This post is a companion article to the print feature “CBET Exam Prep Goes Virtual,” which appeared in the April 2015 issue of 24×7.
Presided over by AAMI, the CBET is a 3-hour exam that consists of 165 multiple-choice questions in six different categories: anatomy and physiology (12%), public (employee, patient, visitor) safety in the healthcare facility (15%), fundamentals of electricity and electronics (13%), healthcare technology function and operation (25%), healthcare technology problem solving (25%), and the newest section, healthcare information technology (10%). Passing requires a 70% score, or at least 116 correct answers. There is no penalty for guessing, and CBET exam prep advisor John Noblitt encourages it: after all, you can’t get questions right if you don’t try.
Test-takers in the United States and Canada use a computer-based testing system that allows you to skip and flag questions to return to later. (It also helpfully reminds you to complete them before turning in your exam!) The CBET is available during two testing periods in the spring and fall, as well as at the annual AAMI convention. The fall application deadline is September 26, 2015; the fall testing period will take place November 7–14, 2015. A list of testing centers is available through the AAMI website.
Applicants for the CBET must meet one of the following eligibility criteria: 1) an associate’s degree in a biomedical academic program and 2 years’ full-time BMET work experience; 2) completion of a US military biomedical equipment technology program and 2 years’ full-time BMET work experience; 3) an associate’s degree in electronics technology and 3 years’ full-time BMET work experience; 4) 4 years’ full-time BMET work experience.
The test will cost you approximately $350: there is a nonrefundable $100 registration fee (valid for 2 years), plus an exam fee of $220 for AAMI members and $275 for non-AAMI members, so budget accordingly. Test-takers will receive their results by mail within 4 weeks.
