Many members of the biomed community have shown concern for the increasing lack of employer-paid training. The 24x7 2011 Compensation Survey bears that out: 55% of respondents reported receiving less than 20 hours of training during the year, and 66% said they received no management training at all. Jenifer Brown, president and owner of the newly founded Health Tech Talent Management LLC, Virginia Beach, Va, feels that when employers stop paying for training, biomeds should be proactive about searching for independent training opportunities.

“No one looks out for your career better than yourself,” Brown says. “If you know as a candidate that you’re not getting the training or advancement that you need, then you need to be the one to take control of that and get the additional training and education, even if it means paying out of your own pocket. It’s your career path that we’re talking about. A lot of candidates expect the employers to take care of their career but that’s not the way anymore; you have to take care of it.”

The compensation survey also showed that only 24% of respondents are currently pursuing formal education, a seemingly disproportionate number for a field that requires near-constant education.

What solutions have you found to decreasing training opportunities funded by employers? Do you actively seek out educational opportunities on your own or do you know peers that have taken this approach?

For more from Brown, make sure to catch my interview with her in the May issue of 24x7.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Jenifer Brown, president and owner of the newly founded Health Tech Talent Management LLC for an upcoming Industry Insider column. Brown specializes in talent management and acquisition and offers placement services for both biomeds as well as facilities. After working in the industry for a number of years, she saw a need in the industry to begin her own company and take on a greater role in the placement of biomeds and health care professionals.

In the past, I have spoken with members of local biomed associations who say that many members use meetings as a way to network professionally and discover new employment opportunities. However, I have never spoken with biomeds who have said that they utilize talent management firms like Health Tech Talent Management LLC to assist in job placement. Have you or any of your coworkers used these services to help find a position in the clinical engineering industry? If so, would you recommend these services to your contemporaries?

In writing an article for 24x7 sister publication Imaging Economics, I spoke with Barry D. Pressman, MD, FACR, professor and chairman of the S. Mark Taper Foundation Imaging Center and Department, and Chief of the Section of Neuroradiology and Head and Neck Radiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles. At Pressman’s facility, the radiology department recently strove to change its safety culture and make patient safety a primary consideration in every action or process. The department traveled to other hospitals to gain an understanding of what to do, and have since instituted a safety committee, a system of checks and balances, and various bookkeeping methods to ensure safety. And the proof is in the pudding: patient satisfaction surveys are through the roof.

I was asked to profile the department and this safety program because of how innovative and forward-thinking it is. Since many of the processes and jobs of biomeds are inherently focused on patient safety, it is possible that there are cultural programs like the one at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center dedicated to patient safety. If not, there are almost certainly steps that you take to improve patient safety above and beyond the norm. What are some of the things that your biomed shop does to improve patient safety? Are there any unique programs that your facility has instituted?

One topic that frequently arises when speaking with leaders of local biomed associations is travel distance for many members. Often, the association tries to place itself in a centralized location for its member base, but unfortunately, many times, members still need to drive upwards of an hour or two simply to attend meetings. With escalating gas prices and strenuous work schedules, this distance likely accounts for much of the low attendance at biomed meetings.

If you struggle with attendance at association meetings, is it because of travel distance or are there other factors? Has your local biomed association made an attempt to move meetings to different locations in an effort to reduce travel time for some of its more distant members? If not, have leaders/members ever broached the topic during meetings?

Associations are also utilizing teleconferences and Web resources to reach members at distant locations. Some groups will broadcast meetings live via their Web site, while others supply the educational materials at a later date. Has your local biomed association begun using these Web resources?

In a recent interview with a third-party service provider, we spent a good amount of time discussing the company’s various training courses, and through that conversation a number of interesting topics arose. In addition to on-site and in-house training offerings, the company also includes a series of Web training courses for biomeds. While issues arise with online training—specifically, a lack of hands-on experience—the interviewee believes that Web classes can be beneficial for biomeds because of differing learning styles and, more importantly, a facility’s ability to fund that training; he mentioned that while many hospital biomed departments will budget for training, few will budget for travel expenses, thus limiting many training opportunities.

How do you feel about online training courses? Does the lack of hands-on training outweigh the benefits of being able to learn at your own pace? Does your facility budget for training and travel separately, limiting your ability to travel for educational opportunities?

When speaking with the leadership team of the Georgia Biomedical Instrumentation Society (GBIS) for an upcoming feature, each was adamant that the biomed field is growing, a sentiment that seems contrary to the constant refrain of “Do more with less” that many biomeds that I speak with lament. They pointed to the increasing specialization of the field, including networking and facilities dedicated to specific modalities, as reasons for the growth.

