Clinical Engineer
What is the work like?
Clinical engineers use their technical skills and knowledge to design, develop and improve the equipment used in medical treatments and patient aftercare. Their work can cover areas ranging from medical instruments to rehabilitation methods.
As a clinical engineer, your duties could include:
- testing improvements to equipment, such as walking aids, wheelchairs and speech synthesizers (known as assistive technologies)
- developing artificial limbs, for example ones which use microelectronic sensors that attach to the patient's own tissue giving them greater control
- making artificial joints, heart valves and hearing implants from new materials to lessen the chance of rejection by the patient’s body
- designing equipment that allows doctors to try new medical techniques, for example optical instruments for use in keyhole surgery and image-guided surgery
- day-to-day management of medical equipment, such as scanners, imaging machines and monitoring systems
- carrying out quality assurance checks to make sure all equipment is working correctly and safely.
You would work closely with other medical professionals, technical staff and patients.
What qualifications and experience will employers look for?
Employers would look for a minimum of an approved degree or postgraduate award in science or engineering. Relevant subject areas include:
- clinical engineering
- life sciences
- physics or medical physics
- biomedical science
- medical electronics
- mechanical or materials engineering.
Once you have completed your qualification, you could choose to work in the private sector, for example with a medical equipment manufacturer, or take state registration training to work in the NHS.
You can find more details about this career and training on the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) website. NHS Careers also has information about clinical engineering.
What further training and development can I do?
To gain NHS state registration, you would take a graded work-based training route (Grades A, B and C). As a new entrant, you would start on the Grade A path, which normally takes around two years to complete. You work towards the IPEM Diploma, which includes a postgraduate MSc qualification. The Diploma could help you later in your career to gain chartered engineer status.
Grade B is a professional grade for clinical engineers. On this grade, you would begin to specialise in a particular area of expertise. It would normally take you around 4 years to complete.
Grade C is the highest status and it is usually awarded if you are an engineer with departmental responsibility and/or have made a significant contribution to clinical engineering.
You can find full details of graded training paths and professional development options on the IPEM website.
Where can I go for more information?
Tel: 08000 150850Bristol
BS99 3EY
Tel: 0845 606 0655
230 Tadcaster Road
York
YO24 1ES
Tel: 01904 610821
If you would like to discuss your career options with a learning adviser, call 0800 100 900 or use our online enquiry form
Alternatively, you can visit our website at: www.direct.gov.uk/careersadvice
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What salary and other benefits can I expect?
- Private sector salaries are between £21,000 and £40,000.
- Salaries for clinical engineers in the NHS can go up to around £40,000 a year.
- A head of department with chartered status in the NHS could earn between £49,000 and £61,000.
Figures are intended as a guideline only.
What are the hours and working conditions?
You would normally work 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. You may have extra on-call or standby duties if you work in a hospital. Part time work is also possible.
Your time would be split between a hospital clinic and an engineering workshop. If you are working in research or industry, your job would be based in a laboratory.
What skills and knowledge will I need?
- a keen interest in solving clinical problems by using engineering methods
- a creative approach to problem solving
- excellent communication skills for dealing with people at all levels
- sensitivity to patients' needs
- excellent technical knowledge
- the ability to prioritise workloads and plan effectively
- the ability to work as part of a team made up of medical professionals
- budgetary skills
- a willingness to keep up to date with scientific, engineering and medical research.
What opportunities are there?
Your main job opportunities would be in hospitals, universities, research establishments like the Medical Research Council, and with medical equipment manufacturers. You could also work in a university, combining research duties with teaching. If you have built up a lot of experience, you could become self-employed and work on a consultancy basis.
You could progress into senior general management with responsibility for your own team of engineers and technicians, if you reach chartered engineer status.
You may find the following links useful for job vacancies and general reading:
NHS JobsIPEM
We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.
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