新肯辛顿生物医学工程校友帮助医院维持运转
Alumni healthcare tech professionals ensure medical equipment care and maintenance before, during pandemic
宾夕法尼亚州新肯辛顿. – Alumni of Penn State Kew Kensington’s 生物医学工程技术 (BET) program are helping keep vital healthcare equipment working and hospitals running across Pennsylvania and the nation.
These healthcare professionals are working behind the scenes to ensure that the lifesaving medical equipment at their hospitals remains in working order and ready for use. 尽管这个领域并不为大众所熟知, the coronavirus pandemic has shed a light on the need for increased numbers of functional, well-maintained ventilators and other pieces of critical equipment – as well as the professionals who keep them running.
“没有我们，医院就无法运转, 这是一项有回报的工作,科里·诺顿说, a biomedical engineering technologist at Indiana Regional Medical Center in Indiana, PA. “I work with my hands and solve problems that keep a hospital running smoothly.”
一个相对未知的领域
诺顿是纽约大学2017届校友 免费mg不朽情缘试玩新肯辛顿BET项目, is one of many medical equipment technicians, known by some as “biomeds,” across the U.S. working in a field he describes as often unknown outside of healthcare settings. The New Kensington BET program is one of only seven accredited programs in the nation, which has seen a 100 percent job placement success rate over recent years – a demonstration of the need for this important skillset.
Cory Norton, 免费mg不朽情缘试玩新肯辛顿校区的2017届校友, 位于印第安纳州印第安纳地区医疗中心的医院设备附近, PA. Norton is one of three biomedical engineering technologists working through the COVID-19 pandemic at the hospital.
图片来源:科里·诺顿提供
“就公众而言, I'd want them to know that there's a reason why medical equipment functions properly and is safe to be used on patients,内森·弗兰奇说, a 2016 BET program graduate and current clinical engineering generalist at UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh.
The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation noted this year that healthcare technology management professionals are a “critical knowledge base for equipment planning, purchase, installation, maintenance, 故障排除和随叫随到的技术支持.并且有超过6个,在美国有000家医院, 根据美国医院协会, 我们可以找到勤奋工作的生物, 而且通常是在小团队中, 让他们的医院正常运转.
“生物医学设备技术人员是患者护理团队的一部分,Mike Shtur说, BET项目的校友和GE医疗的现场服务工程师. "The landscape changes with or without a pandemic, so a biomed is a constant student. The work is exciting if you keep improving yourself and stepping outside your comfort zone."
诺顿是他所在医院的三位生物医学家之一, 而法国人则是唯一负责维护的技术人员, testing and repairing all medical equipment belonging to the respiratory department, 肺学部门, 肺运动实验室和直升机运输队.”
在爱达荷州博伊西，2019年BET项目的校友和退休的美国人.S. 空军飞行员, Justin Pooley, 是圣? ?圣? ?的一家350张床位的成人和儿童医院的八个生物中心之一. 卢克的健康系统.
“我想大多数人不知道我们的存在, 但当我告诉别人我是做什么的时候, I get a similar reaction to telling people I was in the military: a thank you for what you do,” said Pooley.
“我们所做的工作至关重要, and the equipment in my wheelhouse is critical in a time like this [COVID-19 pandemic],Mike Shtur说, GE医疗集团的现场服务工程师. In this photo, Shtur tends to medical equipment at Allegheny Health Network's Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie, Pa. Shtur earned a 生物医学工程技术 and electrical engineering technology associate degrees from 免费mg不朽情缘试玩新肯辛顿分校.
图片来源:Mike Shtur提供
COVID-19期间的重要工作
Joie Marhefka, program coordinator and assistant teaching professor of New Kensington’s BET program, 强调生物多样性, 包括许多来自校园项目的学生, 在大流行之前和现在期间是否一直在从事重要工作.
“在这次大流行期间，所有卫生保健工作者都在做着如此重要的工作, 这包括生物生物,”她说. “We have a great group of alumni who are doing important work all of the time and COVID-19 is really bringing healthcare to the forefront. The work that our alumni – and all biomeds – are doing during this time is essential to keep hospitals running and should not be overlooked.”
The pandemic has globally changed the lives and work environments for everyone, including the biomeds working within hospitals preparing for and treating COVID-19 patients.
“I enter the building through the one point of entry and walk past the thermal scanner to determine if I have a fever,Pooley解释了他所在医院的新协议. “我会穿上手术服, 这在以前不是常态, 但这家商店有这样的措施来限制将COVID带回家的机会.”
除了扫描和其他消毒方案, Pooley works extended shifts for three days in a row to limit the number of biomeds in his shop and help mitigate any potential cross-contamination.
Norton’s schedule has also been adjusted to adhere to physical distancing recommendations and has been working his hospital’s night shift hours of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
French has been assisting another technician at his hospital preparing spare ventilators for the facility’s disaster preparedness plan, 除了他的日常设备维护, 测试和维修职责.
Even though COVID-19 has changed some policies and procedures faced by the biomeds, they all agree that they feel gratified to continue to perform integral work that aids the lifesaving techniques used by doctors and healthcare providers and their industry.
“I have always felt proud of the work that I do on this equipment,” said French. “到目前为止，我已经在这个领域工作了四年, 我几乎每天都能学到一些有趣的东西. Obviously, there is a spotlight currently being shined on biomeds and especially ventilators during this outbreak. The new recognition is good for me, other biomeds and the biomed industry as a whole.”
“你可以看到普通人可能永远看不到的幕布后面, 这是一个非常值得信赖的领域,诺顿总结道。. “这让人神经紧张, but I feel fortunate to have made the decision to study at Penn State and work in the medical field.”
“我们是”的故事
“我们是”的精神也许比以往任何时候都更重要, 各地的免费mg不朽情缘试玩的学生以一种全新的、令人惊叹的方式走到了一起. 在这些充满挑战的时期, our community is continuing to realize Penn State’s commitment to excellence through acts of collaboration, 体贴和善良. As 埃里克·巴伦总统曾在《免费mg不朽情缘试玩》上撰文这才是真正的“我们是”时刻.
