Ask me anything - Final year PhD student, Pharmacology/Toxicology - Biomed BSc

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Reply 60

Bagsworth

Original post by thegodofgod

Ah, okay

Wow, that's a lot for results / intro! :eek:

Yeah, quality control and assurance seems to be a big part of many jobs (not only in science or academia) nowadays.

It's a huge amount of work to do but the quality is more important than quantity. After all, most academics aren't huge fans of having to read a 100,000 word thesis, especially if a lot of it is just filler! Science PhDs commonly have a word limit of 40,000 words but it's not like you fail if you go over, more of a guideline really.

Reply 61

thegodofgod

Original post by Bagsworth

Hmm, so do you have any plans (career-wise or otherwise) as to what you're going to do immediately after your PhD?

Going on holiday somewhere nice? :biggrin:

Reply 62

SA197

I have a question,

I am planning on studying biomedical science, but the degree is not IBMS accredited so i have some questions.

1. what is the HCPC and will it enable you to work in hospitals in very department or just in the biomedical science related departments (immunology, haematology etc.)

2. what is STP?

I am interested in doing a masters in a neuroscience related subject after graduating and hope to work in a hospital being one of those people that help to diagnose and treat psychological and neurological disorders, clinically.

What path or training schemes etc. would I need to take?

Thanks

Reply 63

Bagsworth

Original post by SA197

Hey, so having an IBMS-accredited degree is important if you're planning on wanting to practise as a biomedical scientist. You need both an accredited degree and a period of at least a year post-graduate to complete a portfolio of evidence working in a pathology lab as a trainee biomedical scientist. You can do the training during your degree but these are few and far between these days.
If your degree is not accredited you can still complete that degree and submit your transcript to the IBMS where they will assess your degree and notify you of any deficiencies in your knowledge and you'd have to do top-up modules before you could be registered with the HCPC as a biomedical scientist.

Coming to that point - the HCPC regulate protected titles, you can see this on their website. Biomedical scientists working in pathology and clinical scientists are the lab based professions you can go into.

The STP is the scientist training programme where graduates can apply to become a clinical scientist in a chosen discipline. I only really am knowledgeable about the life science disciplines but you can apply to the STP in neuroscience or neurophysiology or something similar. The STP is a period of work-based training of 3 years while you complete a funded MSc degree in a chosen area. Completion of which will allow you to register with the HCPC as a clinical scientist. This is the only way you'd get to do what you want to do because no MSc would independently allow you to deal clinically with patients. You would have to be on the HCPC register as a clinical scientist so you would benefit from trying to shadow someone doing the job you'd like to do at your local hospital so you have plenty of things to talk about when you get round to applying to the STP.

Reply 64

lintfreetissues

Hi, as you may realise, I was on this thread before. Come October I will be looking for an Industrial Placement to work in after my second year of Biomedical Science. My university is accredited and I'm working at a First Class level. I want to find a placement that can help me find a career in cancer research or cistopathology. I wanted to know how to go about finding a placement. What should a typical Placement student require? What kind of CV needs to be prepared? And finally I want to know where should I apply for placements for the field I want to work in? Also, I want to know if it's worth doing a PhD or Masters if I ultimately do want to end up in Cancer Research.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 65

Bagsworth

Original post by lintfreetissues

Well it's good that your university is accredited by the IBMS but you don't need to be if you're not planning on being a biomedical scientist.
Working in a placement that would suit your career aspirations is a good idea and any industry company that deals with cancer research would be an idea. GSK, AstraZeneca and the like usually have applications to submit for a funded placement year at one of their locations so that could be an option. Likewise the Institute of Cancer Research Uni of London could help. Maybe you could possibly be a research assistant to a doctoral or postdoctoral researcher there. Equally, though, you could just do a placement in a histopathology lab as part of your biomedical science training. You could complete the certificate of competence and give you some more career options in case you wanted to stay in biomed. the histo lab would also get you first hand experience with cancer as a disease. I did my placement year in the clinical biochemistry labs which also deals with cancer monitoring routinely but not exclusively. I believe the placement year was definitely useful in securing my funded PhD position as well but any placement year would put you above most other candidates without that experience. Especially if you get first class honours as well. As far as I can see it though, you won't be able to do actual cancer research until you have a PhD in the subject so the placement doesn't necessarily have to be in cancer, it is just that stepping stone to a studentship. During your PhD you could then become an expert on a particular cancer subtype that you can then use to launch into your career. the good news for you is that cancer is a hot topic and there is plenty of funding for good students with a good project! But you would almost certainly need a PhD to go into cancer research proper, a graduate could be a research assistant to the researcher with the possibility to maybe get an in-service funded PhD later on but that would be at your employer's discretion and not guaranteed. I hope that helps!

