Biomedical Diagnostics

The biomedical diagnostician is the person who analyzes samples or information concerning patients.in a clinical laboratory atmosphere. They do tests to diagnose problems and later to see if treatments are working. They may also be asked to analyze things like water, forensic or food samples. This is a field, like many other medical professions, that is in high demand, offers good salaries and is personally rewarding.

History

• Doctors have always needed results of tests done on patients. Until the beginning of the 20th century, these tests were done by the doctors themselves. Ancient Greek, Mesopotamian and Egyptian doctors would examine specimens to help with diagnosis. Greek doctors went so far as to taste urine to see if it was sweet indicating an unbalance in the body. At the beginning of the 19th century, care switched from home or doctor's residences to hospitals where laboratories were developed. It has only been since the 20th century that more sophisticated tests have been implemented.

Training

• Some universities offer a certificate in biomedical diagnostics as a graduate level course. You must have a degree in biology or a field closely related to biology to be accepted into the program. You may also have to have a personal interview and offer a letter of intent to be accepted.

Courses

• Your course work will be both theory and practice, with the emphasis on the laboratory. You will be required to take courses like histology, molecular biology, inmunodiagnostics, complications of transfusion, disease cell biology and health sciences physiology. These courses are presented in a way that helps the student diagnostician understand how a lab will operate.

Work

• As a biomedical diagnostician you will work directly with doctors to analyze and interpret results of tests and specimens obtained from patients. Not only will you have to work with the actual specimen, but you must also be able to assimilate and analyze data relating to the patient.

The 2010 job Outlook

• As with many jobs in the medical profession, you can expect to find a position. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that there will be a 14 percent increase in the number of jobs in biomedical statistics between 2008 and 2018. The average salary for a person in this profession was close to $54,000 in 2008.