What does a biomedical engineer's day look like on a daily basis?

What a biomedical engineer does on a daily basis is very varied. Almost as varied as people who work in the field. In this field we have electrical engineers, biologists, mathematicians, mechanical engineers, physicists, and medical doctors all working together on a very regular basis.
That being said some of the tasks that will be engaged in include but are not limited to:
- Computer designing of new products and devices. It is a first step with the team to think of an idea, that is often a white board sketch, but someone needs to make hard decisions about the final designs that will be tested. these are done through Pro E and Cad type software systems. Many engineers spend time in this way.
- Experiments in the lab. Many engineers in the R&D branches will spend a great deal of time in labs working through experiments to determine exactly how the ideas conceived actually work. This could mean a wet lab, with animal or tissue experiments, or it could mean a physics lab with models instead of tissue.
- Much of our time is spent in the biomedical industry making sure we comply with what are called industry standards. This means we need to know and understand what the FDA or other similar groups want us to do. This takes a lot of time reading, and generating reports and documentation. Good communication skills are required for any engineer in today’s work environment.
- Some of your time, (hopefully not too much in well run companies!) will be spent in meetings for many purposes, including figuring out new designs, and collaborating with team members to build the next project.
In many companies the tasks can be as diverse as the days you work there. The larger the company, (very broad guidance here) the more specific your daily task will be. The smaller the company the more you will get to do and the more titles you will get to fill. Both have their value and both have a reward.