There are few careers that are as rewarding, or as fundamental to our society, as those in the medical field. When we think of medical or healthcare related jobs, we tend to think of doctors, nurses, and surgeons, often forgetting that a great deal of the most important work to ensure public health goes on behind the scenes. The doctors and surgeons who decide how to treat their patients are doing so working with the information and equipment that has been developed by their peers, colleagues, and a number of research groups that they will never meet.
There are many of us who would relish the opportunity to be able to work in a healthcare related field, where we could be involved in making a real difference to other people’s lives, but either lack the requisite expertise or don’t think we have what it takes to work directly with patients on the proverbial frontlines.
For people like us, there are fields such as biomedical engineering, an area of study which looks at how we can take the principles of engineering and apply them to the realm of healthcare. The most common marriage of the two is in the design and manufacture of new equipment, for both diagnostic and treatment purposes.
In this article we take a look at just some of the most exciting jobs available to those with a degree in biomedical engineering. If any of these potential career paths appeal to you then you should look in to studying for an online master of engineering in biomedical engineering. An online MEBME degree will cost less than the equivalent campus course and can be studied part time to accommodate a job at the same time.
Bioinstrumentation
This is the most commonly pursued career in biomedical engineering and it is here that, arguably, the bulk of the most important work undertaken in the field is accomplished. Bioinstrumentation refers to the designing and developing of various tools and pieces of equipment in order to help doctors to more accurately and more efficiently diagnose and treat patients.
Biomaterials
Biomaterials are materials which have been specially designed to possess certain properties which make them desirable and suitable for use in the human body. Biomaterials must be able to be safely implanted in the body without triggering an autoimmune response and must be able to remain in place without affecting the surrounding area or raising the patients risk of cancer in the long term.
Biomechanics
Biomechanics is one of the fastest fields within the broader field of biomedical engineering. Essentially, biomechanics deals with the design and creation of products which help patients with their mobility. For some time now, various groups have been racing to produce exo-skeletons for both military and civilian use. These exo-skeletons are designed to supplement the strength of the wearer by assisting their movements with mechanical strength.
Cellular, Tissue, and Genetic Engineering
These three fields are all very closely related and deal with the microscopic machines that keep our bodies working. By studying the behavior of different types of cells in various circumstances we have been able to build a much clearer picture of how diseases progress and can be stopped.
Biomedical engineering is one of the fastest growing healthcare fields and therefore offers an excellent and stable long-term career path.
