Conversations from the TechNation ListServ
Q: Some have said that HTM is the greatest job nobody knows about. Why do you love your career choice? Would you suggest it to a friend?
A: I enjoy my job for the fact that no two days are the same. I also enjoy the “Yes” feeling you get when you solve an issue and make someone’s day. As far as suggesting it to a friend; yes, I would, to the right friend. The fact that a good biomed must have a good grounding in mechanics, electrics, electronics, pneumatics, hydraulics, computers, etc., leaves out quite a few people who may have an interest but none of the ability. I’ve seen people who looked great on paper come into the field only to find out that they didn’t know which end of a screwdriver not to stick in a light socket. I’ve seen others who couldn’t translate what they read in a manual into the actions on the piece of equipment they were working on. I am not saying that these people are stupid or ignorant. There is a set of skills that a good biomed needs, and there are people who will never have those skills. I would make a terrible banker, stockbroker, insurance agent, etc. I don’t have (or want) the skill set required to be successful at them.
A: I enjoy HTM since it is genuinely about always learning and sharing what you’ve learned with your colleagues. And, most importantly, helping doctors and nurses in making people get well! As far as encouraging others, that depends on the person as others have already suggested.
A: The excitement of the job from a technical perspective would be enough but I really love this career for the places it has taken me. As a small town Alaska boy, I never dreamed of half the places I’d travel as a BMET/Imaging Tech. I’ve walked through Times Square, toured the nation’s Capitol, I’ve worked on Maui, wept at the Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham, watched the sun rise at Myrtle Beach, enjoyed 4th of July fireworks in Charleston, listened to Jazz on Beale Street in Memphis, had my Rocky moment in Philly, jogged the magnificent mile in Chicago, sipped wine in Napa Valley, and visited many National Parks just to name a few! I love to creatively make the most of my work travels. Someday, when my kids are grown maybe I’ll volunteer for an Antarctic tour! Hey, why not!?! I’m truly humbled and blessed by the opportunities that this career has and continues to offer.
P.S. I do actually fix a few things every now and then!
A: Yep, this is a great career and I have been doing this for 45 years. I really enjoy working as a biomed and I have taught a number of students during their clinical training and started a few biomedical shops. True, this is a job that few people know about and the pay is good. In my early years as a biomedical technician a lot of the hospitals did not know about the profession. I started in Biomed working for Bendix Field Engineering on the East Coast and everyone dressed professional. I remember the Corbin Farnsworth service people wore dark green pants, light green shirts, dark green ties, and black dress shoes. Corbin Farnsworth made patient monitors and they were cutting edge at the time. On one of my first service calls, I talked to a guy leaving the hospital that had been on a service call. He asked me if I was the guy that was going to service the patient monitors, and I said yes. He informed me that he had been servicing the monitors until the company I worked for got the contract. He said he was glad we got a contract to service the equipment and wished me well. Come to find out he owned the local TV repair company and was in over his head on the monitors. This type of story happened a number of times in the early days of biomed. This is a career that is always advancing in technology, so you are always learning something new. I feel that I made one of the best career choices many years ago.
A: Yikes, I just did the math and I have been in the Biomed world for 41 years. I love working on machines and troubleshooting to figure out why it is not doing what it should be doing. I love solving real-world problems that make a difference, this could be why I never got into online gaming, too unreal. This career has sent me all over the world from China to Italy to Denmark to just about every European country and as of two years ago, every state in the USA including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. I now own my own company and create opportunities for interested souls to explore this career. It has given me the opportunity to explore many avenues of expression from doing to creativity to teaching. Looking back, this path has been a blast. Looking forward, I am just beginning.
Q: We have an intermittent problem where the E9 reboots itself, sometimes during procedures. How do I access the service logs to see what errors are popping up? The users have not been taking good notes to give any insight to the problem.
A: Verify the filters are clean and remove the dust/lint from the fan assy. System is probably experiencing an overheating problem.
A: We’ve already done this two weeks ago (after experiencing the same issue), all fans and filters are clean as a whistle. Could there have been damage done if the overheating was over an extended period of time?
A: There are two ways to get to the Common Service Desktop: Click on “Utility” and then “Service” or click on the phone icon at the lower left of the display. Then, select “Service Desktop.” Login as External Service, password is gogems. Click on the “Utilities” tab, then select the “Common Utilities” folder to find the “Event Log Viewer.” I would suspect the BEP Power Supply or the BEP itself. Be sure to disconnect the EPS battery at J3 on a GFI system or J2 on a MRX system to keep from accidentally damaging something while working in the BEP. Also check the EPS battery; it should have 24V of charge on it. For further help or to get a quote for parts, please call AUE at 918-628-2831.
A: BEP power supply board or I have had loose prongs on power cords many times. Try swapping both for known good ones.
A: I also vacuum the very large dust bunnies under the heatsink on the motherboard occasionally.
A: The Pulser voltage TXPS1 varies between 0 and 140V depending on the probe and preset selected, and the acoustic output setting. The system log may show some errors, however when it is the BEP or BEP power supply causing the problem, the error does not get logged. I forgot to mention one of the basic and common causes of this problem on GE systems. Check the power cord where it goes into the system to make sure the clip is holding it as tightly as possible, and look for signs of corrosion at that connection.
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