TSTC student eager to see more women enter biomedical equipment field

(WACO, Texas) = Natalie Ozment looks forward to working in her hometown of Temple after she graduates from Texas State Technical College.

Ozment, a third-semester Biomedical Equipment Technology student, eventually wants to work as an on-site technician at a hospital.

“The biomedical field is definitely in need of women because the field is lacking,” she said. “There are great opportunities for the women who are involved.”

Daylen Folz, an instructor in TSTC’s Biomedical Equipment Technology program, said having diverse biomedical equipment teams is a must.

“It makes sense to have women in the field; some situations are more suited for a female than a male,” he said. “Female biomeds have full access to the hospital, compared to a male. Some departments have restrictions on when a male can come into a department or a patient’s room in order to perform biomed services.”

Ozment said her favorite work in the program is troubleshooting.

“You are taught how the equipment works and why it does what it does, and you just follow along until you find the piece that is out of line,” she said. “You can work on equipment for a while and not even realize that the time is going by.”

She decided to pursue the program because of her father.

“I grew up watching my dad fixing anything and everything, and I really strived to be like that,” she said. “I enjoy working with my hands and tinkering.”

Ozment’s family and friends are her motivators in life.

“They push me to be my best self and are so proud of the job I am doing at TSTC, especially being one of the only women in my classes,” she said.

Workers in the medical equipment repair field in Texas made a yearly median salary of more than $37,000 in 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop website. The state will have a need for more than 4,000 medical equipment repairers by 2030, according to the website.

TSTC offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in Biomedical Equipment Technology at the Harlingen and Waco campuses, as well as an Associate of Applied Science degree in Medical Imaging Systems Technology Specialization at the Waco campus. 

For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.