By Roger A. Bowles, MS, EdD, CBET
No, I’m not retiring from Texas State Technical College, at least not in the immediate future, or until other plans come to fruition. I’m still teaching classes. But, as many of you know, I have been involved in several endeavors over the years and some of them are taking more and more of my time. I hope to perhaps even change roles in the near future. The holidays are upon us as I write this and it is a great time for reflection. By the time this column comes out, it will be a new year, and for a column called “The Future,” it seems like a good time for me to pass the baton to a fresher face and a more modern perspective. So, this will be my last “The Future” column.
I can’t recall the first article I wrote for TechNation, but I think it was over 20 years ago now. I have long appreciated the opportunity MD Publishing and TechNation have provided me over the years. I have met so many inspiring people at MD Expos and I hope to continue to attend a few of these great events and others in the HTM world. Thank you to John Krieg, John Wallace, and all of the TechNation team for allowing me to promote the field through this column. Most of all, a big thank you to the readers who have been my biggest inspirations and have often sent me texts and emails about the column.
One thing is for sure, I am confident that HTM will continue to be an excellent career choice for those with a technical flair who decide to make a difference in health care. As of today, there are many, many opportunities out there for graduating students. Many of the hiring managers who come to us are graduates of our program and that makes me feel good to have contributed a little to this field. It is a great feeling to have children of graduates enrolling in and graduating from the program.
Our biomedical equipment technology program at TSTC has changed quite a bit over the years. There have been some solid improvements in a couple of areas and I’m proud of those. I’m happy I am still able to contribute a little bit of value to this program. As many of you know, all of our faculty were once full-time biomedical equipment technicians or medical imaging specialists. Almost all of them graduated from our program and went out and gained many years of experience before coming back to teach. We survived the pandemic shutdown, and despite the somewhat continuous chaos and uncertainty, we continue to attract students.
As I mentioned in a previous column, we are in the midst of a massive building renovation with constant leadership and personnel changes. This has been disruptive and sometimes these changes have not been for the better and will challenge certain aspects of our reputation in the future. Despite these challenges, I am hopeful this program will survive for many, many years to come. As with my colleagues, for me, being in the classroom and teaching in this program is still a thrill and is the best part of the job for me. If you graduated from this program and have not connected with me on LinkedIn, please do, I enjoy keeping up with your successes.
Speaking of success … if you are a BMET looking to complete a bachelor’s degree, East Texas A&M has some excellent opportunities in Organizational Leadership, Applied Arts and Sciences, Healthcare Administration, General Studies, and Technology Management. Many of these are competency-based programs and can be completed online. Many of your Associate of Applied Science Degree credits can be transferred in. I am already teaching one class for them online. Check them out at this website: tamuc.edu/college-of-innovation-and-design/.
I look forward to seeing you at future events and seeing your contributions to this evolving occupation. I will continue to promote HTM and biomedical equipment technology every chance I get.
Technical College.