Reply 66

LuisaRose

Hi,
I'll be starting biomed at uni in September. The course is non-accredited. Am I wasting my time? I don't necessarily want to become a biomedical scientist, I'll probably go on to study a graduate degree in something else BUT let's say I do want to become a biomedical scientist...(apart from doing top-up modules/becoming registered with HCPC) is there a way of doing this?

Or in other words what could I do with a non-accredited biomed degree?

Reply 67

LFFFF

Hi! I am not sure this is relevant but you seem to be very open to any kind of question :smile:

I am an undergraduate and I would like to apply for a MRC Summer Studentship: what are the steps involved after having sent your cv and letter of application to a researcher?
I did so and she gave me an appointment for an interview on skype: any advice about what should I expect from the interview? And should I do anything to apply for the studentship apart from this?
Thank you a lot and kudos for your achievements!

Reply 68

Bagsworth

Original post by LFFFF

Hi! I am not sure this is relevant but you seem to be very open to any kind of question :smile:

Hey

Congratulations on getting an interview for a summer studentship! Advice for the interview would really be about understanding what goes on in the lab you have applied for. Do you know about the manual techniques they do? electrophoresis? Western blotting? PCR or RNA quantification etc? Do you know what research goes on? have a read of the recent publications to have come out of that lab (particularly the interviewer(s) - goes the same for any research position you ever want to apply for). As you've got an interview from your CV and application then make sure you know what you put in your application and can elaborate if asked.
Other than that, be keen, emphasise that you're there to learn about the lab but you want to get stuck in as well. I don't know what year you're in or what degree you are studying but it could be useful to know basic lab techniques as well. But they will mostly be looking for eagerness to learn from the experience and by extension will want to know that you know what the studentship involves, that you've not just sent a generic application to any one that would accept, why particularly this studentship? What appeals to you about that lab? I hope that's some things to get you thinking about what they'll probably be expecting! Some labs will be different, but it can be a hassle having summer students in labs so they will want to know that you're going to make the most of it and that them taking you on will be good for them as well!

Reply 69

anxsha__

Im thinking of studying Pharmacology but just wondering how much chemistry is involved, and what type?

Original post by Bagsworth

Hi everyone! I see there are quite a few of these around from final year undergrads wanting to help fellow students out.
I'm just at the exit of formal education now and am here to help any students from any level that are:
a) unsure of what life science degree to study / the general differences between similar degrees.
b) to study Biomedical Science or not? The point of IBMS accreditation and whether you need it.
c) want to work in the NHS, industry or academia when you finish? Research, technical or clinical side of science?
d) would you want to study for an MSc or a PhD and do you need one?
e) anything about the career paths of either a biomedical scientist or clinical scientist in the NHS/health service (specifically life science - biochemistry) and how to enter onto the training paths for each of them (career framework stage 4, 5 or 6).

I look forward to your questions!

Reply 70

Iq4

Hi! I am about to complete BSc honours Medical laboratory technology degree with Advanced clinical immunology major from Pakistan. I wanted to become a consultant in any division of biomedical science from UK. Can anyone guide me about this?

Reply 71

A.Montgomery

Original post by Bagsworth

I was wondering how many years of studying at uni does it take to become a paramedic? and what type of subjects should you study at A-Level if you want to be one? Thank you!