By K. Richard Douglas
It takes real tenacity and drive to enter the biomed profession 13 years after starting the journey.
That was the case for Bryan Bailey, senior medical systems engineering technologist (senior MSET). Bailey works in the Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) Department at Northwest Texas Healthcare System (NWTHS) in Amarillo, Texas.
Bailey’s preparation to land a biomed job took a circuitous route. He gathered a lot of relevant experience along the way.
“After getting out of the Navy I was searching for my purpose and found, with my skill set and military training, that it would be a natural fit; I then began the journey of getting to the point where I got an opportunity to become a biomed. It took 13 years to get there; but I did,” he says.
Bailey did not start out with biomed-specific training. He took the route that some biomeds undertake by getting trained in electronics first. Much of his education was also hands-on experience.
“No, I did not go through a formal program. I enlisted in the Navy in February 2000 as an Interior Communication Electrician, after I completed a Common Core Program, Electronics Core Program, my ’A School’ (IC School) and my ’C School’ (SITE Television), I arrived at my first command in July 2001. From there I learned through on-hands training and self-teaching, through technical manuals and tech support,” he says.
He says that during this time, he learned that with the right resources it is possible to excel at anything if you put your mind to it.
“After that I held a job at the Red Cross doing emergency messaging for the U.S. military, then I worked for a military contractor fixing training weapons for the U.S. Army, which led to me becoming a repair technician repairing ATMs, cash registers and self-checkout machines,” Bailey says.
Since becoming a biomed in 2019, Bailey has held positions as a medical systems technician (MST), medical systems engineering technologist II (MSET II) and his current position as a senior medical systems engineering technologist (Senior MSET).
Bringing Value to the Position
When met with a challenge, Bailey’s resourcefulness kept him busy and essential. This was particularly relevant at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Being new to the industry, I had no specialization. Knowing that at times like this, cuts would be made, I expected to be let go. My director at the time kept the shop whole and fought to keep me in the department. At that point, I realized that I needed to make sure to find a way to make myself indispensable to my department and my facility,” Bailey says.
He says that he began to learn how to work on hospital beds as they would be the biggest asset needed throughout the pandemic.
“By doing this, I was able to stand up a bed shop, get the right tools and equipment needed to provide full service on our beds and stretchers. I focused heavily on this and was able to show my director my willingness to learn. He then allowed me to learn new systems; he encouraged me to grow as a technician,” Bailey says.
Bailey adds that showing his director how he reacted to those hardships began to have his director entrust him with additional projects including work with higher level of care devices, which then led to working on respiratory equipment and anesthesia.
“Since that time, I have had a new director come in, and because of my willingness to teach myself and learn. I was able to help my new director step into his role at my facility and he has helped me continue to grow in the same way; that I am assisting in an MRI installation project, a monitoring upgrade project, and future planned projects and installations,” Bailey says.
When not working, Bailey has been a scuba diver since the early 1990s. He also enjoys spending time with family.
“My mom and dad raised me with a strong work ethic. I like to take time off to spend with my sister, two brothers and my two nieces and nephew. My family is why I do what I do. I want to make sure that if they ever need any medical equipment, that it’s up to standards, and by proxy, everyone that comes to a facility I work in gets treated with the same standard that I would expect my family to be treated with,” Bailey says.
It was a long time in coming, but Bailey’s experience and background have paid off for himself, the biomed profession and his department. It is the attitude of growth that will continue to provide benefits.