title: Establishment of a clinical engineering department in a Venezuelan national reference hospital.
abstract: Since 1976, Clinical Engineering (CE) has been studied at the Simón Bolívar University (USB) as part of the Bioengineering Studies program developed at that University. However, it was not until 1996 that Clinical Engineering activities were established in a Venezuelan hospital. This paper describes how the USB, using its own human resources, has achieved the establishment of a Clinical Engineering Department in a national reference hospital for the first time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Technology of Biological Processes, Simón Bolívar University, Caracas, Venezuela.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Seminario
authors.forename: L O
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Lara-Estrella
mesh_terms: D001698:Biomedical Engineering / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006745:Hospital Bed Capacity, 300 to 499; D006754:Hospital Restructuring / Q000379:methods*; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric / Q000458:organization & administration*; D007318:Inservice Training; D008284:Maintenance and Engineering, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017146:Models, Organizational; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D010865:Pilot Projects; D010934:Planning Techniques; D014687:Venezuela