By K. Richard Douglas
What is it that the average employee wants most? Is it the biggest possible paycheck in their profession? Maybe, getting free lunch in the company cafeteria every day? Could it be an extra day off every year?
According to a May 2016 article in the Harvard Business Review, the answer is much more personal. It’s about recognition; being noticed. Employees want to feel like their contribution to the workplace counts for something and that their employers notice. It helps morale and helps an employee enjoy his or her work life. This goes a long way towards a person’s overall quality of life.
[quote font_size=”18″ color=”#8bbd3f” bgcolor=”#fff” align=”left”]“The health care industry will never go away and is one of the only fields that consistently has high growth across the nation” —Robert Axtell, Senior Manager, Alaska Clinical Engineering Services.[/quote]
For managers, motivating employees is about getting the most efficient and competent work from them every day. For employees, it is about the perception that they are valued by their employers and recognized for their efforts. It’s a delicate balance that defines the best managed and most successful businesses and organizations.
Do biomeds feel appreciated by their employers? Do they work a lot of overtime or do they work a “standard” work week? Are they supported when it comes to seeking additional training? Do they have enough time away from work to be with family and/or pursue hobbies?
What is it like to be a biomed? Is it rewarding? Would an HTM professional recommend the profession to a friend and what advice would they offer? We look at these questions and others to determine, through a sampling; what is going on in HTM. The 2017 TechNation State of HTM Survey is all about you – the HTM professional.
Much like a president’s report on the state of the union; we take a look at the state of the HTM profession in a snapshot that reflects the experiences of a cross section of HTM professionals. We have sought to parse the data and the responses to characterize the current state of the HTM profession and the day-to-day participation in the profession in realistic terms.
The disbursement of 375 responses included 22 percent HTM managers, 21.7 percent from BMET IIIs, 19.4 percent from BMET IIs, 11.6 percent from BMET Is and 9.8 percent from imaging engineers.
The largest group of respondents are veterans of the profession with more than 20 years experience. They account for nearly one-third of all of those who answered the questions. The next largest group of survey participants has five to 10 years of HTM experience.
The biggest number of HTM professionals (20 percent) responded that they learned of the field in college followed by those who learned about HTM in the military or from a friend.
The largest percentage of respondents also don’t anticipate retiring anytime soon. Just over 28 percent said that they don’t expect to retire for more than 15 years. Another 15.3 percent said retirement is 12-15 years away.
Doing More with Less
There is an interesting inconsistency between the good intentions of most biomeds to be an integral part of helping patients, alongside their clinical counterparts, and working in a profession that many characterize as “stressful” or “overworked” or “understaffed.” At some point, the dynamics in many HTM departments have changed in recent years. The highest percentage of respondents, 48.1 percent, characterized their work environment as “stressful.” More than 43 percent characterized themselves as “overworked.” As a possible precursor to both of these characterizations, 39.8 percent of respondents stated that their work environment was “understaffed.” To be fair, another 33.8 percent said their work environment was “ideal” and 33.2 percent described their work environment as “relaxed.”
Most biomeds have a sincere interest in helping patients recover from illness and to be a part of the team that ensures their recovery. It has been a consistent theme observed and repeated in professional profiles as well as survey responses. Yet, those good intentions, are juxtaposed with survey results that indicate that a dose of stress and too much work are a by-product for many.
Are these figures a result of retiring baby boomers or stretched hospital budgets that have resulted from changes in health care in recent years? From a morale and motivation perspective, HTM departments would benefit from starting a dialogue to address these concerns.
Despite the feelings of challenges in the profession, job satisfaction still remained fairly high as evidenced by a question asking how satisfied participants were with their current job/employer. The average score provided a rating of 3.7 within a range of five choices that progress from extremely dissatisfied (1) to extremely satisfied (5).
While not a resounding endorsement of job satisfaction, it represents a weighted average that is between high neutral and satisfied. A related question, that asked for agreement or disagreement with the statement “Overall, my work experience is satisfying and rewarding,” responses again put the weighted average in the high neutral range nearest “agree.”
Again, this consensus, while an average of a range of responses, may be more muted because of the perception of being overworked or understaffed in some departments. In comparison with other professions, the range may be just a broad indicator of the perception of employees in a variety of environments.
Much of that perception can be influenced by the response to the following question on the survey. “I believe that I receive the right amount of recognition and acknowledgement from my manager.” The results of this statement may provide a “teaching moment” for leadership. As mentioned earlier, recognition is a key component of job satisfaction.
