Health Ministry Recognition Essential for Bio Engineers

Q: Which industries are seeing the greatest demand for biomedical engineers and what challenges do you face?

A: Biomedical engineers are active in every industry. They have a strong presence in the hospital sector where they hold both executive and operational roles and many work for the government and the wider public sector. The last commissioner of Seguro Popular was trained in our field. There also are many biomedical engineers in commerce, particularly in businesses that produce medical devices. We also have a strong presence in academic research. In the hospital sector alone, there is demand for 3,000 biomedical engineers. There are now about 50 educational institutions in Mexico that offer a degree in biomedical engineering or similar programs.

One problem is that the Ministry of Health does not yet recognize the profession as a category in the medical field. This is a barrier to more investment and expansion of educational programs. Private hospitals have strong networks of biomedical engineers but many public hospitals do not open up enough places for our professionals.  

Q: What are your goals for 2019 and 2020?

A: The first step is to get the profession of biomedical engineer classified properly among medical professions by the Ministry of Health. This is essential to strengthen our participation and contributions in the field.