In my discussions with biomeds, many are frustrated with the lack of personnel available for required tasks. In addition, most find it necessary to continue their education into areas like networking, which they previously were not required to know.

According to responses from the 24x7 2011 Compensation Survey “Among the biggest concerns expressed by respondents was the workload ‘creep’ that has many technology management professionals working longer hours. While it is still not at an epidemic stage—65% said their workload is still acceptable, down from 67% last year—it is an immediate issue for some. Those who answered ‘no’ to workload acceptability overwhelmingly complained that there is not enough staff for the amount of equipment they are expected to maintain.”

What are you impressions of the growth of the industry? Have you seen or do you anticipate the biomed industry to continue growing like the GBIS members assert or do you believe that workloads will increase for a largely static—or diminishing—number of biomeds?

24x7 recently published its annual Compensation Survey, which surveys members of the biomedical/clinical engineering communities about information concerning their compensation, job satisfaction, and responsibilities, among other topics. An astonishing 91% of respondents reported being happy with their jobs, and altruism remains one of the primary reasons for this enjoyment.

“Taking a philosophical viewpoint, one clinical/biomedical engineer from the South Atlantic region spoke for many respondents when she explained why her job satisfaction remains high: ‘[There are] still enough positives in helping mankind in a time of need.’ ”

I had a chance to speak with members of the Gateway Biomedical Society, a local biomed association serving the Missouri and Illinois regions. Frank Bodenschatz, CBET, imaging tech III at SSM St Clare Health Center, Fenton, Mo, had an interesting comment on a biomed’s approach to his role in the health care setting.

“I’ve always worked on a piece of equipment thinking that my family or friend might actually be on it or be involved with what might come to be with it,” Bodenschatz says. “A lot of times, my family comes to the hospital that I work at. My friends are the same way. That’s one thing that I think most biomeds that I’ve met feel.”

Does this sense of contribution to the health care system and altruism drive your enjoyment or pursuit in clinical engineering? Bodenschatz cites family and friends utilizing his facility. Do you find this scenario in your job? If so, does it similarly push you to consistently perform at your highest level?

I have the opportunity to talk with owners of countless third-party service providers and invariably, one of the questions I ask them is how frequently they work with biomeds. Most of them cite daily interaction with biomeds to assist with troubleshooting existing systems, and on some occasions, for the sale of new equipment or replacement parts. This seems to follow logic: on their Web sites, third-party providers often boast free, 24/7 troubleshooting.

However, in my conversations with biomeds, rarely do they mention interaction with those third-party providers—which is not to say that they do not interact with them. How often do you contact your third-party service provider for technical assistance, if ever? What are some of the aspects of that troubleshooting that they do well? What else would you like to see from them to improve their service?

In a recent interview with members of the CE-IT Community—an organization that aims to advance the relationship between and education of clinical engineering and IT departments—one of the group’s members made an interesting comment concerning biomeds’ adoption of and education in IT principles and skills.

“Many biomeds and clinical engineers have been hesitant to embrace this change,” says Leanne Cordisco, Healthcare IT Program Manager, Education Services, GE Healthcare. “It’s been a difficult road, but now that we’re through that first wave of adopters in this new blended world, we’re hitting the people that have been pretty resistant to change. What gets those people to move and change is when they see the people that they have respect for operating and succeeding in that new system. They say, ‘If they can do it, I can do it too.’”

Cordisco also noted that as the current generation of biomeds retires, a new group of professionals will enter the field with many of the IT skills necessary for the changing health care environment. This begs an interesting question: What wave of IT adopter are you? Were you one of the first biomeds to jump on the IT revolution or have you been more hesitant to the change? If you’re one of these second-wave adopters, what steps have you taken to begin this crucial education?

Everyone is different and no method is better than another, but reflection serves as a method to progress and help others in similar positions.

I attended RSNA last week for 24x7’s sister publication Imaging Economics and, never shying from an opportunity to talk about biomeds and the service industry, sat down with a member of the GE service division to discuss the company’s new initiatives. One of the first things he mentioned was the current landscape of the service industry and how the company had to find ways to compete with third-party service providers who offered lower contract prices. The most interesting feature he mentioned was the InSite technology that GE offers. Through the software, GE can remotely monitor all of your GE systems and predict when parts will fail/need replacement or should be serviced. This decreases downtime and acts as a service that the third-part providers cannot offer.

Since GE realizes that third-party companies can offer cheaper prices, they are creating new benefits that only an OEM can offer. With features like remote monitoring, would your facility be willing sign a more expensive OEM contract to avoid downtime? Or do you monitor your equipment sufficiently enough that this added service is superfluous?