Responses to the statement about recognition were more lukewarm in their enthusiasm by providing an overall 3.5 rating; which is neutral. On a bell-shaped curve, this would indicated that a number of respondents had a sense of recognition and acknowledgement, but this also indicates that many members of the HTM profession are missing out on an important ingredient in job fulfillment.
In addition to survey results, several members of the HTM community were asked related questions.
“I get satisfaction from knowing that, by maintaining hospital equipment, I am helping people. It may be behind the scenes, and no one really thinks about us biomeds, but I know that the work that I do is critical to helping people recover from illnesses,” says Jessica Wilkolak, CBET, with Fitzsimmons Hospital Services in Cleveland, Ohio.
Striking a Balance
A popular topic in recent years is the desire to achieve a fulfilling work-life balance. While work is a necessary part of putting food on the table, putting kids through college, paying utilities and funding vacations and retirement; leisure and family time is recuperative and enriching and recharges the batteries. Finding a meaningful balance between the two can contribute to happiness and fulfillment.
There were 299 respondents to the question; “How would you rate your work-life balance?” On a scale of 1-5; one being poor and five being ideal, the resulting average was 3.1. This would not appear to be a resounding endorsement of HTM as a field that provides an ideal balance between the two competing components of an employee’s life, but it may be comparable to many other occupations. People just don’t like to feel they are taking the job home with them.
For many in the HTM field, the work itself grows out of personal interests embraced from early in life and the opportunity to “fix things,” is fulfilling in itself.
“The HTM field has provided a steady income for many families in our industry including mine. I have always liked to fix things my entire life. From replacing light switches and light fixtures when I was young, to repairing automobiles when I was a teenager,” says Douglas Dreps, MBA, eastern director for Mercy Regional Clinical Engineering in St. Louis, Missouri.
“I still enjoy doing these things today. The thought of fixing equipment, and being part of health care that provides care for patients, brought me into this field. It still surprises me how many people have never heard of this field or thought about that someone needs to maintain medical equipment,” he says.
“I have always enjoyed this field, as you never know what you will face each day, not to mention the next minute of the day. Helping my organization to make the best decision with huge investments on medical equipment technology gives me great satisfaction. Helping others grow in our field also brings me joy,” Dreps adds.
While some HTM professionals find satisfaction in the very essence of what they do, many employees take their stress home or take home life issues to work.
Referring to an international study, done by the firm Ernst and Young, a May 2015 article in U.S. News and World Report says that one in three full-time employees find maintaining a healthy work-life balance difficult. The
study of 1,200 workers in eight major economies found that this difficulty
had increased in the past five years.
If tightening hospital budgets is contributing to a more stressful work environment, it appears that it may also be impacting opportunities for training and conference attendance. More than half of respondents indicated that they engage in 1-3 training activities annually; 28.1 percent get only one a year. Almost half — 47.2 percent — only attend one industry conference annually.
An Ever Evolving Job
One thing is certain about the HTM profession; it’s not for those who dread change. New regulations, new technology and privacy rights have all shaped and changed the job in recent years. It may be different from the jump from tubes to solid state, but change is a part of HTM.
“The move from mechanical repairs to IT and connectivity matters is the major change I have seen,” says Ismael Cordero, biomedical engineering manager at Gradian Health Systems in New York City.
“I have seen a big jump in some of the technology in higher end equipment. The radiology field has seen some amazing advancements with wireless detecting, digital imaging and multiple other advancements,” adds Richard Marshall, CRES, regional operations manager with HSS in Denver.
Dreps says that integration into information technology has increased every year and will continue to do so forever. His perspective embraces one of the biggest changes in the field; the merging and overlap of biomed and IT.
“Working with IT departments has been a challenge for most of us and building those relationships is paramount to our success,” Dreps says. “It does go both ways as IT departments have always had trouble with understanding the many regulatory regulations we must follow and mandates our manufacturers must follow from the FDA.”
Additionally, he says that IT now is facing its own regulations. He thinks that HTM and IT will continue to work closer together as time goes on.
“Changes by CMS and TJC have frustrated many of us, since we often feel our voices are not heard. We deal with the changes and move on, as our daily schedules continue to get busier year by year. I look forward to all the new challenges in the future, as we don’t even know what will be headed our way,” Dreps adds.
“I’ve seen newer ventilators that are getting smaller and more portable, BiPAPs with larger, more durable touch screens,” Wilkolak says. “I’m also starting to see more integration with computers, such as downloading sleep study data off of pulse ox units to store as a PDF or Word file.”
