and more schooling is needed to serve in a job and/or excel inside a career field. BMETs report that employers are beginning to make you have bachelors degrees for growth to a supervisory rank or in some situations to become a BMET inside some institutions. While this requirement might limit the job opportunities for few BMETs serving right now, the great news is that with increased schooling requirements creates the opportunity for higher income. People have found out that entrance pays for BMETs are from $20,000-$30,000. However, senior and supervisory positions can get salaries as high as $80,000. The future appears good for career growth in this area.
About the Author
Author Jesse Fisher likes composing articles for his customers including Transamerican Medical, a business that buys and sells Philips Medical equipment and parts. See also Medical Imaging News.
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