Diving into the biomed profession headfirst was Staff Sergeant Michael Muschong’s indication that he trusted the word of his Air Force recruiter; it was just that simple.
Muschong is the Medical Maintenance Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge at the 366th Medical Group, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. He oversees Medical Maintenance operations and the Medical Equipment Management Office, supporting a 10-bed hospital, serving a 24,000-eligible beneficiary population, which provides 60,000 annual medical appointments.
Muschong leads three personnel responsible for maintenance support and life cycle management for 2,000 pieces of medical equipment valued at $12 million. He is a hands-on biomed in addition to his management duties.
“My first interest in the biomed profession was completely unexpected. I was in the delayed enlistment program, waiting for my enlistment into the United States Air Force, when my recruiter called me up and told me that there was an opening in the biomed career field,” he remembers.
“I had no idea what it was, but I trusted him when he told me it is one of the greatest jobs to have. With that I didn’t hesitate, I said ‘sign me up.’ After I got off the phone with him, I hit the Internet and researched what I had just got myself into. I instantly was filled with excitement as what I read seemed to be right up my alley. After all, who doesn’t like to take things apart and forget how they go back together,” Muschong jokes.
After committing to become a biomed, the next step was 10 and a half months of technical training school provided by the Department of Defense. He took his training at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas.
“The training consisted of 12 courses beginning with two courses of electronic principles and then going through an extensive line of medical equipment ranging from blood fluid warmers and infusion pumps all the way to sterilizers and radiology equipment. When I went through the radiology portion, they had the Continental X-ray unit and that is where I learned what 220V feels like,” Muschong says.
Achieving the Mission
Starting out as a Biomedical Equipment Apprentice and performing on-the-job training requirements for one year, Muschong then achieved his Biomedical Equipment Journeyman statu.
“As a Biomedical Equipment Journeyman or 5-level, I spent most of my time as a worker bee at Mike O’Callaghan Federal Medical Center at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada,” Muschong says. “I didn’t have a specific job title at this time, but I performed various tasks like preventive maintenance, calibrations and learned the ins and outs of most of the equipment the Medical Center had to offer.”
Once he mastered PMs and calibrations, he moved to the unscheduled team or repairs team. There, he was able to concentrate on fixing stuff.
“I worked on the team for about a year and then was promoted to Unscheduled Team Chief; finally received my first duty title,” he says.
“I ran the unscheduled team managing roughly 150 work orders per month with three technicians including myself,” Muschong recalls. “After doing that for about a year, I was moved over to Scheduled Team Chief to broaden my horizons. There, I managed 11 technicians with an average of 550 work orders per month.”
After a few months, he received notice that he would be moving to Mountain Home Air Force Base.
“Once I arrived on station, I was told I would be the Non Commissioned Officer In Charge of the BMET shop. I have been in this position since October of 2014 and recently took over another department in Medical Logistics, the Medical Equipment Management Office,” Muschong adds.
Muschong says that the primary challenge he encounters in his work is related to his management duties.
“The biggest challenge I have encountered is the leadership aspect of managing a shop,” he says. “Trying to make changes to an organization is the hardest thing a leader has to do, and if you don’t do it the right way, then you will fail; but failure is just the first step in learning. Trust me, I learned the hard way. My most recent project that I would like to mention was, and still is, the procurement and installation of a stand-alone steam generator for our large pass through steam sterilizer. I have received a couple awards throughout my career but so far the best one has been 99 Medical Support Squadron’s Airman of the Year for 2012.”
Away from Base
At 26, Muschong has already been in the Air Force for more than seven years. He loves to fish and build things in his garage. A recent project was an inflatable raft that he modified to be a worthy fishing vessel. He is also a family man.
“I have a beautiful wife named Casandra and two wonderful kids. My daughter Mikayla age five and son Zayden; age four months,” he says.
The future includes the HTM profession, even after his Air Force years.
“I hope to one day retire from the Air Force, and at some point along the way, acquire skills to specialize in radiology and apply those skills in the civilian sector,” he says.
If the first part of his career is any indication, it’s very likely that there will be a very competent imaging engineer added to the HTM community some day.