AAMI has been elected to be the lead society for Biomedical Engineering Technology (BMET) college program accreditation by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
AAMI will now be the professional society that assists in the accreditation of associate and bachelor degree BMET programs. Simply put, ABET accreditation is voluntary where colleges invite ABET program evaluators to visit their programs to determine if they meet the criteria for ABET accreditation. AAMI has developed the Healthcare Technology Accreditation Committee (HTAC) to oversee its role as the lead society for ABET.
AAMI takes over this role from the biomedical engineering Society (BMES). BMES will remain the lead society for Biomedical Engineering programs. BMES supported the change and both organizations felt that this arrangement was a better fit for the profession. BMES is primarily an engineering organization rather than an organization for BMETs.
AAMI has several roles in the accreditation process. AAMI will select and assign the previously mentioned program evaluators (PEVs). AAMI will also coordinate campus visits for accreditation purposes and will help set the guidelines required for programs to be accredited. AAMI will have a seat on ABET’s board of delegates.
A little history: For many years AAMI has been working very closely with educators, BMETs, and employers to assist in providing quality BMETs to meet hospital, third-party, and OEM needs for qualified biomedical technicians.
For many years, AAMI’s Technology Management Council (TMC) has sponsored an Educators Roundtable at its annual meeting. Educators – as well as technicians, engineers, managers, etc. – are invited to participate in a moderated roundtable discussion regarding the current and future needs of these groups. Many great deliverables have come from this group. A recurring topic of conversation at these roundtables was that it would be great if AAMI could share it’s resources and expertise on the future needs of the HTM industry by getting involved with the accreditation of academic BMET programs.
AAMI has been working for a long time to determine a good fit for it to become involved with program accreditation. Since AAMI is not in the business of accrediting programs, working with ABET seemed to be an excellent way for AAMI to contribute.
This new role will benefit all BMET programs regardless of whether they are ABET accredited or not. AAMI has developed a vast array of “tools” to help educational programs as well as employers and students, determine strengths and weaknesses. AAMI offers many documents including “Core Competencies for the Biomedical Equipment Technician,” “AAMI Career Development Guide” and the “BMET Study Guide.” In addition, AAMI University offers continuing education, and now BMET program accreditation assistance is offered. AAMI’s board feels that this will help to enhance AAMI’s commitment to biomedical education.
The “Core Competencies for the Biomedical Equipment Technician” guide is a great resource for educational institutions, BMETs, and employers. A committee of diverse individuals from the HTM field developed this document. The Core Competencies guide will be updated and examined to assure that it contains current information. The guide is complete to the associate degree or entering technician level with plans to expand it in the future.
Since the guide has been nationally vetted, educational institutions are encouraged to use it to design or evaluate their curriculums. Many biomedical programs have downloaded this guide to use for existing programs and some newly started programs are using it in the early stages of curriculum development. This is a resource that would be very difficult to produce without AAMI’s expertise in convening experts in the field with a common mission.
BMETs and employers may use the core competencies guide to evaluate skill sets. For instance, a technician can use this guide to openly examine his or her own skill set as compared to what this diverse group of industry experts feels is necessary in today’s environment. Upon examination, the technician may see gaps in education that may be filled. An employer may use it to determine skills and competencies that should be expected of a new employee or to evaluate existing employees and develop staff development plans.
The HTAC committee plans to utilize the “Core Competencies Guide for the Biomedical Equipment Technician” to develop new and evaluate existing competencies required for BMET program accreditation.
If current or aspiring BMETs utilize the resources available through AAMI, they will be able to evaluate their career path with the “AAMI Career Development Guide,” evaluate gaps in their training using the “Core Competencies for the Biomedical Equipment Technician,” prepare for certification by using the “BMET Study Guide,” and then pursue certification using AAMI’s certification program within the “AAMI Credentials Institute.”
These resources round out an impressive toolkit for the BMET, BMET employer, and BMET educator.
Steven J. Yelton, PE, CHTM, is a professor/professor emeritus at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College where he teaches biomedical instrumentation courses. He is a member of AAMI’s Board of Directors, AAMI’s Foundation Board of Directors, Vice Chair of AAMI’s Technology Management Council, Chair of AAMI’s HTAC committee and is a member of the ABET Board of Delegates.
