Back in 1993, when I decided to get my Biomedical Engineering degree, there were only about 12 accredited Biomedical Engineering (BME) Programs and our class was about 10% women. Biomedical engineering was considered a new multidisciplinary field.
Today, according to ABET, there are 65 programs and the enrollment is 40-50 percent women. The demand for biomedical engineers and biomedical engineering technicians is higher than ever. Advancements in health care technology are exploding, and the U.S. Department of Labor predicts that this field is going to grow at a rate of 26 percent per year for the next six years, or almost double the rate for all other jobs combined! If this sounds astonishing, just watch the news - new advancements in medicine are being made almost every day.
If you are interested in recruiting girls by providing biomedical activities I recommend the following resources:
- Teaching Engineering Made Easy 2 - By using the BME activities, it will be easier to capture the attention of middle school girls and get them into your program (middle school).
- Get involved in the Project Lead the Way Biomedical Sciences Curriculum (high school).
- Search for biomedical engineering activities at Teach Engineering.