Leisure Time
Pastimes, away from work, run the gamut. Biomeds find enjoyment is a variety of hobbies, leisure activities and fitness-related pursuits.
The survey found that 48.3 percent of respondents enjoy watching sports; no surprises there. More than 33.8 percent also enjoy participating in sports and nearly 29.2 percent are involved in coaching or teaching others. To round out the fitness-related interests that occupy the off-work hours of respondents, exercise or training is a lifestyle choice of nearly 23.3 percent.
Hunting or other outdoor activities gets the nod with more than 41.2 percent of survey participants indicating their participation in those activities. And, although it is not purely a fitness activity, 51.6 percent of respondents indicated that they enjoy traveling. Playing a musical instrument, working on classic cars, cooking and riding motorcycles were all activities enjoyed by sizable numbers of respondents.
Recommending HTM
Pointing others towards the HTM field is a solid endorsement of the profession. Many biomeds still feel confident suggesting HTM to others. The survey also asked; “What advice would you give someone considering the HTM profession?”
“The HTM field is an excellent career path with a great deal of opportunity. As long as there are hospitals and patients, there will always be a need for someone to maintain and repair the equipment that is used in patient care,” says Andrea Brainard, CBET, director of Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) at Children’s Health in Dallas, Texas.
“As an HTM professional, you arrive at work and you know that each day, you’re part of the bigger picture; saving lives. By properly maintaining equipment, critical patients are able to receive a heart transplant, or patients are able to breathe while being transported for testing,” she says.
[quote font_size=”18″ color=”#8bbd3f” bgcolor=”#fff” align=”left”]
“As an HTM professional, you arrive at work and you know that each day, you’re part of the bigger picture; saving lives.” —Andrea Brainard, CBET, Director of HTM, Children’s Health, Dallas, Texas[/quote]
“HTM techs make a huge difference in patient outcomes, and that’s probably the most rewarding part of the job. And, of course, the bonus is you get to work inside in a temperature controlled environment,” Brainard points out.
A rookie’s perspective may be one that a new biomed can relate to. Pointing out the HTM professional’s role in helping make a patient’s time in a hospital a little better, Alyssa Merkle, clinical engineer at UMass Memorial Medical Center says; “I also love my job because every day is something different. I know my ongoing projects but there is always something new and I like the fact that I am always learning and increasing my knowledge about the field.”
Another reason for recommending the HTM field finds its basis in a simple truth about health care; as long as there are humans, health care is a necessity.
“HTM is a great field to work in. Anything in the health care field is a great option for a career. I have been in the HTM field for the past six years. The health care industry will never go away and is one of the only fields that consistently has high growth across the nation,” says Robert Axtell, senior manager of the Alaska Clinical Engineering Services.
Marshall says there are several factors as to why he would recommend HTM.
“The starting pay is higher than most other fields, opportunities for advancement are plentiful and this field will always be in demand with the advancement of healthcare technology,” he says.
Survey responses concerning the advice that would be given to a would-be biomed were as thoughtful as they were diverse and ranged from “be prepared to think outside of the box” to “find a mentor and learn all you can” and “always be focused on patient safety and customer service.”
When seeking a good mentor, a biomed’s boss may be an early choice. One survey question stated; “My manager/supervisor is a good coach/mentor.” The resulting weighted rating was 3.4, which would indicated that more people agree with the statement than disagree.
Bringing Home the Bacon
While the starting pay for HTM is an attractive incentive, some biomeds feel that income is not a stellar feature of the profession. The survey revealed a general lack of enthusiasm. The average of all responses fell into the low-neutral range suggesting that this metric (one that many workers use to gauge their job happiness) may be lagging behind in HTM.
“This profession although very challenging, is also very rewarding. The constant updates in technology keep it always new and the rewards of seeing your efforts resulting in better patient care are immeasurable. If you are getting into HTM for the money, you may be disappointed. But if you are looking for a unique combination of healthcare, technology, maintenance and management, this is the field for you,” Cordero says.
A related question, that asked if survey participants feel rewarded when they go above and beyond, also produced a low-neutral rating. This could refer to a lack of financial bonuses for extra efforts or it could indicate a need for recognition in the minds of those responding.
In any survey, an interpretation of results is often fraught with variables and inconsistencies. Hospital biomed departments can range from one person to more than 100. A survey question asking about the department’s budget produced a range from $2,000 to $13 million.
Everyone’s experience can be influenced by these things and more. The goal was to look at the averages on a scale of responses, alongside feedback from across the field, and provide the State of HTM.