Melissa Nightingale was introduced to the biomedical engineering field in college, when her physics professor noted that she was a “why kid” – someone who is curious about finding things out.
“I always wanted to go into the hospital field. There is a great need there,” she said. “I like to help people and my job allows me to do that. I know that I can make a patient’s life a little easier by taking great care of the medical equipment at JPS.”
After graduating with an Associate’s degree in Applied Science from Texas State Technical College in Waco, she was encouraged to come to JPS by other graduates who had made their way to the network. She joined JPS in 2008 as an entry level Biomed Technician, and was later promoted to Biomedical Equipment Specialist. She is now a Team Lead.
Not everyone is familiar with the biomedical engineering field, which is part of the Healthcare Technology Management Department at JPS. The team works to make sure machines and equipment are safe and working well for JPS patients and team members.
“I like to help people and my job allows me to do that. I know that I can make a patient’s life a little easier by taking great care of the medical equipment at JPS.”
Nightingale explains her field this way: “We are the doctors for your medical equipment. When it starts acting funny, we go check it out, and we do preventative maintenance checks to make sure everything is functioning the way it is supposed to.”
It’s a field that requires constant training to keep up-to-date on equipment being used throughout the hospital. So Nightingale is glad to have opportunities to learn about the latest technology and receive specialized training on certain equipment, she said.
“JPS is always evolving into something better, and for us, that means newer and better technology,” she said. “This means training and hands-on experience that we might not get anywhere else. A few years ago, I was able to get some training on ventilators and that has opened new doors for me.”