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.