BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERS

Job Definition:

Job Description:

• Apply knowledge of engineering, biology, and biomechanical principles to the design, development, and evaluation of biological and health systems and products, such as artificial organs, prostheses, instrumentation, medical information systems, and health management and care delivery systems.

Duties and Tasks:

• 1) Advise and assist in the application of instrumentation in clinical environments.
• 2) Conduct research, along with life scientists, chemists, and medical scientists, on the engineering aspects of the biological systems of humans and animals.
• 3) Design and develop medical diagnostic and clinical instrumentation, equipment, and procedures, utilizing the principles of engineering and bio-behavioral sciences.
• 4) Develop models or computer simulations of human bio-behavioral systems in order to obtain data for measuring or controlling life processes.
• 5) Evaluate the safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of biomedical equipment.
• 6) Install, adjust, maintain, and/or repair biomedical equipment.
• 7) Research new materials to be used for products such as implanted artificial organs.
• 8) Adapt or design computer hardware or software for medical science uses.
• 9) Advise hospital administrators on the planning, acquisition, and use of medical equipment.
• 10) Analyze new medical procedures in order to forecast likely outcomes.
• 11) Design and deliver technology to assist people with disabilities.
• 12) Develop new applications for energy sources, such as using nuclear power for biomedical implants.
• 13) Diagnose and interpret bioelectric data, using signal processing techniques.
• 14) Teach biomedical engineering, or disseminate knowledge about field through writing or consulting.

Activities:

• 1) Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• 2) Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
• 3) Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
• 4) Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• 5) Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job. 
• 6) Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
• 7) Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
• 8) Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• 9) Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• 10) Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
• 11) Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
• 12) Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
• 13) Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates — Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
• 14) Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
• 15) Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
• 16) Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• 17) Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
• 18) Provide Consultation and Advice to Others — Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
• 19) Developing Objectives and Strategies — Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
• 20) Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
• 21) Developing and Building Teams — Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
• 22) Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
• 23) Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
• 24) Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• 25) Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
• 26) Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
• 27) Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment — Providing documentation, detailed instructions, drawings, or specifications to tell others about how devices, parts, equipment, or structures are to be fabricated, constructed, assembled, modified, maintained, or used.
• 28) Coaching and Developing Others — Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
• 29) Monitoring and Controlling Resources — Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.

Abilities:

• 1) Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• 2) Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• 3) Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• 4) Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• 5) Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• 6) Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• 7) Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• 8) Written Expression — The ability to communicate
• information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  9) Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• 10) Mathematical Reasoning — The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
• 11) Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
• 12) Originality — The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
• 13) Flexibility of Closure — The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
• 14) Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• 15) Visualization — The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
• 16) Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
• 17) Number Facility — The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
• 18) Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• 19) Fluency of Ideas — The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
• 20) Perceptual Speed — The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
• 21) Finger Dexterity — The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.

Knowledge:

• 1) Biology — Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• 2) Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• 3) Engineering and Technology — Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• 4) Physics — Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.
• 5) English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 6) Chemistry — Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• 7) Medicine and Dentistry — Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• 8) Design — Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• 9) Computers and Electronics — Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.