Career as an NHS biomedical scientist: Which graduate route?

A little background: I am a graduate with a BSc in Life Sciences from the Open University. The modules I have taken over the course of my studies have focused primarily around molecular and biomedical sciences, so I am not particularly removed from this field, and hope that I can get this qualification accredited by the IBMS.

In addition, I am likely to obtain a relevant Masters degree, which I hope will allow me to enter employment with the NHS. So far I have offers from UCL for the MSc in Infection and Immunity, alongside an offer from the University of Bristol for the MSc in Transfusion and Transplantation Sciences.

How realistic are my chances of getting employment after finishing these courses? I understand the the Bristol one is more focused on an actual job, considering it is sponsored by NHS Blood and Transplant. However, UCL has a bit more variety and probably has a slightly higher reputation, which will help when I get my PhD eventually (which I'm considering doing abroad).

From what I understand, I would need to gain a certificate of competence so I can register with the HPC. Just how tricky is this after leaving university. Can I get a basic biomedical sciences job simply with the intention of completing it and then gain the necessary experience and demonstrate competence there?

Thank you in advance for your responses.

EDIT: I'm at UCL now, many months later! The UCL course has just received IBMS accreditation, if anyone is checking this from the future.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 1

Disenchanted

Why not study a postgraduate degree in Biomedical Science..?

Reply 2

Revd. Mike

blacklight

As I understand it you'll need to find a trainee BMS job to enable you to build up a portfolio until you can gain state registration.

Reply 3

WhatTheFunk

ibms accreditation is pretty important http://www.ibms.org/go/registration:reg-qualification-assess

from that apply to trainee jobs, in the area you want, and to build up your portofolio, that takes about a year

Reply 4

Svenjamin

blacklight

In addition, I am likely to obtain a relevant Masters degree, which I hope will allow me to enter employment with the NHS. So far I have offers from UCL for the MSc in Infection and Immunity, alongside an offer from the University of Bristol for the MSc in Transfusion and Transplantation Sciences.

How realistic are my chances of getting employment after finishing these courses? I understand the the Bristol one is more focused on an actual job, considering it is sponsored by NHS Blood and Transplant.

I'm studying the Bristol Transfusion & Transplantation MSc at the moment, so if you have any specific questions about the course feel free to ask. What field of clinical science are you thinking of getting into by the way?

For chances of employment, it's difficult to say. The MSc definitely increases your chances, but on the other hand clinical science does have 70-80 applicants per job (including people with PhDs and years of experience) so it'd be wrong to say it guarantees a job. One of the good things about the course is the part-time students on the course are all working clinical scientists, so it's good to be able to ask things about the job to be more clued up when applying for jobs.

I'm doing it to increase my employment prospects, so will find out how much it helps when it comes round to finding out about interview dates in late march/april. The thing I like about the bristol course is it covers pretty much every part of transfusion and transplantation, including donation, processing, testing, transplantation etc. so it's great for getting an idea about the bigger picture and learning about how science is applied. When it comes to jobs, I think the advantage of the Bristol course is since it centres on clinical science it covers what tests and tools are used at the moment, and all the theory behind them. That provides a big advantage over a graduate fresh out of university, and it's all essential info for job interviews.

Currently the Bristol course is getting IBMS accreditation. They had a review group come in a few weeks ago, and apparently they've said everythings great so now it's down to the course coordinator to fill out the report and finish the paper work. So the IBMS thing is unofficially confirmed, although it won't be long til it's official (definitely before the start of next academic year). IBMS accreditation isn't very important for clinical science, but it's good to have the course recognised.

The HPC certification is gained in the first job in Clinical Science. It's a 4 year qualification, so you get your first job in a trainee post and the first 4 years will be working towards the HPC. If you want to know more about applying for the jobs then this thread is useful.

Reply 5

blacklight

Thanks for the excellent info. Do you think I would be at much of a disadvantage going from the MSc in Infection and Immunity at UCL in comparison to the more focused Bristol course then? I prefer the UCL course from what I've read of it, I'd really like to study in London and it's quite well outlined. I'm not so keen on living around Filton area, which I understand is way out in the styx on the Bristol course.

I'm still not entirely convinced if the clinical science is the route I want however, I'm looking to keep options firmly open. It seems a viable way to get employment with qualifications in the fields I'm looking at, and I would feel foolish for throwing away that flexibility by going to UCL. Incidentally I've just received an offer for clinical microbiology at Nottingham also, another IBMS accredited course.

I'll take a good look through that clinical science thread, certainly a lot of knowledgable people there I imagine!

Reply 6

Svenjamin

Filton isn't too far from Bristol centre. I currently live halfway between Filton and the centre, which is the best of both worlds (30min walk to centre, 15min cycle to work). But it has good bus routes from the centre so there's no need to live anywhere near Filton (which is a total dive anyhow). As long as you live along Gloucester Rd (Main road on the east side of town) and not Whiteladies Rd (Main road on the west side of town) it's easy to get to and from the blood centre.

I'd say if you're still not sure about clinical science then the bristol course probably isn't for you. It's pretty much entirely geared towards clinical work, so may not be that informative if you later decide to go into research. It's only really worth doing the Bristol course if you definitely want to get into clinical haematology or H&I.

The UCL course is probably your best choice in that respect. The MSc associated with a lot of the H&I jobs I've applied for is the immunology course at Kings (for the labs in London at least, but it is partly because they'd rather keep their staff in London rather than sending them off to other cities). So the UCL immunology course will put you in good stead for CS whilst still keeping your choices open.

Reply 7

blacklight

That's really very informative. Thanks for all the details, rep sent your way!

Reply 8

Sprockette

I got my Life Science degree accredited and was told I could do 3 modules over 2 semesters to get accreditation. Look up Form B in the assessment of a non-accredited degree programme section:

http://www.ibms.org/go/registration:reg-qualification-assess

Reply 9

Rubyruby1986

Hi, I am also studying Life Sciences through The Open Uni and then want to go onto Biomedical Sceince. I am half way through now but it seems to be taking forever.Did it take you a while to complete?

Reply 10

Sprockette

Rubyruby1986

Hi, I am also studying Life Sciences through The Open Uni and then want to go onto Biomedical Sceince. I am half way through now but it seems to be taking forever.Did it take you a while to complete?

Well it took me the first 4 years for my undergrad degree as I didn't know that I wanted to do Biomed. Then I applied to get that degree accredited and it's taking me 3 modules over 2 semesters to get registration with IBMS. How far are you into it? You could check out switching..? I don't know how that'd work though.

Reply 11

Rubyruby1986

It has taken me 2 1/2 years to get half way through. I am seriously considering going to Uni and taking a course every summer to get the diploma in Life Sceinces instead. I am not sure i can face another 2 1/2 years of home study and then doing a masters on top which means 3 1/2 years altogether. How did you find going to Uni after doing your OU, did you find it tough or okay?