At the time, I did not realize the important lessons he was teaching us. He taught us always to work to the best of our abilities. More importantly, he taught us to take pride in every aspect of our work. We learned how important it was to take extra steps to respect and satisfy our customers even though they might not recognize a good solder joint or quality workmanship. He taught us that it was always important to exceed our customer’s expectations.

Those lessons that I learned as a teenager are still valid today. In fact, in our profession they are even more important because poor quality and workmanship might directly affect patient care. Despite the importance of quality in our profession, there are still many departments operating without written workmanship standards. Every department is required to have carefully written testing and performance standards for each device in their inventory. We would not tolerate technicians who ignored procedures and tested each piece of equipment the way they felt was best. Can you imagine the look on a Joint Commission Surveyor’s face if you told them that you did not have any testing procedures? It seems strange to me that we require testing according to written standards, but we do not require written workmanship standards.

If you are one of those departments that presently operates without quality and workmanship standards, I recommend that you begin writing them as soon as possible. The doctors, nurses, and most importantly, the patients who rely on the equipment that you maintain always deserve your very best work.

A few years ago, while on a long automobile trip I realized my car was due for its regular oil change. Because I was in a hurry, I pulled into the nearest Jiffy Lube station. When I entered, a technician met me and asked if I wanted an oil change and lubrication. Since my car did not require chassis lubrication, I asked what he intended to lubricate. He replied that they usually did not lubricate cars; it was just something they routinely said. Although this was a minor issue, I found myself asking why someone would ask if I wanted a service that they did not perform. It made me wonder about his credibility. Was he claiming to perform an unnecessary service? Did he know what lubrication was? Did he really know what he was doing?

This also made me wonder if Biomedical Engineering has credibility issues. Do we claim to perform services that modern medical devices no longer require? Do we use terms that are no longer relevant? Are we inadvertently misleading people when we misuse terminology? Is it possible we are confused, or just do not know what we are doing?

Many Biomedical Engineers and Technicians claim they perform preventive maintenance. My understanding is that we perform preventive maintenance to increase the life of a device, or prevent premature failure. This may involve cleaning, oiling bearings, greasing fittings, changing fluids, changing belts and replacing filters. Although a few medical devices may require these services, most do not. What preventive maintenance can we perform on a modern cardiac monitor? Is our integrity at stake when we claim to do something that is unnecessary and impractical? Is our credibility at stake when we claim to perform preventive maintenance on a device that does not need it? It would be helpful if we stopped wasting our time and our employer’s money performing unnecessary services.

Performance testing is another issue. Many modern devices routinely test themselves at start up. If a device fails its startup test, it will not operate. Other devices routinely perform in depth self tests during operation. Why do we continue to test devices that test themselves? What possible value do we add when we provide a service that a device performs on itself regularly? Obviously, some devices will always require routine testing but why do we test devices that test themselves? Is our credibility is at stake when we perform these unnecessary services?

When I hear complaints that Senior Management does not know what we do, I wonder if we know what we do. It would help if we described our services more accurately. It would be a step in the right direction to come to agreement on terminology and definitions such as PM and safety testing. It would be helpful to decide what testing and PM was no longer necessary. We should be at the forefront of new technology. However, like the Jiffy Lube technician, our statements demonstrate that we have ignored technological changes by claiming to do the same things we did forty years ago. We are the collective caretakers of our profession; it is time we took our responsibilities more seriously.

Before starting your job search, take time to determine the type of department and manager where you would be happy. No two managers, no two technicians, and no two departments are identical. You may thrive in one department and suffer in another. You need to determine the type of manager and department that is best suited to you. If you do not do this, any job you take is likely to be a roll of the dice. Within a few months, you may find yourself disgusted, dissatisfied, and ready to job hop.

When you take a job interview, treat the interview as a two way street. They are interviewing you, and you, in turn, are interviewing them. Feel free to ask the manager what goals they have for the department and pay careful attention to their answer. Ask about their management style and philosophy. Ask what they have done to improve customer service and how they deal with intrapersonal issues when they arise. If you do not get satisfactory answers to these questions, do not take the job. Always avoid managers who claim that they are too busy putting out fires to think about those things. When people are too busy putting out fires, it is a sign that they are not managing. Avoid managers who complain that they could do more but administration always gets in the way. Those managers are blaming others for their own shortcomings.

Try to get a feel for the harmony within the department by asking to meet one-on-one with other department technicians. Ask their opinion of the positive and negative aspects of working in the department. If you can, get one or two of the technicians to take you on a tour of the hospital. While you tour various areas, observe whether nurses and physicians respect them. Also, pay attention to the respect they show to others. If they are constantly criticizing doctors, nurses and others, they and their manager may have developed good relations with them.

There are many excellent biomedical engineering programs throughout the country. They have outstanding and dedicated managers whose technicians love coming to work every day. Take your time, do your homework and you just might wind up working for one of them.

If you are unhappy in your present job, or looking for a new one, you should be aware that some biomedical engineering programs are outstanding places to work, while many others are poorly managed. Unfortunately, the entire healthcare industry has its share of bad managers, bad vice presidents and bad CEOs. Many vice presidents have no concept of what to look for when hiring biomedical department heads. They sometimes will take the easy way out and simply promote the senior person in the department. When interviewing potential managers they seldom bother to ask about goals, managerial style, budgetary knowhow, human relations skills and all the factors that good managers need to be good leaders and function effectively. Consequently, some of the best hospitals in the nation might have the worst possible department managers. If you are not cautious, you might wind up working for one of them.

