How do I apply my GP work experience to a personal statement for Biomed?

Hi guys,

I wanted to get some advice from ppl who had either wanted to do medicine but decided they want to Biomed instead and people who got rejected from med school so decided to study Biomed at uni. I’ve completed some work experience at a GP as initially I wanted to apply to med school, but recently I’ve been having second thoughts and was planning to apply to Biomed instead. The reason for the second thoughts are that my grades aren’t that great and I don’t think I’m ready to apply to med school just yet. I was wondering what ppl in my situation wrote on their personal statement in terms of work experience. Did you mention you healthcare work experience in your PS or did you link it to an aspect of Biomed? Is there any point of mentioning the work experience? Any advice would be appreciated 😁

Reply 1

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

I don't think there's really any need to mention work experience if you're applying to what is essentially an academic degree. Just discuss your academic interests in the subject. If you were also applying to medicine at the same time, many (although not all, e.g. Oxford's BMS course) accept a medicine statement as the know medics have to apply to at least one non-medicine course.

You should be aware though, if you wanted to work as a biomedical scientist in the NHS, you will need to be selective in which courses you decide to apply to, as not all will enable you to do so. You would need a degree which is IBMS accredited, at minimum, and ideally one that has the option of a placement year in an approved NHS pathology lab to allow you to complete the professional portfolio required for HCPC registration, or better yet a course which has such placements integrated into it.

Currently the only courses that are both IBMS accredited and have the integrated placements leading to HCPC registration and thus allowing you to directly apply to Band 5 BMS roles in the NHS on graduation are the Healthcare Sciences (Life Sciences) courses that form part of the NHS Practitioner Training Programme (PTP). You can find more info on the PTP and providers on their website here: https://nshcs.hee.nhs.uk/programmes/ptp/

Reply 2

pineapple201

OP

13

Original post by artful_lounger

I don't think there's really any need to mention work experience if you're applying to what is essentially an academic degree. Just discuss your academic interests in the subject. If you were also applying to medicine at the same time, many (although not all, e.g. Oxford's BMS course) accept a medicine statement as the know medics have to apply to at least one non-medicine course.

You should be aware though, if you wanted to work as a biomedical scientist in the NHS, you will need to be selective in which courses you decide to apply to, as not all will enable you to do so. You would need a degree which is IBMS accredited, at minimum, and ideally one that has the option of a placement year in an approved NHS pathology lab to allow you to complete the professional portfolio required for HCPC registration, or better yet a course which has such placements integrated into it.

Currently the only courses that are both IBMS accredited and have the integrated placements leading to HCPC registration and thus allowing you to directly apply to Band 5 BMS roles in the NHS on graduation are the Healthcare Sciences (Life Sciences) courses that form part of the NHS Practitioner Training Programme (PTP). You can find more info on the PTP and providers on their website here: https://nshcs.hee.nhs.uk/programmes/ptp/

Thank you so much for your advice! Do you know if I would be able to become a clinical scientist with a Biomed degree? I think that’s what the NHS STP programme is for right? 😅

Reply 3

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by pineapple201

Thank you so much for your advice! Do you know if I would be able to become a clinical scientist with a Biomed degree? I think that’s what the NHS STP programme is for right? 😅

I believe so, depending on the particular specialism you want to pursue. My understanding is the STP is enormously competitive, however: https://nshcs.hee.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/stp-competition-ratios-v1-2018.pdf Most of the bioscience related specialisms have more than 20 applicants per place. Microbiology seems to typically have about 300 applicants for 3 positions. The specialisms with lowest competition ratios tend to be those requiring a physical sciences background or some background in allied health professions otherwise. The average medicine degree is less competitive than many of the STP posts...

Since the Healthcare Sciences (Life Sciences) course should, in principle, be acceptable for the STP, while also enabling you to immediately apply to Band 5 BMS roles in the NHS anyway, there seems little reason not to pursue one of those courses compared to an unaccredited generic biomedical sciences degree. One exception may be if you wanted to do a PhD in the bisociences, since the healthcare sciences degree will presumably be more focused on training for the professional role of a BMS rather than preparation for academic research, so a generic BMS degree may offer some additional flexibility that could be helpful in that pursuit.

