My Students Keep Asking About AI and HTM - Here's What I Tell Them

Over the past few years, one question has come up more and more in my classroom: "Is AI going to replace BMETs?" It's a fair question. With automation creeping into every corner of healthcare, from predictive maintenance to clinical decision support, it’s no surprise that future BMETs are wondering where they fit in. As a professor and someone who’s spent more than two decades in this field, I think it’s time we address this head-on.

Here’s what I tell them.

Where Automation Will Likely Impact Our Jobs—and Where It Won’t

1. Predictive Maintenance Is Here
   1. AI can help analyze machine data to predict when equipment might fail. That’s a good thing. Instead of firefighting, we can plan smarter. It won’t replace us—but it will change our workflows. We’ll still need to physically inspect, calibrate, and verify. AI just tells us where to look first.
2. Documentation & CMMS Will Get Smarter 
   1. Expect your service software to get better at auto-filling, alerting, and organizing. This can free up time from tedious tasks, letting BMETs focus more on patient-impacting work. But remember: AI needs good data to work with. That means our notes, test results, and logs still matter.
3. Remote Diagnostics Might Reduce On-Site Call
   1. With AI-assisted remote monitoring, some equipment issues may be resolved virtually or flagged before failure. That means fewer calls for basic issues, and more focus on complex ones. Your job won’t disappear—it’ll change.
4. Where AI Struggles: Context, Variability, and the Unexpected
   1. Healthcare environments are messy. Devices are moved, borrowed, spilled on, unplugged, and used creatively. AI might catch sensor data changes, but it won’t always understand context. You will. BMETs who know the human side of how devices are used will always have an edge.

Why Being Human Still Matters: Empathy, Judgment, and Ethics

1. Empathy in Crisis Moments
   1. When a crash cart fails during a code, the room doesn’t want an algorithm. They want a BMET. Someone calm, clear, and caring. BMETs aren’t just techs—we’re support systems during clinical chaos. AI can’t hold space for stress, fear, or urgency. You can.
2. Judgment in the Gray Areas
   1. A log might say the device is fine, but you spot signs of damage, wear, or misuse. Do you pass it or flag it? Ethics, experience, and intuition guide that choice. AI doesn’t shoulder liability—you do. And in healthcare, judgment calls happen every day, not everything is a 1 or a 0.
3. Teaching Staff and Building Trust
   1. When staff don't understand a new piece of equipment, it's you they call. Explaining things in plain language, answering questions, and building trust between departments—that’s a human skill. AI doesn’t have bedside manner.

Preparing to Adapt, Not Fear, the Future

1. Be Curious, Not Cautious
   1. We encourage students to explore and use AI tools, data analytics, and digital trends. Knowing what’s coming makes you less afraid of it. Our program introduces AI-adjacent concepts early, like data integrity, device connectivity, and machine learning basics.

Final Thoughts: Coexistence, Not Competition

AI isn’t the end of BMETs. It’s an evolution of the role. Automation will handle the repeatable, the predictable, and the boring. That leaves us with the rewarding, the complicated, and the impactful. So when students ask me if AI will take their job, I say: only if you stop growing. Keep learning. Keep caring. Keep showing up human. That’s something no algorithm will ever replace.