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5 Tricks Every HTM Professional Should Know

Advice from Experienced Industry Professionals

Wed Mar 04 2015By TechNation Magazine

 

 

5 Tricks Every HTM Professional Should Know

 

How many times have you heard somebody lament; “I wish I knew then what I know now”? Benjamin Franklin may have said it best when he said; “Life’s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.”

What if you could have the benefit of that wisdom earlier in your career? What if some sage advice just happened to fall out of the sky? Well, your day has come. We sought out the wisdom of many veteran and mid-career HTM professionals to glean a little wisdom for the benefit of the rookies out there and anyone who just wants to learn, or be reminded, of a few truths.

Some of the best advice helps to establish an HTM professional’s role in the health care schematic. Not just as the person who performs repairs and maintenance; but as a customer service professional, number cruncher, communicator and problem solver.

What are five things that every HTM professional should know? Keep reading for some collective wisdom. You may find that five is just the starting point.

 

Dealing with People

Those who have been in the field for any length of time can tell you that the most important things to know may not have anything to do with a particular piece of equipment. It may have nothing to do with knowing anatomy and electronics; although those things are certainly prerequisites for the profession.

The important things are often intangibles; knowing about managing priorities and people skills. As a practical matter, what you may find in a psychology book or in an article about human interactions may outweigh what you find in an electronics textbook. Among the many pearls of wisdom are suggestions to improve listening skills, nurturing an image as the person who is always up for a challenge and knowing when to say, “I don’t know.”

“You have to have lots of patience, excellent customer service skills, the drive to want to learn, acceptance that you are not always going to be right and be able to work under pressure,” says Jesse Rodriguez, AAS, biomedical equipment technician with Baylor Medical Center in Carrollton, Texas.

“Try to occasionally leave your technical ‘comfort zone’ and explore and seek to understand some of the basic concepts surrounding organizational psychology, culture, politics, and the often seemingly bizarre nuances of human behavior in general and within your own organization in particular,” suggests Larry Fennigkoh, Ph.D., P.E., professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

With a dose of humor, Fennigkoh lays out one of those intangible qualities that the HTM professional needs to figure out.

“The goal here is to not try and change your basic personality, but rather recognize and simply be sensitive to differences in individual values and what motivates some and not others,” he explains. “Such an awareness not only helps you get along with others of differing backgrounds, but also can help keep your sanity when confronted by a seemingly insane customer.”

This idea of leaving your comfort zone and thinking outside the box finds its way into another suggestion for modifying your behavior to become an exceptional HTM pro.

The people skill angle is echoed by Glenn Scales, CBET-E, past-president of the North Carolina Biomedical Association and the 2013 Medical Dealer Lifetime Achievement award winner.

“The single most important resource you have as a technician, is not technology, but your ‘people skills,’ ” Scales says. “We spend our whole careers working for and with others, plus hiring and managing people. Your staff are critical for your success and the advancement of your goals.”

“Learn how to be an effective communicator,” he adds. “Every human interaction involves communication and most people need as much help as they can get. Also, remember that communication involves listening, not just speaking.”

“Seek out the ‘go-to’ person you can learn from,” suggests Lawrence Countee, CBET, Healthcare Technology Management Biomed at Olathe Medical Center. Countee adds that it is helpful to learn “nurse speak.”

 

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