EBME Forums Forums Free discussion Free discussion Advice for someone new to the job.

Hi Den,

My advice would be to learn to walk before you can run. ie it will take a couple of years of experience in the job before you really begin to feel competent as there is a wide variety of equipment in the general bio-engineering field. Take in as much as you can from the experienced techs and I'm sure you will be given manufacturers training on specific medical devices. If you can get some training on anatomy/physiology that would be very helpful but if not available educate yourself. Be prepared for going into certain departments with some very ill patients whose lives are at that moment dependent on the high tech life support systems that you will be maintaining and repairing. Also be prepared for occasional highly stressful situations where your support could be called on in operating theatres whilst a patient is lying on an operating table and you need to communicate competently with anaesthetists and surgeons. But with your engineering knowledge you should enjoy the diversity of equipment you are working on from anaethesia sytems, ventilators, patient monitoring systems, infusion devices, electrosurgical systems ect ect.

I now have several years experience in medical engineering and have worked on various equipment from highly complex linear accelerators to very simple things like digital thermometers and nebulisers, its the diversity of the work that makes it interesting and a very worthwhile career.

Natalie, if you are new to medical engineering I think it would be unfair for any interviewer to ask you anything much about medical devices, I would think he may want to ask you something you know well, like what your current work is or what you have done at technical college or university. If you can communicate well on the technical issues you know that should stand you in good stead.