Atlantic Canada Clinical Engineering Society

Service New Brunswick’s Clinical Engineering branch was recently recognized as a finalist for ECRI Institute's 11^th annual Health Devices Achievement Award. Clinical Engineering utilized a concept called critical percentage to better improve completion rates of inspection and preventative maintenance (IPM) on medical devices throughout the province.

The ACCES board of directors recently held their Annual General Meeting, which took place on Thursday, May 18^th 2017, in Moncton, New Brunswick. The floor was opened for nominations to the vacant Director of Education position, but none were received. However, after a few members showed interest in lending a hand, an Education Committee was formed.

The Education Committee has since met, and together they have laid the groundwork for a series of educational offerings through online webinars based on speaker sessions from ACCES22. Expect emails to be sent to the ACCES distribution list as soon as webinars are scheduled and available. Coming soon!

Dear ACCES Members,

It is finally nice to see that summer has arrived to the Atlantic Provinces, bringing with it the nicer weather, which we all deserve. Especially deserving are those individuals who participated in hosting ACCES22 this year in Moncton.

In May 2015 ACCES (Atlantic Canada Clinical Engineering Society) and CMBES (the Candian Medical and Biological Engineering Society) signed a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) between out two Societies.

CMBES is Canada's principal society for engineering in medicine and biology. It is a member of Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC)and affiliated with the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE).

This Spotlight article features Dan Burrill, an ACCES member who is based at the Moncton City Hospital and who has quite a unique career progression, from his formative years to his soon-to-be retirement. Dan grew up jumping between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick as his dad was a pastor and was required to move about to help some of the smaller coastal communities. Dan’s first memory was that of growing up in Mace’s Bay near the Point Lepreau area in New Brunswick, but he considers Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, as his childhood home.

This Spotlight article features a member from Saint John, New Brunswick, where another of Clinical Engineering’s veterans resides, Bertram McDonald, or who we all know as Bert.

Bert grew up with nine brothers and sisters in Prince of Whales, not a spot located somewhere in Scotland, but a community just a stone’s throw from Musquash NB, where he attended the proverbial one room “little red school house” from grades one to three. With the closure of many rural schools he would finish grades 4 through 9 by taking the short drive to West Saint John where he graduated from Saint John Vocational High School. 

This month’s Spotlight features Mike Smith from the Fredericton Area. Although Mike didn’t always live in the area as he was originally born in Goose bay, Labrador in 1963. At the age of three though he packed up (or his parents did) and the family moved back to Fredericton, their home city.

Every year in May, Biomedical and Clinical Engineering Week is celebrated in healthcare institutions across Canada, as a recognition of the hard work and valuable contributions made by biomedical/clinical engineers, technologists and technicians.

This year was no different, and many Clinical Engineering departments across Atlantic Canada engaged in celebrations and activities, with our classic celebratory style: lots of cake!

ACCES wanted to take the time this year to recognize Western Region HANS, whose Clinical Engineering staff came together in celebrations for the young, the not so young, and the very young!

In late October, one of our very own clinical engineering technologists, Patrick Clarke, went on a special trip: he joined a volunteer task force made up of nurses, physicians, and other healthcare professionals from Newfoundland committed to delivering and improving healthcare in Haiti by getting involved with Team Broken Earth. ACCES was glad to offer some financial support in the form of a $300 donation for Patrick and his volunteer group’s mission, which he was glad to share with us once he got back “…a little tired but a better person for having been there”.

Medical devices have been used in hospitals even before clinical engineering or biomedical engineering departments ever existed. However, a clear definition of “medical device” consistent with Clinical Engineering’s scope of services is a bit more difficult to come by. This article has been put together to explore the different definitions that exist for medical devices, and how these can be applied to Clinical Engineering (CE).

Biomedical and Clinical Engineering departments across Atlantic Canada celebrated the Biomedical and Clinical Engineering Week last year from May 18-24, 2014. As part of the celebrations, ACCES launched a photo-contest to all its registered members.

The criteria were simple: snap a picture of Biomedical and Clinical Engineering week activities or celebrations – with the ACCES logo somewhere in the photo. The submissions were numerous, creative and all-around fun! Though it was a challenging task, the judges were finally able to agree on the four winning submissions for this year:

• Our mission is to support clinical engineering professionals working in Atlantic Canada. We strive to develop and promote opportunities for continuing education, personal growth, sharing of experience, adoption of standards of practice, and certification. To achieve these goals, the directors developed a 4 year strategic plan to help focus our energies.
• With your assistance in our member poll and a facilitator, the ACCES directors identified 4 strategic directions with priorities and timelines assigned to each.
• We hope these directions align with your view of what a successful Clinical Engineering Society looks like and we welcome any feedback you have on the direction of your society. Please contact any of the Executive via the information on our contact page.

This year will mark the 20^thAnnual Atlantic Canada Clinical Engineering Educational Seminars and Trade Expo.

Clinical Engineering Week 2014

Let's Celebrate!!!

May 18-24th, 2014

ACCES would like to salute the Biomedical and Clinical Engineering professionals of Atlantic Canada for their dedication and commitment to those we serve.  As Healthcare Technology Professionals we provide valuable services to support the clinical demands of our new Healthcare Environments.

To mark this important week, ACCES will be running a photo contest!

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.

CMBES (The Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Society)

Has many material many materials useful for celebrating Biomedical and Clinical Engineering Week on thier website.

Click here to be taken to thier website.

Lets Celebrate

May 19-25

ACCES would like to salute the Biomedical and Clinical Engineering professionals of Atlantic Canada for their dedication and commitment to those we serve. As Healthcare Technology Professionals we provide valuable services to support the clinical demands of our Healthcare environments. To mark this important week ACCES has been distributing new standup banners to many biomedical departments in Atlantic Canada. The banners are 33 X 78 inches and come with sturdy aluminum stands. They make a great tool to display. It also describes our profession and the services we provide to our healthcare organizations.

The Health Association Nova Scotia (HANS) Clinical Engineering Service is pleased to announce we are now able to offer our Lift Load Mark III and accessories for sale to other CE groups. We have been developing the product for more than 3 years, in conjunction with Stantec Engineering and Quality Machining, and it is now a mature and professional platform and warrantied for a full year from time of delivery. We have 5 of these in service with our teams and have just shipped our first system and accessories to the Regina General Hospital.

ACCES was profiled in the October 2012 edition of TechNation with circulation of ~25,000.  This profile article provides a good overview of our organization. TechNation is a US publication dedicated to Biomedical Engineering. It is a informative Biomed Publication with both a hardcopy and an online version of the magazine available.

Click here to see the Article on the techNation website.

{dtracker}ACCES_TechNation_Article.pdf:Click here to download a PDF of the article.pdf{/dtracker}

 ACCES members can download a copy here. (443.91 kB)