Global Health Engineering - 585.770

Most biomedical engineers trained in low-resource settings are absorbed into the labor market as clinical engineers supporting hospitals. Once in hospitals, it has been difficult for these engineers to engage in scalable healthcare strengthening activity because they received siloed training that prevents them from adequately addressing the complex context of healthcare delivery. Additionally, many administrators and clinicians are not able to adequately engage clinical engineers because they are unaware of the scope of their activity and their role in healthcare delivery and healthcare strengthening. This course explores the scope of activity required of clinical engineers and their collaborators in poorly resourced healthcare settings. The objective of the course is to develop the core competencies required for clinical engineers to significantly impact the design and management of medical devices and healthcare systems. Topics include an analysis of the continuous engagement model for clinical engineering in low-resource settings, and the application of biomedical engineering design principles to quality management plans, device management plans, and capacity management plans.Prerequisite: Students should have completed one course within their focus area