Biomaterials Education Update WHAT IS BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING,ANYWAY? A NEEDS-BASED APPROACH TO CURRICULUM DESIGN

摘要

Biomedical engineering(BME)is a complex,ever-evolving,interdisciplinary field that brings together clinical faculty and researchers from various backgrounds to address healthcare needs.Although a thriving field,students graduating from BME programs often express concern about their career prospects.1 This is likely the result of BME undergraduate curricula lacking significant exposure to the diverse BME postgraduate opportunities in students’early years.Indeed,when undergraduates are only exposed to BME-specific topics and hands-on skills during their upperclassman years,it can be too little,too late.This leaves students without a true sense for what the field of BME is until they are well on their way to applying for career-building opportunities,which may cause students to struggle with communicating the value of their abilities to potential employers.Furthermore,in BME curricula where students must choose to specialize in a specific concentration or track within the first few years,students may find it difficult to make this decision with limited previous exposure to BME material.Students may not be aware that they are choosing a concentration that is less than ideal for them until it is,again,too late.Instead,they focus more on meeting degree requirements for graduation with the courses they have already completed,rather than switching to a more appropriate concentration.Despite student concern demonstrating a clear need for educational reform,curricula often remain stagnant,as faculty have little time to continuously create new courses that meet the changing demands of an evolving field.