Keeping Up with Technology: A Practical Guide to Analyzing IT Education for Biomeds
Biomeds, do you find yourself drowning in a world of networking? IT articles in every magazine and seminars at every biomed show talk about these changing times. Biomed shops are merging with information technology (IT) shops all across the country. Everything is networked today. Areas of the hospital that were never networked before are networked now, and most areas of the hospital are networked to each other. Information is moving from one place to another inside the hospital, and that same information is now traveling outside the hospital walls.
A biomed’s responsibility includes making sure the device is working and that the information is going where it is supposed to go, along with protecting the patient’s private information.
Biomeds are accustomed to fixing devices, but the skills required to follow an information trail are new. How good are you at identifying where information is going and how it is getting there? While you read the articles about the IT change, what have you done to gain or improve your IT skills? Do you know where to look or what is the best class to take? The purpose of this article is to offer information on what biomeds can do to keep up with these technological changes.
The Alphabet Soup of Certifications and Courses
It can seem like alphabet soup when you begin looking at available IT courses and certifications. You can take courses or get certifications in A+, Net+, ICND, CCNA, MCP, Security+, RFID+, MCSE, MCSA, CCNP, and the list goes on. All of these certifications are from the IT industry. The classes are designed to teach individuals how to support a building or enterprise infrastructure. These IT topics can be learned from community colleges, local computer training centers, websites online, or books from the local bookstore. DICOM and HL7 courses are specific to healthcare, but the classes may be difficult to find.
Microsoft supports the certification tracks Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE), and Microsoft Certified System Administrator (MCSA). They are designed around specific versions of Microsoft operating systems, meaning that an MCP in an older version of Windows loses its value as the newer versions of Windows hit your facility. Passing one Microsoft test earns you an MCP; passing upwards of 7 Microsoft tests earns you an MCSE.
The Computing Technology Industry Association, or CompTIA (www.comptia.org), supports the certifications A+, Net+, Security+, RFID+, and many more. Each certification covers one aspect of networking. The courses are vendor-neutral and they cover a lot of ground beyond the healthcare world.
Cisco supports the certifications such as Cisco certified network associate (CCNA), Cisco certified network professional (CCNP), and Cisco certified internetwork expert (CCIE). As with Microsoft, classes are available to cover all aspects of configuring and maintaining Cisco devices. The entry-level certification is the CCNA. Cisco also offers specialized certifications in areas including wireless and security.
Most reliable computer training centers offer a battery of classes to prepare you to take the certification exams. A word to the wise: IT certification exams are notoriously difficult, with Cisco’s exams commonly recognized as the hardest in the industry.
If you are going to attend a community college, attend a computer school, or take courses online, these three courses in this order should give you the basic foundation you need to understand your healthcare IT network: CompTIA A+ and Net+ followed by Cisco ICND (interconnecting Cisco networking devices).
Classes that focus on healthcare networks are also available. The education departments of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are creating customized IT courses to teach biomeds the information they need to know to support the healthcare IT networks. Visit their websites to check out what they have to offer.
Choosing the Right Training
What do you need to look for when deciding on which IT courses to take? Here are some questions you should ask of the institution and instructors before deciding what training avenues to pursue.
- Do your instructors have a CTT+ (certified technical trainer) or MCT (Microsoft certified trainer) certification? Make sure the instructors teaching the courses are competent to teach. CompTIA offers the CTT+ certification and Microsoft offers the MCT.
- Do your credits transfer to a university? You never know where learning might lead you. Even though you might think you are just going to take this one class, you may decide to move forward with your education. It will be very important that the credits you earn transfer to an institution where you can receive a degree.
- Do your instructors hold IT certifications themselves? In order to teach IT, the instructor needs to know IT. Find out if your instructor holds any IT certifications in the field or if they hold certifications for the class they are teaching you.
- Is your training provider affiliated with standards writing organizations including ISO, IEEE, IEC, DICOM, and HL7? It is important that the institution is familiar with the latest changes in technology. Check to make sure that the institution or the instructor is a member of the key organizations in the healthcare IT fields.
- Does your training provider have healthcare IT experience? Skills needed to support a healthcare IT network are different than skills needed in supporting a whole company infrastructure. Does your IT training provider understand the relevant skills needed to support a healthcare network?
- How often does your training provider refresh their
materials? IT technology changes every year. Make sure your training
provider is consistently refreshing education material to keep up with the changing technology. - How much time does your training provider spend in the
healthcare field to refresh their skills and knowledge?
Does your training provider actually spend time at hospital facilities or in the hospital field to focus materials on the healthcare network? - Will your training provider come to your hospital facility? Do you have to go to your provider or will that provider come to you? Some training providers will come to your facility, saving your hospital travel expenses.
- Does your training provider bring all the laptops and infrastructure devices for hands-on sessions during the class? You learn best by doing. Find out how much time is devoted to hands-on labs during the class. The ratio between lecture and hands-on lab time should be 40% lecture and 60% lab time.
- How much personal time will be necessary for you to complete your training? Solidifying IT skills will require after-class study time. Unlike many classes you have taken in the past, this is not a skill you will master during a 5-day class. It will take many hours of study time and work with the network to get comfortable with this new technology. It will take a lot of dedication of personal time to become proficient.
- Does the training provider offer classes that fit your schedule? Check to see if the classes are offered at times convenient to you.
An Opportunity for Leadership
Some in the biomed field have already begun to move and have taken IT courses. Others have done little. Like it or not, this technology is here to stay, and biomeds need to take action.
Biomeds took action in the 1970s when they stood up to say that equipment needed to be checked for electrical safety and established the standards for those checks. They took action again in the 1980s when gas lines were being crossed and patients were dying, by establishing standards for gas line certifications. Biomeds have an opportunity again to take action, to help establish the path that this technology revolution will take. Biomeds have a unique understanding about the patients, equipment, departments of the hospital, and customer needs. But, first biomeds have to learn the IT technology.
—Linda Yeager and Leanne Cordisco
Linda Yeager is manager of technical education for GE Healthcare based in Madison, WI. She became manager of technical education for anesthesia in 1991, and now has responsibility for several different product lines, including anesthesia, monitoring solutions, maternal infant care, diagnostic cardiology, ultrasound, invasive cardiology, and vascular. She holds a BS in Education and an AS in Electronics.
Leanne Cordisco is healthcare IT program manager, education services for GE Healthcare based in Madison, WI. After 14 years in the field as a service engineer, she transitioned to technical training where she specialized in IT. She has completed CompTIA, Microsoft, and Cisco training. She holds an Associate’s degree in Biomedical Engineering and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management, and is a member of HIMSS and ACCE.
SOURCE: IT Horizons: 2008
