TMS
Editor’s Note
Page 5
Editors’ Notes
All The Things I Still Remember?
By Lub and Dub
(for those of you who listen to the „car guys‟, will understand this reference)
One of my favorite scientists Sir Isaac Newton once said, “Truth is ever to be found in simplicity,
and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.” Little did he really know how much it has an effect?
Let us begin; you have decided to apply to a college or have recently applied and have been accepted into a college to begin your journey in becoming a Biomedical Equipment Technician professional. What should you expect once you enter those hallowed halls of education? Many students
entering a technology centric degree plan often expect they will be training to perform some of the
most elaborate tasks, operating the most sophisticated devices and resolving issues of a high complexity. In reality, these expectations are crippling to a students learning ability so that even the basic
core competencies goes past them without notice. Learning the fundamentals of why we do what
we do [the basics], is just as important as to what we do if we are to call ourselves technicians, technologist and/or engineers; otherwise you remain an apprentice.
Where do these expectations originate?
With the evolution of technology so has the evolution of educational science followed. Here lies a
problem. The origins of education followed the industrial model that used the factory model, and
aligned with modernist, philosophical assumptions that are based on, ―the point of view that all nature (including human nature) is governed by invariable laws and that these laws can be discovered
and unerringly applied by means of science‖. The system‖ grinds forward, at ever increasing cost
and declining efficiency, dispiriting students, teachers and parents alike. Students moved from classroom to classroom, subject to subject, much like an assembly line. This was not a model for innovation but a model for the status quo. While educational models evolved to allow academia the opportunity to lead innovation this led to a time when universities where sought after to help study and
solve problems in industry. However, as industry, surpassed education once again, the cycle
brought back the educational model to that of the factory worker. I realize that what we do, is not
much like a factory, but there is a significant amount of processes we perform, and sadly with little
creativity.
Why is this problem?
So why do we need to be concerned with this.
(Continued)