After speaking with members of various local BMET associations, as well as those in academia and working actively in the field, a common concern arose: a lack of young professionals interested in the biomed/clinical engineering field. Each mentioned how the trend affects his/her field. For academics, shrinking class sizes and interest have affected programs, while those in the field and involved in biomed associations have difficulty finding young members to carry on the profession.

The absence of a unified field name—clinical engineering versus biomeds—may be responsible for some of this lack of interest, as well as using clinical engineering education to springboard into a digital profession.

Some organizations are trying to counteract this by giving scholarships to biomed students, while others, like the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, are holding conferences to try and unify the field under a single name.

Has the lack of young, engaged biomeds affected your shop or local association? If not, is it something that needs to be remedied in the near future? What steps are you, your shop, or a local association taking to counteract this trend?