HTM College Education: AAMI Sets New Standard

First-ever standard for training biomedical, clinical engineers

Arlington, Virginia, Jan. 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — There are relatively few healthcare technology management (HTM) educational programs that align with the needs of the modern healthcare sector. This means that some graduates of clinical or biomedical engineering programs may enter the job market without the skills to succeed.

Today, the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) announces the release of a resource that will help colleges better prepare their graduates. AAMI has published the first-ever standard that establishes minimum requirements for any college program that trains biomedical engineers.

ANSI/AAMI EQ110:2024; Healthcare technology management (HTM) educational programs applies to existing biomedical engineering programs and schools seeking to establish a new program. Collegiate programs that conform with the standard can demonstrate to hospital administrators and hiring staff that their graduates are qualified. EQ110 addresses the technical proficiencies, soft skills, and workplace training that HTM students will need to succeed in a competitive job market and keep patients safe. These include: 

• Technical proficiencies like CMMS use, equipment maintenance and repair, IT skills, and human anatomy and physiology.
• Soft skills such as communication, teamwork, business ethics, and an understanding of hospital structure.
• Workplace training issues include benchmarking, infection control, equipment safety, OSHA and HIPAA compliance, device recalls, etc.

The document also addresses how to staff a biomedical engineering program, including baseline requirements for instructors, resources, facilities, and advisory committee staffing.

EQ110 was produced by AAMI’s HTM Education Programs Working Group, a volunteer committee of AAMI members drawn from HTM education programs, hospitals, and companies that provide HTM services.

James Linton, co-chair of AAMI’s Technology Management Committee and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at St. Clair College in Ontario, believes EQ110 can support all types of collegiate programs. Per Linton, “They can use this as a guiding document to say, ‘Here’s what we need to do; here’s what a biomedical program is.’”

Committee co-chair Steve Yelton, Professor of HTM at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, echoed this sentiment. EQ110 can provide a seal of approval for “programs that are interested in getting started in a college” and serves as a “formalized guidance document for not only colleges but also healthcare delivery organizations when they’re looking at a new technician.”

Are you an educator or administrator involved with a current or future HTM program? You can purchase a copy of EQ110 on AAMI ARRAY. Questions about the standard? Reach out to htm@aami.org. Members of the press with inquiries about AAMI’s work in the HTM field are encouraged to reach out to the AAMI media team at dvisnovsky@aami.org.