BMET

BMET Training Program Overview

While EWH’s Summer & January Institutes teach university students the impact of their engineering work and the value of good design in order to foster the next generation of engineers, we also work to strengthen healthcare systems right now.

Trained Biomedical Engineering Technicians (BMETs) who can install, maintain, and repair medical equipment are a key component of a strong healthcare system. However, many low-resource hospitals lack BMETs, instead relying on general maintenance staff or electricians who are not trained to work on medical equipment. As a result, the World Health Organization estimates that between 40-70% of critical medical equipment in low-income countries is out of service.[1]

In partnership with the GE Foundation, Duke University, in-country educational institutions, and local Ministries of Health, EWH has completed BMET Training Programs in 6 countries — Rwanda, Honduras, Ghana, Cambodia, Nigeria, and Ethiopia — teaching local public hospital workers and students to become fully qualified BMETs. Each program is specifically designed to fit the needs of the local population. We also train future trainers to take over the program, with the ultimate result being that we leave the countries we work in with a sustainable source of well-trained BMETs.

Engineering World Health also hosts and curates the BMET Library, an open-source digital library designed to improve access to BMET training and troubleshooting materials, so that BMETs can advance their knowledge no matter where they work.

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