Biomeds in Action
This is the biggest issue of 24x7 ever, and it is a treat to have so many pages with which to work. It means that we can publish articles submitted by our readers, like Glen Wolfe, who writes about biomed training options, and Mary Coker, who, with a task force of other committed biomeds are forming a national (perhaps global) biomed association. There has been a lot of progress toward this end, Coker tells us, and as we go to press, the task force has narrowed the list of possible association names to three: Medical Equipment Management & Support Association (MEMSA), Association of Medical Equipment & Support Professionals (AMESPRO), and Medical Equipment & Technology Association (META). The names were submitted by biomeds nationwide. Mary Coker and her colleagues welcome your participation in a variety of committees. The list of contact names appears on page 55.

Also in this issue, we visit with Roger Bowles and some of his students at Texas State Technical College, Steve Yelton, PE, Chairman, BMET, at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, and Vinnie de Francesco, a clinical engineer at Hartford (Conn) Hospital. All are happy to describe their programs, and Bowles shares his list of top-10 co-op/internship programs with us on page 24. Next month we will profile some of those schools.

We also talk to three Navy biomeds who completed a tour of duty in Iraq this past summer. We could almost have filled the entire magazine with their experiences. One thing is clear: They love being biomeds, and, despite the rather grim circumstances under which they worked when overseas, none have any regrets about choosing biomedical equipment support and service as their careers.

What a great variety of biomeds—from educators to hospital corpsmen, to advocates and activists for biomed recognition—appears in November’s 24x7. So sit down and enjoy this issue and keep the ideas and articles coming. This magazine is for you, and it is your input that keeps us on target.

benjamin@medpubs.com