Spectrum 2015 Spring

There comes a time in the life of any organisation when it is not enough to stand still - you have to race the tide or get carried out to sea. This is the point we have reached in the BEAI.

The healthcare environment is changing; professional and technological standards are changing; and the health service is changing. It is time for the BEAI to stand back, take a long look and see what we need to do.
The BEAI Executive commenced this process in November, 2014, stepping back, thinking about our strengths and weaknesses, and considering our opportunities. We worked with a facilitator to overview the changing needs of the BEAI and the changing environment in which we are operating. A great deal of work has gone into looking inside the BEAI and checking the horizon so that we can position ourselves to deliver maximum return to our members.Ultimately, the BEAI is a membership organisation. Our role is to serve our members and to be a voice for them, but without context that has no meaning - there is no point in playing a match in Croke Park if the stands are empty, or even playing the wrong sport. We are at a stage now where we feel we know what the BEAI has to do and just need to take the final step towards publishing our BEAI Strategy 2015-2018.
The Executive is currently drafting that final document for consultation with our members. We will also be seeking your opinions on specific issues via a questionnaire over the next few months. It is important that you use your voice to provide feedback. Clinical engineers are a part of the group of health and social care professions. Some of those have already embarked on statutory registration.
Those professions are now committed to formal and compulsory continuing professional development (CPD) requirements as well as meeting the basic requirements for education and training specific to each profession. The relevant professional bodies are fully involved and committed to these procedures.
The BEAI has always operated as an inclusive organisation, it is a welcoming organisation, welcoming members and welcoming opinion from all.
It is very important for clinical engineers to be masters of their own professional identity and there is a great deal of work to be done, so renew your membership, become active as a full committee member or a sub-committee member, use your BEAI voice, give us your feedback, and stand up and be counted. The AGM will take place in April but you can get involved any time by contacting any member of the Executive, see www.beai.ie

3          Meabh Smith – Editorial
4          News
6          David M Bouchier-Hayes  - Photoselective vaporisation of the prostate (PVP) for symptomatic bladder outlet obstruction using the XPS GreenLight laser  
10        Meabh Smith – WHO guidelines: donation of medical devices and equipment
11        Frank Kelly – Renal technology (dialysis) as a clinical engineering specialty
14        Meabh Smith – The BEAI Annual Scientific Meeting
19        Notices: Health and Social Care Professional Research Conference; BEAI 2015 AGM, BEAI 2015 Annual Scientific Conference.
20        Frank Kelly – Report from the 43rd EDTNA/ERCA International Conference September 6-9, Riga, Latvia
22        Oleg Shrolik – Standards - an update
27        44th EDTNA/ERCA International Conference
28        Martin McHugh – Medical device software and technology: the past, present and future
32        Fiona Shells – A biological study of bumblebees