Biomedical equipment technicians' career commitment and perception of certification

Professional certification is one aspect of the evolutionary process of a vocation toward professional status. As a new and emerging occupation, the level of career commitment of Biomedical Equipment Technicians (BMETs) was unknown. The purpose of this study was to identify the career commitment and compare the perceptions of certified and noncertified BMETs toward the International Certification Commission (ICC) certification. An identification of the perceptions of biomedical equipment technicians was needed to determine factors that influence a biomedical equipment technician to pursue, or not to pursue, certification.;The population of this study consisted of all identified biomedical equipment technicians working in the hospitals located within Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) in the state of Georgia. A total of 233 BMETs at 66 hospitals were identified for this study. Data was collected from 116 noncertified and 35 certified BMETs.;A questionnaire consisting of five sections was designed for this study. The reliability of the instrument was determined by the test-retest technique and by Cronbach's alpha coefficient of reliability. Data analysis consisted of descriptive statistics to analyze the demographic data and a two-tailed t-test to determine if statistically significant differences existed between certified and noncertified BMETs on the four dependent variables. Mean scores and intercorrelation statistics were also used in interpreting the responses to the items on the questionnaire. Five research questions were used to address the objectives of the study.;Major conclusions of this study were: (1) Certified BMETs had a higher level of career commitment than noncertified BMETs. (2) A statistically significant difference appeared in the perception of certified and noncertified BMETs on four of the items regarding the extent to which the certification measures competence: a BMET certified by the ICC is competent in performing preventive maintenance, knowledgeable in anatomy and physiology, knowledgeable in safety in health care facilities, and knowledgeable in medical equipment problem solving. (3) Certified BMETs perceived more self-confidence, personal satisfaction, recognition and credibility in biomedical profession, and potential for job mobility as a result of benefits of certification than noncertified BMETs. (4) Noncertified BMETs perceived more strongly than certified technicians that the certification test did not measure the competency of job performance of biomedical technicians and also certification prevented creativity and innovations. (5) Career commitment showed a statistically significant correlation to both perception of certification and benefits of certification and did not show a statistically significant correlation to the reasons for not being certified.