Kentucky’s Only BTS Program is Offered at MCC

Students commute from surrounding states for weekly onsite labs.

Madisonville, Kentucky – Madisonville Community College (MCC) students Taylor Thompson and Will Conradi have been traveling from middle Tennessee to Madisonville one day a week since 2016.  Why?  Because both students took the advice of friends when considering a career change and enrolled in the Biomedical Technology Systems (BTS) program at MCC.

The BTS program is the only public, non-profit program of its type in the state of Kentucky and offers students a unique hands-on training opportunity focusing on repairing, maintaining, and managing a wide variety of medical devices, equipment, and systems. IT related content adequately prepares students to meet the expectations of employers. Opportunities for employment are available in hospitals, clinics, home medical equipment companies, medical equipment service and manufacturing companies, ambulatory care and surgery centers as well as multi-physician practice facilities.

Will Conradi of Smyrna, Tennessee, enrolled in the BTS program in August 2016.  Tired of working in the manufacturing industry and looking for a better opportunity, Conradi enrolled at MCC and was able to find a new full-time job that would work around his college schedule.  With an anticipated May 2018 graduation date, he is now on his way to a successful career in the biomedical field and is looking forward to working at a healthcare facility or medical equipment company in and around the Nashville area.  BTS graduates can specialize in any number of high-end medical technologies, including imaging and dialysis where there is currently a strong need for service technicians.

BTS courses are offered online and only require students to attend onsite lab classes one day a week.  The hands-on lab activities utilize the BTS program’s large inventory of medical equipment found in the various sectors of healthcare.

Taylor Thompson of Franklin, Tennessee, was looking for a healthcare profession that did not require direct patient contact when she heard about MCC’s BTS program.  Having prior college experience at Tennessee Technological University and at Chattanooga State University, Taylor shared, “The hardest part was deciding what I wanted to do.  After I made the decision, everything else was easy!  Everyone at MCC has been so helpful.  The BTS program has allowed me to feel confident about my abilities in my chosen profession.  There’s no way that I can learn everything I need to know in only two years, but this program gives me the tools to be able to figure out anything I need to know.”  Thompson will also be graduating in May 2018 and is looking forward to working in the field, getting her Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician (CBET) certification, completing her bachelor’s degree, and eventually landing a management position.

For more information about the Biomedical Technology Systems program at Madisonville Community College, contact

Joey Jones
Program Coordinator
joey.jones@kctcs.edu 
(270) 824-1759) 
BTS program webpage.