Clinical engineering is a scientific discipline with a wide scope, offering diverse job roles that make significant impacts on patient care. Many engineers have patient-facing roles operating in areas where there is a high degree of data complexity such as gait analysis, urodynamics or rehabilitation engineering. Many others have system-level roles controlling the flow of medical equipment within the hospital, influencing clinical service design and developing clinico-technical innovations. A few work in the area of novel device design. Many clinical scientists in engineering will lead research or support the research of others as part of their job profile.
To be a clinical engineer you need:
- to be a good communicator and listener
- to have sound analytical skills
- to have detailed clinical knowledge of particular patient cohorts
- to have a detailed understanding of the systems that operate in the hospital environment
- to be able to produce clear and concise clinical, operational and technical reports