Healthcare Engineering Specialist Technician

This apprenticeship is designed to develop the skills, knowledge and behaviours required to become a Healthcare Engineering Specialist Technician.

What does a Healthcare Engineering Specialist Technician do?

A Healthcare Engineering Specialist Technician looks after medical equipment. They maintain and repair medical devices to ensure they’re in working order and can be safely used for patient care, this is an essential yet often overlooked aspect of the healthcare industry. They conduct planned maintenance to prevent issues occurring and reactive maintenance. Other duties include acceptance testing, installation, decommissioning, and safety tests and checks. Healthcare Engineering Specialist Technicians also conduct healthcare device audits, test, and calibrate equipment. Undertake completion of documentation and reports, keep stakeholders informed of their work status is also part of their role. As part of a team, they contribute to continuous improvement and will support and coach others. 

What will you be able to do?

Organisation
Organise, coordinate and action medical engineering jobs to meet the requirements of your department.

Fault finding
Identify faults in medical equipment and take appropriate action.

Safety testing
Conduct safety checks on medical equipment.

Continuous improvement
Contribute to continuous improvement of medical engineering practices at your trust

Advice
Provide technical and regulatory advice to clinical staff and administrators.

Commissioning
Commission new medical devices 

Reporting
Report on the status of medical devices to the relevant authority. Complete incident reports and technical investigations.

Administration
Complete necessary documentation for work completed e.g. servicing, risk assessments and test results. 

Supervision
Support and mentor other members of your medical engineering team.

Auditing
Contribute to medical device audits, asset checking and compliance checks.

Maintenance & Repair
Replace, fit and repair components on medical devices. Complete routine maintenance and servicing. 

Frequently asked questions

    • Biomedical technician
    • Clinical engineer
    • Dental engineering technician
    • Medical electronics technical
    • Medical electronics technician
    • Medical engineering technician
    • Medical service engineer
    • Radiotherapy engineering technician

  2. GCSE grade C/4 in Mathematics 
    Four other GCSE grade C/4 – At least one of which must be a science-based subject

  4. Our Training Assessors will visit your workplace every 8 weeks to assess your development and your competence in your job. Apprentices will also fill out work books for each unit they are studying which will be marked by our trainers.  Additionally, apprentices will complete an End Point Assessment (EPA). 

Academic Units

 

Engineering representations, drawings, and graphical information.

 

Engineering mathematical and scientific principles: calculations, conversions, flow rates and equipment sizing.

 

Engineering materials and their properties; impact on use.

 

Mechanical principles: motion and mechanics, storage and transfer of forces and energy in operation, motors and pumps.

 

Electrical and electronic principles: principles of electricity and electronics, electric circuit theory, motors and pumps.

 

Control systems principles.

 

Energy consumption and usage profiling.

Specific Medical Engineering Equipment Units

 

Diagnostic and therapeutic equipment.

 

Anaesthetic machines, patient ventilators, and critical life support machines.

 

Operating theatre and pathology equipment.

 

Monitoring and infusion devices.

 

Portable imaging equipment.

 

Gas delivery systems.

 

Assistive technology.

 

Physiology and anatomy in relation to medical equipment.

 

Safety testing of medical electrical equipment and medical electrical systems.

 

Networking and integration of healthcare medical devices – requirements for network connections between devices or systems.

Specific Medical Engineering Equipment Tasks

 

Engineering standards and regulations. British Standards (BS). International Organisation for Standardisation standards (ISO). European Norm (EN). Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). What they are and how to use them.

 

Medical protocols for infection prevention and biohazard control for example, cleaning and disinfection of tools, pre-work disinfection requirements, decontamination prior to disposal.

 

Health and safety requirements: manual handling, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), risk assessments and method statements, specialist healthcare PPE, clinical risk assessments, signage and barriers.

 

Communication techniques: verbal, written, electronic. Matching style to audience. Barriers in communication and how to overcome them. Engineering terminology.

 

Training, mentoring and coaching techniques. How to pass on knowledge and provide guidance to customers or stakeholders.

 

Machinery, tools, and equipment used in healthcare engineering. Purpose, safe correct use, maintenance, carriage and storage.

 

Calibrated equipment requirements including calibration certificates.

 

Statutory certificates including electricity certificates, theatre validations.

 

Manufacturers’ instructions: what they are and how to use them. Warranties: what they are and impact on engineering work.