Spectrum 2017 Summer

 

Firstly, I would like to thank each and every one of the BEAI executive committee for the dedication and hard work that they continue to put into the BEAI. This has been a key factor in the positive development of the BEAI over its many years in existence, and I hope we can continue to harness that energy and goodwill offered by so many. I would also like to thank all of our members, who have entrusted the executive to manage the services provided by the BEAI.

This year saw the addition of four new roles to the executive committee. Kieran Healy joined us as vice-secretary to assist with the large scope that the secretary role entails, and Leighton Curry was elected as vice-treasurer/membership lead to assist with the financial aspects of the organisation, while also leading out on the further development of membership for the BEAI. Eoghan Hayden has been working hard marketing the BEAI and their activities as our communications lead, while Meabh Smith started into a new role as education officer, which we see as a very important service that we provide to our members.

The BEAI are always looking for new members for both the executive committee and as non-executive members on the various subgroups that work alongside the main executive, including the education, the Spectrum journal and communications subgroups. If you want more information or to discuss this further please get in touch at chairperson@beai.ie.

Finance

Oleg Shrolik has continued to work tirelessly as our treasurer – a role that is extremely important and highly demanding. Oleg has managed to steer the organisation through the financial year, ensuring that the books are kept correctly and the best value is obtained for every cent spent. The addition of Leighton to assist with this role has further helped in keeping the finances in good order. With the new streams of revenue now generated, and with assets in 2016 worth over €60k compared to €44k in 2014, we have shown significant progress in achieving one of our objectives in our Strategic Plan 2016-2020 to grow and diversify our sources of income.

Membership

Membership development, led by Leighton and assisted by Oleg, has been a success, with substantial increases in both individual and corporate membership subscriptions year on year. This is in line with another objective of our Strategic Plan 2016-2020, ie. To increase membership to enhance the representative capability of the organisation.

Spectrum

Frank Kelly continues to put in tremendous effort and time in leading the publication of our prized Spectrum journal. We continue to produce three high-quality publications each year, containing articles and news snippets from across academia, industry and hospital sectors. We continue to lead with a print edition of the journal, and believe this has worked out very well for the readership. The Spectrum journal will now also contain a dedicated section to publish some of the reflective learning reports submitted as part of the Education Series. Please contact Frank on spectrum@beai.ie if you have any articles for submission or suggestions for the journal.

Education

Meabh Smith has lead the education section of the BEAI for 12 months now, liaising with the members, session leads and the Health & Social Care Professions (HSCP) on various issues.

Developing a strategy for education and training for our members was a core objective of our Strategic Plan 2016-2020, as was launching our continuing education series at the 2016 Annual Conference. We are continuing to work hard to provide education sessions at the request of our members.

The HSE’s HSCP Education and Development Unit, which has just recently been established as an Office under the National HR Division and led by Jackie Reed, have continued to support the members of the BEAI in providing funding and support mechanisms towards the continuing professional development (CPD) services that we provide. If there are any topics that you would like to see covered under the education series, please contact Meabh at education@beai.ie

Annual Scientific Conference

Our 2016 Annual Scientific Conference broke all records previously set, with more attendees, more exhibitors and a higher profile than previous conferences. This conference was extra special for the BEAI, being its 21st Annual Scientific Conference.

We celebrated by presenting all previous chairpersons with a unique piece of glassware to mark the occasion, and held a social event in the evening where entertainment was provided.

We were delighted with the calibre of speakers on the day and the interactions between industry, academia and health sector engineers and colleagues on the day. I would like to thank Richard Ellis and his team in Cardiac Services for working with us as gold sponsors for the 2016 event.

Preparations are well underway for the 2017 conference, with a date set for Friday, September 29, 2017 in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Santry, Dublin. This conference will follow the format of last years, with BBraun, our Gold Sponsor 2017. Please keep an eye on the web and social media for details of the programme and registration.

Website developments

Our website is currently in the design phase of an exciting upgrade. Alongside this process, and under the guidance of Oleg and his team, we have developed a new communications system which will result in a more effective method of communicating with our members going forward. We have also further developed the website to interact with our members in relation to CPD, and the reflective learning reports can now be uploaded through the website. Once a reflective learning report is uploaded, the CPD certificates will then become available within your profile and are printable should you wish.

Strategic Plan 2016-2020

I believe the BEAI has achieved a tremendous amount of what it set out to do in its 2016-2020 Strategic Plan. This plan set out a clear road map for the organisation to develop, and reflect on the activities of the year gone by. We all recognise that as the organisation grows and develops, resource requirements increase and a decision was made that administrative assistance was needed to allow the BEAI to further grow and move forward. Expressions of Interest have been sought for the parttime role, and we are looking for an enthusiastic, capable, knowledgeable person to assist us to advance our strategy and achieve our objectives. Please feel free to discuss this role with me further if you wish.

Registration

Our strategic plan for 2016-2020 included the objective to become the registration body for the profession. Through the strategy subgroup, we have brought together a vast amount of information, advice and guidance on how best to achieve this objective and are now in the final stages of drafting a registration protocol, which will be launched at this year’s Annual Scientific Conference. This protocol, based around the core requirements for CORU registration, and learning from best practice in this area, will provide our members with a firm grounding and support mechanism as we move towards full professional registration with CORU.

Governance

Governance is a very important aspect to any organisation, and is concerned with the systems by which organisations are run, directed and controlled.

It is about developing and implementing the appropriate structures and processes to ensure that an organisation is run effectively. Along with existing systems, processes and structures already in place, the BEAI have begun the process of developing and strengthening its governance policies and procedures, to ensure our members and the organisation are fully protected.

Collaboaration with other organisations/international work

We continue to collaborate with various other organisations, both nationally and internationally. These include the Irish Medical and Surgical Trade Association,

Engineers Ireland, the UK’s Institute of Physics and Engineering In Medicine, and the international body, International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering, along with colleagues in medical physics and other HSCPs. I feel these collaborations are extremely important for learning, development and network building. They also assist in achieving one of our strategic plan objectives to position the BEAI as the voice and thought leader of the profession.

I hope the BEAI continues to serve the needs of our members and colleagues for many years to come.

 

Brian Kearney

Chairperson, BEAI