TMS
College Ground
Page 10
Teaching High School
By Tom Citek.
The Metropolitan
Regional Career
and Technical
Center is a state
funded public
school district
and local
education
Teaching high school students about biomedical equipment technology has been a passion of mine over the past decade. Working with
electronic/computer instructors at three local vocational technical schools
in Rhode Island has proven to be very worthwhile. Along with some assistance from fellow colleagues we were instrumental in hosting several
career days at these schools to introduce students enrolled in electronics,
computers and occupational healthcare to the field of biomedical equipment technology. I gave my slide presentation on biomedical equipment
technology with emphasis on how to become a BMET, colleges that offer
this curriculum, basic course outline, internship opportunities, many photos of medical equipment a BMET would perform service on such as electrocardiographs, patient monitoring systems, anesthesia machines, respiratory, surgical, dialysis, radiology, diagnostic ultrasound, physical therapy, laboratory, and much more. Additional emphasis was given on
where a BMET would find employment which listed a variety of service
providers, such as hospitals, manufacturers and third party service vendors. I summed up my presentation with a display of a 2009 article in US
News which listed biomedical equipment technology as one of the ―Best
Careers‖.
agency, which
serves 690 high
school students
in six small
schools across
three campuses in
Rhode Island.
Last year, our Clinical Engineering Department coordinated an internship program with the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center (MET), Providence, RI. The MET School is a state funded public
school and local education agency, which serves 690 high school students in six small schools across three campuses in Rhode Island. This
high school uses practical learning experience in actual working environments. This concept of learning gives students the opportunity to spend
some time working in a field they think they may like to pursue after high
school. They learn through interests. The curriculum is created in response to students’ interests, taking advantage of out-of-school opportunities as well as developing in-school opportunities, like internships to engage students in real-world learning. The MET School implements authentic assessments to assess student learning. Through successful
techniques, students will understand what they want to do post high
school.
This concept of blended learning and available resources is used to
engage students, tap their interests and keep them in school and has
proven to be very successful. Every student has an individualized learning plan built around that child’s needs and interests, while incorporating
METs rigorous learning goals.
…(Continued on next page)