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Clinical engineering shortage discussed at NYC meeting

by Philip F. Jacobus, CEO | October 30, 2019
On Monday, I attended a meeting of the New York Metropolitan Clinical Engineering Society. There were about 50 people in the room.

In addition to covering the cost of food at the event, (which was really good!) Trisonics gave a lecture about how to take better care of ultrasound probes and how to determine what's wrong with a probe.

Cybersecurity was a big topic at the meeting. Mr. Philip Shen gave a talk on the subject that was a high level discussion and an in-the-weeds discussion at the same time.

Sal Tatta also talked about cybersecurity and some of the measures which are being taken at the VA. He mentioned some acronyms that not everyone in the room was familiar with but everyone was paying close attention.

Paul Frisch, the president of the NYMCES, spoke about the shortage of biomedical engineers in the industry and it seemed to resonate with everyone in the room. These people are all overworked and, at a time when the need for additional clinical engineers is so great, it seems that a number of universities are abandoning clinical engineering programs.

Frisch is a college professor and talked about additional training for members of the NYMCES. He also talked about how he is working on ways to help NYMCES members earn CME credits.

Sudhakar Navagalli talked about some of the things that are happening in other associations. Mr. Rick Elrose gave a impassioned speech encouraging everyone to share the goals of the association with other employees at their hospitals.

There was a discussion about the best time to hold the meetings. Michael Dowd, one of the senior statesman in the room, pointed out that it takes a long time to travel through the city and debated when would be the best time to hold a meeting. Sal Tatta took a poll and no one seemed to have any firm view.

Matus Knoblich, a vendor, suggested that employees should be paid over time to attend the meeting. And Mr. Elrose responded to Matus..."Good luck with that!"

I'm ashamed to say that there was a fellow in the back of the room, I rode up with him on the elevator but I never caught his name. He raised what I think, was one of the most important points, which is that the association needs promotional material that can be shared among colleagues to encourage them to join.

None of this could have happened without the generosity of Rick Elrose CBET, director of biomedical engineering from Queens Hospital, who hosted this meeting.

I am personally excited about the NYMCES because I see it as a great thing for the industry and the hospitals in New York.

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About Phil Jacobus

Phil Jacobus has been involved in health care since 1977, when he visited China to sell equipment. He has done business in 35 countries and still travels extensively. Phil is active in charity, helps rural clinics and always tries to help DOTmed users when he can.

Phil is a member of AHRA, HFMA, AAMI and the Cryogenic Society of America. He has contributed to a number of magazines and journals and has addressed trade groups.

Phil's proudest achievement is that he has been happily married to his wife Barbara since 1989, who helped him found DOTmed in 1998.

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