Reply 4

pineapple201

OP

13

Original post by artful_lounger

I believe so, depending on the particular specialism you want to pursue. My understanding is the STP is enormously competitive, however: https://nshcs.hee.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/stp-competition-ratios-v1-2018.pdf Most of the bioscience related specialisms have more than 20 applicants per place. Microbiology seems to typically have about 300 applicants for 3 positions. The specialisms with lowest competition ratios tend to be those requiring a physical sciences background or some background in allied health professions otherwise. The average medicine degree is less competitive than many of the STP posts...

Since the Healthcare Sciences (Life Sciences) course should, in principle, be acceptable for the STP, while also enabling you to immediately apply to Band 5 BMS roles in the NHS anyway, there seems little reason not to pursue one of those courses compared to an unaccredited generic biomedical sciences degree. One exception may be if you wanted to do a PhD in the bisociences, since the healthcare sciences degree will presumably be more focused on training for the professional role of a BMS rather than preparation for academic research, so a generic BMS degree may offer some additional flexibility that could be helpful in that

I'm not sure what I want to do in the future which is why I'm planning to apply to Biomed as I was told it opens many doors. However I feel really insecure about picking a degree as I don't want to end up with one I hate which is why I've tried to stay away from other science related degrees. Could you give me some advice on what to do to pick a good degree, I feel really lost!

Reply 5

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by pineapple201

I'm not sure what I want to do in the future which is why I'm planning to apply to Biomed as I was told it opens many doors. However I feel really insecure about picking a degree as I don't want to end up with one I hate which is why I've tried to stay away from other science related degrees. Could you give me some advice on what to do to pick a good degree, I feel really lost!

I can sympathise, although I don't know how much advice I can offer since I was in more or less the same position and haven't really figured it out! I started an engineering degree because it seemed like it would give me a good range of options in and out of engineering and it was a "reputable" course. I quickly realised that I hate engineering and the course, which contributed to my acute depression and anxiety issues and led to me withdrawing from the course in the end.

What I realised more slowly is, generally speaking your degree subject correlates very little with a) what you may end up doing in the future and b) the range of possibilities you will have in the future. The vast majority of grad schemes and roles just don't care what you studied at uni - they just want to see that you have a degree, and you meet whatever minimum classification they are using as a cut off (usually a 2:1). Provided you meet those two requirements, you have ticked the necessary boxes and recruiters generally will then look at other, usually non-academic parts of your application, such as your work experience, your CV and cover letter generally otherwise, and what you have used that degree to do and how well you express the transferable skills you gained on that degree as being useful to them. Beyond that, most graduates end up working in jobs that have nothing to do with the material they studied in their degree.

As such, generally I would say, unless you want to go into a specific profession which requires a particular degree e.g. being a biomedical scientist, which requires at least the equivalent of the healthcare sciences (life sciences) degree programme if not that degree specifically, doctor/dentist/vet, etc, focus on just finding something you find interesting. It may be worth noting a law degree is not required to become a lawyer, however, and it may be possible to go onto various roles in the engineering sector without a degree in engineering but in some area with relevant skills like CS, maths, physics and so on. Just choose something you just find genuinely interesting that you think you will enjoy studying in a reasonable amount of depth and a good amount of breadth for three years - material that you would find appealing even if you never use it again, just for the intellectual culture of it.

What you use the degree to do, will make more difference than anything you study in the degree specifically for most; if you take advantage of placement opportunities, internships, work experience etc during your course, and use the various transferable skills you'll develop in the process of studying any degree, then you will probably land on your feet. If you just take a degree in a subject because it seems employable, but don't get any relevant work experience, don't (or can't) express how the transferable skills are useful to employers on your CV/covering letter, and pretty much just go to lectures and sit for exams for three years, you aren't going to be much more employable than the average school leaver - and so if you did this in a subject you didn't even enjoy, then the entire process was more or less a waste of time!

(edited 3 years ago)

How do I apply my GP work experience to a personal statement for Biomed?

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