Interested in Becoming a BMET?

• A two year associates or four year bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Equipment Technology, Biomedical Engineering
• A two year associates or four year bachelor’s degree in Electronics or Computer Science plus on-the-job training
• Military service by completing courses at the Sheppard Air Force Base Department of Defense Medical Equipment School
• An extensive period of on-the-job training and attending manufacturer’s maintenance classes. Today this path is rare and is usually through transfer from another position within the organization

For information on becoming a Biomedical Engineering Technologies /Biomedical Equipment Technician (BMET) check, the Student Resources provided on the AAMI website

In California, Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) offers curriculums leading to a certificate or associate degree in Biomedical Equipment Technology. American River College’s (Sacramento) program covers the theory, operation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and certification of biomedical equipment used in hospitals, medical device manufacturers, or other service organizations. Mira Costa College offers a 440-hour BMET Program. SCIT’s biomedical technology program trains students to troubleshoot and repair electronics based biomedical instruments and equipment. Fresno City College provides career and technical education (CTE)

A resource for other states’ programs is the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI).

DeVry University located in Fremont, California offers a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering Technology (BMET) with appropriate instruction and hands-on lab training for technologies currently being utilized in the healthcare industry. This Bachelor’s program prepares the technologist by providing extensive knowledge in electronics, medical terminology, instrumentation, safety practices, network communication, project management, teamwork, and communication skills which are relevant to the biomedical field.

In the first two years, the fundamental technology concepts and principles in electronic circuits and devices, digital circuits and microprocessors, signal processing, data communication and networking, computer programming are offered. The student also takes general education courses such as verbal and written communication skills, humanities, social sciences, physics, chemistry, biology and calculus-based math.

During the third year, biomedical engineering technology students take industry focused coursework covering anatomy and physiology, medical diagnostic instrumentation, biomedical devices and equipment, medical imaging, data communications and networking, and telemedicine.

During the fourth year, all students are required to work as a team on a senior project where they go through the complete product development cycle for a biomedical project from initial concept to completed product. The final product along with the written report is presented to a panel of judges in the form of an oral presentation. They are also required to document and present their findings in an extensive written report with proper citations and APA format. As part of the graduation requirement, and also to directly expose students to the healthcare field, they spend 16 weeks of internships either at a medical facility of a medical equipment company.