AAMI: Military promotes biomed educational opportunities
SAN ANTONIO—Biomedical equipment technology (BMET) leaders from the U.S. Air Force, Army and Navy continued their tri-service presentation on June 26, during the 2011 Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) conference & expo. The second day of the first-ever DoD BMET Symposium highlighted the academic course work and technical training programs featured at two of the military's top medical centers.
Chief Warrant Officer Faaruwq Muhammad, director of the biomedical equipment maintenance technician training program at the U.S. Army Medical Education and Training Center (METC) at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, expanded on his presentation from the previous day, explaining that there are currently 243 students attending 19 different classes at METC. He revealed there are now more than 30 academic programs in various medical specialties, including health services management, public health services, combat medic, diagnostic training, dental training and nursing and specialty medical training.
"The goal is to eventually have 58 academic programs by the time the military's three biomedical services are one, fully united, joint service," said Muhammad. "Our aim is to have that happen by 2015."
Staff Sargeant Arthur Williams, CBET, David Grant Medical Center (DGMC) at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif., was on hand to share some of his educational perspectives.
DGMC, the Air Force's largest medical center on the west coast, provides postgraduate training programs in family medicine, radiology, surgery, transitional year, dentistry, oral surgery, nurse anesthesia, pharmacy, clinical social workers, technicians and clinical nurses.
"Our job is to take a civilian, build a biomedical engineer and them send them to the field," said Williams. "Our students need to be prepared for the battlefield and for when they get home."
Chief Warrant Officer Faaruwq Muhammad, director of the biomedical equipment maintenance technician training program at the U.S. Army Medical Education and Training Center (METC) at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, expanded on his presentation from the previous day, explaining that there are currently 243 students attending 19 different classes at METC. He revealed there are now more than 30 academic programs in various medical specialties, including health services management, public health services, combat medic, diagnostic training, dental training and nursing and specialty medical training.
"The goal is to eventually have 58 academic programs by the time the military's three biomedical services are one, fully united, joint service," said Muhammad. "Our aim is to have that happen by 2015."
Staff Sargeant Arthur Williams, CBET, David Grant Medical Center (DGMC) at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif., was on hand to share some of his educational perspectives.
DGMC, the Air Force's largest medical center on the west coast, provides postgraduate training programs in family medicine, radiology, surgery, transitional year, dentistry, oral surgery, nurse anesthesia, pharmacy, clinical social workers, technicians and clinical nurses.
"Our job is to take a civilian, build a biomedical engineer and them send them to the field," said Williams. "Our students need to be prepared for the battlefield and for when they get home."