Patrick Lynch: Why You Need Lots of Job Levels for BMET

There is a problem in hospitals today. And it is one that we can cure fairly simply. It relates to job satisfaction and career advancement by the working BMET.

You see, most HTM programs have at most 3 levels of BMET – BMET I (entry level), BMET II (general BMET, and BMET III (the senior BMET). Above this, there may be supervisors or imaging positions. I even saw one shop that had only a single title (and pay grade) for BMET. And some of the BMETs had been at the hospital for almost 30 years.

Imagine being in the same job grade, and same job title for 30 years! Most people would move on to bigger and better things, with the lure of growth, promotion, and more money. Staying in the same job grade for many, many years only helps a program keep the BMETs who are either under motivated or who do not possess the skills to move up.

But does adding more job levels solve this problem? Yes, it does, and here is how.

Imagine the 30-year career of a BMET. If there are only three job grades, he or she is destined to spend an average of 10 years in each job grade, with only the average cost-of-living annual increases each year. Nobody with any drive or motivation is going to be satisfied with that for long.

Now, image a program with 10 job levels for BMET. Each one has its own job description, which breaks down the specific requirements, duties, skills, and responsibilities (and pay) for the person in that job grade. By definition, a person moving through the system can expect to spend maybe an average of three years per job grade. Each step up will come with a pay raise. And each step up will come with an additional level of skill and responsibility which will benefit the hospital.

Another positive benefit is that each BMET always has his or her eyes on the horizon. There is something new that they can achieve. They are encouraged to constantly learn, progress, and prepare themselves for the next step up. And much of this preparation is on their own time, not at the hospital’s expense. Simply creating an atmosphere of forward looking, learning and constant progression can have immense positive benefits on the entire culture and attitudes of the shop and personnel.

I recommend starting with the AAMI standard job descriptions. Then break those down into many smaller subsets, so that the steps are smaller, more rigidly defined, and specifically documented. Add in various IT capabilities. Try to create a path that provides BMETs a long and beneficial path that also grows their skills in the way that the hospital needs.

When you have them sketched out, schedule a meeting with human resources to discuss the plan and enlist their help in finalizing the job descriptions.

Good luck. Please let me know what luck (or difficulty) you have implementing this.