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Medical Equipment Preparer
Summary
| Activities | Prepare, sterilize, install, or clean laboratory or health-care equipment. May perform routine laboratory tasks and operate or inspect equipment. |
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| Outlook | Average job growth |
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| Median Income | $28,410 per year in 2008 |
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| Work Context & Conditions | Medical equipment preparers work indoors, in an environmentally controlled area. |
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| Minimum Education Requirements | Vocational High School Program
General High School Program
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| Skills | Installation, Equipment Maintenance, Operation Monitoring |
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| Abilities | Manual Dexterity, Problem Sensitivity, Information Ordering |
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Job Description
| Job Category | | Production |
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| Job Description | | Medical equipment preparers examine equipment to detect leaks, worn or loose parts, or other indications of disrepair; disinfect and sterilize equipment, such as respirators, hospital beds, and wheelchairs, and oxygen and dialysis equipment, using cleansing and sterilizing solutions; and install and set up equipment, using hand tools. |
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| Working Conditions | | Medical equipment preparers may have to sit or stand for long periods. Both electronic and electromechanical equipment assemblers, for example, sit at tables in rooms that are clean, well-lit, and free from dust. Some electrical and electronics assemblers come in contact with soldering fumes, but ventilation systems and fans normally minimize this problem.
In many cases, developments in ergonomics have improved working conditions through changes in workstation and tool design. In some cases, these workers are exposed to disease or infections from the equipment they work with. However, they wear protective clothing to eliminate the hazards.
These worker should be accurate and ready to correct errors to insure the user's safety. |
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| Salary Range | | Median annual income of medical equipment preparers was $28,410 in 2008. The middle 50 percent earned between $23,600 and $33,600. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $20,500 and the highest 10 percent earned $40,100. |
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Education
| Education Required | | New assemblers and fabricators are normally entry-level employees. A high school diploma is preferred for most positions.
Applicants need specialized training for some jobs. For example, employers may require that applicants for electrical or electronic jobs be technical school graduates or have equivalent military training. Other positions require only on-the-job training, sometimes including employer-sponsored classroom instruction, in the broad range of duties that employees may be required to perform. |
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| Recommended High School Courses | | Computers and Electronics, English, Health, Building and Construction |
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| Postsecondary Instructional Programs | | |
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| Certification and Licensing | | |
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Skills, Abilities, & Interests
| Interest Area | | | Realistic | Involves working on practical, hands-on problems and solutions, often with real-world materials, tools, and machinery. |
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| Work Values | | | Moral Values | Never pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong. |
| Independence | Work alone. |
| Security | Have steady employment. |
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| Skills | | | Installation | Install equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications. |
| Equipment Maintenance | Perform routine maintenance and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed. |
| Operation Monitoring | Watch gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly. |
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| Abilities | | | Manual Dexterity | Able to make quick, coordinated movements of one or two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects. |
| Problem Sensitivity | Able to tell when something is wrong or likely to go wrong. This doesn't involve solving the problem, just recognizing that there is a problem. |
| Information Ordering | Able to correctly follow rules for arranging things or actions in a certain order, including numbers, words, pictures, procedures, and logical operations. |
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More Information
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