Students Reap Benefits Of New Program, USA

Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Article Date: 23 Nov 2007 - 13:00 PDT

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Stephens International Recruiting is helping AAMI launch a program to encourage biomed students to become active participants in their field through AAMI membership.

To kick off the program, Stephens has purchased a block of 50 student memberships, which the company will donate to selected biomed students. Of the 50 memberships, 25 will be divided among the three campuses of Texas State Technical College - a school the biomed recruiting firm has worked with extensively over the years - while the remaining 25 memberships will be awarded to other biomed students selected by Stephens.

"We feel strongly about the professionalization of the field and helping people learn about their trade association," says Cindy Stephens, president and chief executive officer at Stephens International Recruiting. "These memberships will help those who are entering the field understand newer technologies and network with other professionals. "Many veteran biomeds have been involved with AAMI for years, but more students and new professionals need to become aware of AAMI so that they can reap its benefits, enhance their careers, and become active participants in the field."

Roger Bowles, EdD, CBET, associate professor and interim department chair for biomedical equipment technology at Texas State Technical College in Waco, TX, is delighted with Stephens' generous gift to his students. "I've always felt it was important for students to become active in their field at an early stage, and this will give some hard-working students an opportunity to take part," says Bowles.

A Trend Among Schools

As recently reported in AAMI News, a growing number of biomedical engineering technology instructors are encouraging or requiring their students to become AAMI members.

For example, Bill Sears, dean of engineering technology for DeVry University in Arizona, has made arrangements for his students to purchase their required $30 AAMI student membership through the school bookstore along with their textbooks and other course materials.

To encourage students to take advantage of the resources available, AAMI offers memberships to students at a significantly reduced rate. Membership in AAMI provides students with a subscription to AAMI News, AAMI's specialized Horizons publications, and Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology (BI&T) - all of which contain articles of practical use for students on topics such as career and certification advice, information technology and Joint Commission issues, troubleshooting guidance, best practices, and other important topics.

In addition, students may find strong research value in the online edition of BI&T, which enables members to view and search through archived editions of the journal by keyword, article topic, or author.

Other companies or organizations interested in sponsoring AAMI's student membership program should contact Steve Campbell scampbell@aami.org.

To further encourage those just entering the field to take part in AAMI, AAMI also recently launched its "New Professional" membership category. This program allows professionals who have been in the medical technology field for five years or less to join AAMI at a significant discount off the regular membership dues, while still receiving full AAMI member benefits.

To learn more about the new professional membership program, click here to read a related article or contact Steve Campbell scampbell@aami.org and Susan DeCourcey sdecourcey@aami.org.

Click here to join AAMI as a new professional.

Founded in 1967, AAMI is the world's leading organization dedicated to advancing the safe and effective development and use of medical technology. AAMI's annual conference attracts healthcare professionals from hospitals, universities, consulting firms, independent service organizations, and manufacturing companies around the world.

Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation