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Core Competencies for the HTM Entry-level TechnicianA Guide for Curriculum Development in Academic Institutions

Second Edition, 2016

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Citation: AAMI, Core Competencies for the HTM Entry-level Technician: A Guide for Curriculum Development in Academic Institutions, 2016, Second Edition.

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Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 1-57020-622-8

Published byAssociation for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation4301 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 301Arlington, Virginia 22203-1633www.aami.org

Copyright © 2016 AAMI, All rights reserved

About AAMI

AAMI, the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, is a diverse community of more than 7,000 healthcare technology professionals united by one important mission—supporting the healthcare community in the development, management, and use of safe and effective medical technology. Founded in 1967, AAMI fulfills its mission through education, certification, publications, and standards development.

• Membership: www.aami.org/membership

• Career Center: www.aami.org/career

• Student Website: www.aami.org/student

• Promotion of the Field: www.IamHTM.com

AAMI’s Vision for the Healthcare Technology Management Professional Biomedical Equipment Technician/Technologist

(AAMI’s 2011 Future Forum)

HTM professionals will be fully integrated members of the healthcare delivery team and will have significant influence in the management of all healthcare technology. In addition, the career path will be better defined, with a supportive educational infrastructure.




Core Competencies for the HTM Entry-level TechnicianA Guide for Curriculum Development in Academic Institutions

Second Edition, 2016







Acknowledgements

AAMI would like to thank the following individuals for their time, expertise, and dedication to the development of Core Competencies for the HTM Entry-level Technician: A Guide for Curriculum Development in Academic Institutions, 2016, Second Edition.

Project Manager

Alice Waagen Workforce Learning, LLC

Subject Matter Experts

Steve Yelton, PECincinnati State Technical and Community College

Barbara Christe, PhDIndiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)

AAMI Staff

Patrick Bernat

Ruth Moyer, graphic design

Core Competencies for the HTM Entry-level Technician iii© AAMI







Table of Contents

Page

InTroducTIon

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

development Progression of the Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

THE ProfESSIon

BMETs and the Healthcare Technology Management Profession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Technician Position Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Career Ladders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Professional Certifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Employment Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Places of Employment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

General Responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Regulatory Responsibilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Job Tasks and Qualifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

HTM Education in the Military . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

corE coMPETEncIES

functional and Personal core competencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Organization of this Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Progression of BMET Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Functional Core Competencies

I . Biomedical Equipment Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

II . Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

III . Information Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

IV . Anatomy and Physiology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Core Competencies for the HTM Entry-level Technician v© AAMI




TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

V . Mathematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

VI . Physics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

VII . chemistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Personal Core Competencies

VIII . communication Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

IX . Professional Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

X . clinical competency—Internship/Laboratory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

rESourcES for EducATIonAL ProGrAMS

Textbooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Workbooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Tools/Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

AccrEdITATIon

Accreditation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

HTM cErTIfIcATIon

Types of HTM certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Purpose of certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

dEfInITIonS And AcronYMS

definitions and Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

BIBLIoGrAPHY And AAMI onLInE rESourcES

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

AAMI online resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

APPEndIX

Educational Topic details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

fIGurES

1 Medical Engineers & Technicians Association’s (META) recommendations for outcomes for BMET programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2 Example of educational main topics for each competency category . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

3 ABET accreditation criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

vi Core Competencies for the HTM Entry-level Technician © AAMI




Introduction

Preface

The intent of Core Competencies for the HTM Entry-level Technician: A Guide for Curriculum Development in Academic Institutions is to provide academic institutions/schools1 that offer technician training for the healthcare technology management (HTM) profession with the following:

1. A standard set of competencies that graduates of technician training programs (certificate,diploma, or degree) are expected to possess upon program completion.

2. Recommended topics that a program curriculum should include in order for students to learnand possess the core competencies identified in this guide.

The competencies and topics in this guide are relevant to HTM technicians entering the workforce, and the topics reflect the knowledge and skills that entry-level technicians are expectedto perform successfully in entry level positions regardless of the employment organizations, e.g., hospitals, clinics, independent service organizations, military, and manufacturers. This guidemay also assist schools in preparing their graduates for professional certification, e.g., AAMI/International Certification Commission’s (ICC) certification exams.2

Competencies and topics were developed and agreed upon by an AAMI committee of experts from academia, hospitals, independent service organizations, device manufacturers, employer institutions, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Veterans Administration. This guidewill also serve these and other organizations by assessing the preparedness of entry level HTM professionals to perform the responsibilities expected of them in a complex medical technology environment.

It is important to note that the technology associated with healthcare is continuously changing, and the body of knowledge that technicians acquire starts in the academic setting and continues throughout a career. The core competencies described in this guide were developed and written to illustrate the skills and knowledge that technicians will apply in the healthcare field for many years to come. However, it is essential for all academic institutions to stress the importance of continuing and lifelong learning to their students.

1 To find a list of BMET academic institutions/schools, go to www.aami.org/student/education.html.

2 Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician (CBET); Certified Laboratory Equipment Specialist (CLES); Certified Radiology Equipment Specialist (CRES). A “Handbook for Applicants” is available from AAMI at www.aami.org/certification/).

Core Competencies for the HTM Entry-level Technician 1© AAMI




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