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Integrating Information Technology into a Biomedical Engineering Technology Program

Steven J. Yelton; P.E. Cincinnati State Technical and Community College

Introduction

Biomedical Engineering Technology programs must evolve to continue to provide expertly qualified technicians for Hospitals, Manufacturers, and Vendors. The Biomedical field has traditionally demanded a person with qualifications in the areas of Electronics, Medical Equipment, Mechanical systems, Optics, Medical Terminology, and the sciences to name a few. In recent years, in addition to the qualities mentioned above, the Biomedical Equipment Technician (BMET) has also been called upon to demonstrate expertise in the area of Information Technology. This paper will discuss the method used at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College (Cincinnati State) to accomplish this goal.

Background

We made a commitment to Information Technology education at Cincinnati State, which is in line with the Information technology initiative in the State of Ohio entitled “Itworks.Ohio”. [1] “Itworks.Ohio” is a collaboration of business, industry, and educational institutions to provide training in information technology. This commitment made it much easier to provide the information technology training required in the Biomedical program. We were able to utilize courses in place for other programs within the college. This also makes the change much easier to justify from a purely cost standpoint. BMET programs tend to be relatively small in size and costly to run. Justification of a program like this requires cooperation throughout the college and within the local biomedical community.

The need for a BMET graduate well versed in Information Technology, including computer hardware and software, computer networking, and applications in addition to the traditional topics has enabled Cincinnati State Technical and Community College to make significant changes in the Biomedical Electronics Engineering Technology program over the past few years. The Biomedical program at Cincinnati State has experienced a slight decline in enrollment over the past few years. This also precipitated the discussion and eventual changes to the program. Changes were made in the curriculum, course content, and even the name of the program to better reflect what was actually being taught in the course of study.

Our Study

The “Biomedical Electronics Engineering Technology” program is now entitled: ”Biomedical Equipment and Information Systems Technology”. This name change did not occur overnight. It involved industry advisory committee meetings, meetings with cooperative education (coop) employers, and meetings with student groups. The groups really didn’t feel that the name change was a pivotal factor except the students. They felt in talking to their friends, that the word “Engineering” in the title was threatening to prospective students. They also felt that we Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2002, American Society for Engineering Education

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Yelton, S. (2002, June), Integrating Information Technology Into A Biomedical Engineering Technology Curriculum Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--11016