Mike O’Rear was in on the ground floor of the biomedical engineering technology field. His 1974 master’s thesis helped launch the first program at what is now Southwestern Tennessee Community College in Memphis.
“It seemed like the wave of the future, and it’s been growing ever since, especially in the last 10 to 12 years,” O’Rear said.
Biomedical equipment technicians repair, calibrate and safety-test biomedical machinery and instruments in hospitals and other clinical settings. Some find jobs with medical equipment manufacturers.
O’Rear, who has taught biomedical engineering technology at Chattahoochee Technical College in Marietta for the past 22 years, says it’s easy to figure out why graduates of the program are in demand. As the population ages, the need for health care workers is growing.
“Hospitals are expanding and consistently using more and more technology to care for and treat their patients,” O’Rear said. “Physicians and nurses have to be able to trust their equipment to work as designed. When they have a problem, they call a technician.”
Biomedical technicians work on electronic, electromechanical and hydraulic equipment. That includes patient monitors and pumps, defibrillators, medical imaging equipment, hydraulic lifts and beds, and sophisticated surgical instruments.
About 200 students are enrolled in Chattahoochee Tech’s associate degree program in biomedical engineering technology. Students may enter the program during any quarter, and day and evening classes are offered.
Tuition for the program is $45 per credit hour for Georgia residents and $90 for out-of-state students. It takes 115 credit hours to complete the program; most students take 15 hours a quarter, O’Rear said.
“All of our courses are hybrid, so students learn online and come to campus one day a week for lab, which is where the hands-on learning takes place. Many continue to work while going to school,” O’Rear said.
Students spend the last two quarters of the program participating in two internships at area hospitals to gain real-world experience. Those internships often lead to job offers.
“This is a good program for recent high school graduates or career-changers looking to retrain in an industry with better job security,” he said.
The demand for biomedical technicians is projected to grow by 27 percent between 2008 and 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Students should be prepared to take courses in electronics, electricity, physics, hydraulics and computer networking.
“There’s a lot of theory to learn and a good deal of homework, but anyone can get through it if they apply themselves,” O’Rear said. “If they have good mechanical aptitude and trouble-shooting skills, we can teach them the rest.”
Most of his students start out as patient maintenance technicians and work their way up through several levels to become specialists or managers.
“If they identify a field that particularly interests them, such as anesthesia equipment or imaging technology, the hospital will send them to manufacturing schools for additional training,” he said.
Starting salaries average between $35,000 and $40,000 a year, O’Rear said. New graduates with additional work experience may be offered more money.
“This is a good career. You don’t have direct patient care, but you know that you’re helping people become well. In some cases, you may be helping to keep them alive,” O’Rear said.
For information, call 770-529-2317 or 404-545-2676, or go to www.chattahoocheetech.edu.
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