Before starting your job search, take time to determine the type of department and manager where you would be happy. No two managers, no two technicians, and no two departments are identical. You may thrive in one department and suffer in another. You need to determine the type of manager and department that is best suited to you. If you do not do this, any job you take is likely to be a roll of the dice. Within a few months, you may find yourself disgusted, dissatisfied, and ready to job hop.

When you take a job interview, treat the interview as a two way street. They are interviewing you, and you, in turn, are interviewing them. Feel free to ask the manager what goals they have for the department and pay careful attention to their answer. Ask about their management style and philosophy. Ask what they have done to improve customer service and how they deal with intrapersonal issues when they arise. If you do not get satisfactory answers to these questions, do not take the job. Always avoid managers who claim that they are too busy putting out fires to think about those things. When people are too busy putting out fires, it is a sign that they are not managing. Avoid managers who complain that they could do more but administration always gets in the way. Those managers are blaming others for their own shortcomings.

Try to get a feel for the harmony within the department by asking to meet one-on-one with other department technicians. Ask their opinion of the positive and negative aspects of working in the department. If you can, get one or two of the technicians to take you on a tour of the hospital. While you tour various areas, observe whether nurses and physicians respect them. Also, pay attention to the respect they show to others. If they are constantly criticizing doctors, nurses and others, they and their manager may have developed good relations with them.

There are many excellent biomedical engineering programs throughout the country. They have outstanding and dedicated managers whose technicians love coming to work every day. Take your time, do your homework and you just might wind up working for one of them.

If you had two minutes alone with your CEO, could you describe the value of your department successfully in less than two minutes? What key points would you stress? How would you show your unique value to your hospital? The most important thing is what would you say to make your CEO want to hear more? After hearing your presentation, would your CEO realize you are an asset?

I hear many biomedical department heads claim they are about patient safety, or they save hospitals money. These may be admirable traits, but this is what every CEO expects of you. Everyone’s job is to practice patient safety and everyone’s job is to save money. Others boast about passing Joint Commission Surveys. Your CEO knows that most every department regularly passes these surveys. When you boast about patient safety, saving money and meeting survey requirements, you are merely stating the obvious – you do what everyone else does.

Returning to the concept of the elevator pitch, what can you say that is truly unique? What have you done that is truly innovative? Do you provide any services that no other biomedical program in the nation offers? If you cannot present anything that is unique or innovative, it may be time to break away from your routine and start thinking out of the box. It is time to start asking what can I do to make my CEO want to hear more?

Every hospital has its share of minus people. Once you discover who they are, it is best to avoid working with them. If you are a minus person or there are minuses in your department, others will avoid you. No one will call you for help. For example; if you have a reputation for making it tough for salespeople to bring in demo equipment, they will sidestep you and the department requesting the demo will avoid you too. If you make it tough for people to buy new equipment, no one will consult you. It is simple, if you are hard to deal with, people will not deal with you. On the other hand, if you are a plus person who helps make things happen, others will want to work with you. You will become a key player that they can rely on when they need help.

It is easy to earn a reputation as minus person. Just rattle your saber a few times and delay products from coming into your hospital, or make things tough for vendors. Causing delays might be good for your ego, but others will learn to avoid you. When physicians, administrators, and nurses all want a product that they feel will improve patient care or reduce costs, they do not want you getting in the way. As far as they are concerned, you are a minus and not on the team. If no one consults you, or you are not getting good committee assignments, or things happen without your consent, it might be a good time to ask yourself this question: “Am I a plus, a minus, or a zero?”

Integrity is defined as: adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character and honesty. When self-integrity is evident impugning the integrity of others is usually infrequent. It is also a learned attribute and not something we are born with. Here is some potentially helpful advice to promote integrity:

• Operate with the highest level of integrity. This is the thumbprint by which you may be identified. Trust is not bestowed upon those with compromised principles, no matter the apparent success. Position sometimes masks character, but ultimately the integrity of the character is exposed. That is to say, persons with high integrity are sometimes not recognized due to a position that may be unpopular. Likewise, poor character can bleed through an exalted position as ink bleeds through paint. Ultimately, our character—our integrity—speaks well of us, or to our chagrin, exposes true intent and behavior.
  Do not put your personal integrity at risk. It is what carries you through your career. Avoiding compromise on all fronts is essential to career building and continued employment. Identify so-called friends and colleagues who tend to tempt you to take short cuts in preventive maintenance, repairs and documentation. I would not recommend that you distance yourself from them. Rather, take a leading role in promoting an atmosphere of quality and competence that your peers, subordinates and even superiors can follow.
• Guard the integrity of others. In your efforts to demonstrate personal excellence, resist the temptation to compare your highlights by pointing out discrepancies of your fellow employees. Persons with integrity usually are found to be team players whose example to their peers is also evident in their peers. Because integrity is learned, be an active example. If you are the one lacking integrity, do not despair; allow yourself to be mentored and join a credible service-support team. Make it your goal to promote the team rather than self-elevation.
• Treat everyone with respect, (to show regard or consideration for…). There should be no posturing based upon position, education or station in life. Most human beings deserve respect and common courtesy. I encountered a Vietnamese man while waiting for my flight out of Beijing, China. During our conversation he asked me if I was involved in the conflict in his country known as the Vietnam War and if I took the lives of his countrymen. Before I could answer, the man began to recount the harm that happened to his family and the loss of many relatives and friends. He was from North Vietnam. Saddened by his loss, I could have denied involvement. However, I answered that I was actively involved in the conflict. I was taken aback when this former enemy invited me to his home in the North as a welcomed guest. I was treated with respect by someone I never expected it from, and we parted with a firm handshake and a slight bow…and mutual respect for each other.