How to become a Biomedical Engineer

Biomedical engineering is the intersection between biology, medicine and engineering that is primarily concerned with creating technology and medicine that preserves and improves the quality of life of ailing patients. This field of engineering combines engineering principles with biological knowledge with the intention to address medical needs. Biomedical engineering is also referred to as Bioengineering or BioMed or even BME.

It is due to the development and progress made in biomedical engineering that we are able to avail of revolutionary and life-saving concepts such as kidney dialysis, surgical robots, artificial organs, prosthetics and many more. It is the study of engineering principles and techniques to streamline medical assistance to practitioners like doctors and physicians.

Biomedical engineering being a vast, multidisciplinary field with different areas of focus, aspirants may choose any of these subdivisions to specialize in: Bio-materials, computational biology, biomedical electronics, medical imaging, orthopaedic bioengineering, bio-nanotechnology, cellular, tissue and genetic engineering, and biomedical electronics. When addressing biomedical engineering scope, there is an increasing demand for biomedical engineers owing to society’s general increase in the consumption of machinery and technology in all aspects of life. 

There are different types of biomedical engineering jobs typically depending on the area of specialization. Generally,  it comprises of the following tasks:

• Evaluate the effectiveness, safety, and efficiency of the biomedical equipment.
• Train the involved personnel on the proper use of the equipment.
• Design equipment like artificial internal organs, machines that can diagnose medical problems
• Design electrical circuits, software to run the medical equipment, or computer simulations in order to test the new drug therapies.
• Present research outcomes

Skills and Abilities of Biomedical Engineers Biomedical engineers must:

1. Communicate

• Ask questions and pay attention to what others are saying.
• Recognize written information.
• Read and comprehend job-related materials.
• Recognize spoken information.
• Write in a clear manner so that others can understand.
• peak clearly so that your listeners can understand you.

2. Reasoning and Problem Solving

• Analyze ideas and use logic to determine their advantages and disadvantages.
• To find solutions to problems, use reasoning.
• Recognize the nature of the issue.
• Draw conclusions by combining several pieces of information.
• Analyze the costs and benefits of a potential action.
• Recognize when something is wrong or is about to go wrong.
• Consider solving problems in novel, unusual, or creative ways.
• Determine what needs to be changed in order to achieve your objectives.
• Recognize when significant changes occur or are likely to occur in a system.
• To arrange objects or actions in a specific order, follow the guidelines.
• By studying and working with new information or materials, you can better understand them.
• Create rules that group items in a variety of ways.
• Consider new approaches to a topic.

3. Concentrate and avoid distractions when performing a task.

• Make use of Math and Science
• To solve problems, select a mathematical method or formula.
• To solve problems, employ scientific methods.
• To solve problems, use your math skills.

4. Quickly and correctly add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Manage oneself, one's people, one's time, and one's possessions.

• Examine how well someone is learning or performing something.
• Manage your own and other people's time.
• Motivate, develop, and direct employees while they are at work.

5. Work with Others

• Teach someone else how to do something.
• Change your behaviour in response to the actions of others.
• Bring people together to discuss differences in order to solve problems.
• Look for ways to assist others.
• Be aware of other people's reactions and investigate the possible causes.
• Persuade others to take a different approach.
• Use a variety of methods to learn or teach new skills.

6. Utilize Things

• When designing products, consider needs and requirements.
• Create equipment and technology to meet the needs of users.
• Inspect and evaluate product quality.
• Create computer software.

Visualize and Perceive

• Consider how something will appear if it is moved or its parts are rearranged.
• Identify a hidden pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) in distracting material.
• Compare letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns quickly and accurately.

In order to enrol into a Bachelor’s program at one of the best biomedical engineering colleges, aspirants are expected to clear the JEE main and subsequently, the JEE Advance exam which makes the aspirant eligible to apply at any university in India. It is a challenging exam to crack that requires hard work as well as rigorous and consistent preparation. Some states have their own entrance exams that are admissible in their respective universities. Many educational institutes conduct their own entrance tests. 

With the requisite educational background, and preferably with the experience gained during an internship, aspirants may apply for the following biomedical engineering jobs: 

• Service engineer - Medical equipment
• Technician - Biomedical
• Product designer - Medical devices
• Biomedical engineer technician
• Production Manager 
• Clinical research associate 
• Quality manager