Atlantic Canada Clinical Engineering Society

On May 9^th, at the midpoint of the Saint John conference at our Annual General Meeting, I officially retired as the President of ACCES. The past 7 years have been a roller coaster of challenges and exciting triumphs, for the original foundation committee, and then the new Executive Board of the Society.  I leave the post with a lifetime worth of great memories and a sense of tremendous accomplishment. We have created a healthy and vibrant organization where nothing existed before.

The International Certification Commission provides formal recognition for Clinical Engineering and Biomedical Technology. Certification as a Biomedical Engineering Technician or Technologist (CBET) demonstrates excellence in theoretical as well as practical knowledge of the principles of biomedical equipment technology and the underlying physiologic principle, and the practical, safe, clinical application of biomedical equipment. His/her capabilities may include installation, calibration, inspection, preventative maintenance, repair, modification, design and development of general biomedical and related technical equipment, and in equipment control, safety and maintenance. It also demonstrates a strong commitment to your professional career.

The cornerstone for ACCES was laid in November of 2006. We began with a meeting of interested CE professionals hosted in Moncton. This visionary group became the foundation team which launched regional discussions in 2006. These conversations evolved and grew through 2007. The 2008 spring conference in Newfoundland was followed by our incorporation as the Atlantic Canada Clinical Engineering Society in the late summer of 2008.

The Atlantic Canada Clinical Engineering Society (ACCES) officially came to exist in April 2008. 

As ACCES’s first president I am pleased to have the opportunity to recognize the efforts of the many volunteers who worked behind the scenes for those first 18 months before our official launch. Without their support and vision this would not have been possible.  I would especially like to thank the team in Moncton, and particularly Paul Auffrey for his dedication and determination which launched and continually delivered the Moncton Biomedical Conference for more than a decade.