Tell me about accreditation...biomedical sciences

is this similar doing a biomedical science course? tbh what is actually the main difference between biomedical and healthcare science...

As I said this never happened as the two roles are still parallel but different and you can't dip between the two. So as part of modernising scientific careers, they came up with the PTP and STP for people looking to register as biomedical scientist ahem, healthcare science practitioners or clinical scientists, "healthcare scientists". The Healthcare Science BSc is like TraineeBMS said - it's a 3 year programme where they teach you all you need to know about being a BMS alongside practical placements so you come out the other side able to register as a biomedical scientist. The alternative is the BSc Biomedical Science, which is pretty much the same only spread over 4 years with a placement year in a hospital lab. The important thing is the ability to become registered upon graduation.
As for me, yes, as a trainee clinical scientist you get paid as a band 6 for 3 years while you train, the MSc is paid for and when you finish you can get a job as a senior clinical scientist band 7 position in your chosen specialty (for me it's clinical biochemistry). It's very enjoyable so far. I did my BSc (biomedical sciences) at Essex university.

wouh that is pretty confusing but i think i get it....

so then if i do PTP would i need to do STP after? and similarly if i do Bsc Biomed Science like you, i would also need to do STP..

wouh that is pretty confusing but i think i get it....

so then if i do PTP would i need to do STP after? and similarly if i do Bsc Biomed Science like you, i would also need to do STP..

If you want to do the STP and be a clinical scientist then the best thing to do is to study a BSc closest to what you want to do. For me, a degree in biomed meant I could apply for the STP in a lot of disciplines because it encompassed a breadth of knowledge eg haematology, biochemistry, immunology, microbiology, histology etc but from speaking to consultant clinical scientists in the past the ideal undergrad degree is the one that is most specific to your chosen specialism. Biomed opens the door for the STP in a lot of disciplines but you have to prove you know a threshold level of specialist specific knowledge. If you want to become a clinical scientist you're best picking a specific degree rather than one that gives you breadth of knowledge. I did biomed as a BSc specifically because it gave me a broad knowledge of science knowledge, but I've since specialised in biochem, toxicology and pharmacology. In some departments there aren't many clinical scientists, especially in smaller hospitals outside big cities, but if you want to live in a city then there are usually jobs around. Some disciplines don't have many clinical scientists regardless of hospital size though because their job is done by medical staff, however this may change in the future as clinical scientists are cheaper than medically qualified staff. In biochem, clinical scientists authorise lab results, sometimes conduct research to improve testing and interpret results to the doctors/nurses either over the phone or by going to multidisciplinary doctor/nurse/clinical meetings to discuss patients and prognosis. Both biomedical and clinical scientists can progress to lab management. Biomedical scientists (from experience) do not really leave the lab at any point except for point-of-care testing but clinical scientists go on ward rounds and talk to medical staff about patients etc.

AP's (Band 4) in Biochemistry will do point of care testing also.

In Microbiology BMS's authorise a lot of results although some are passed to either a microbiology consultant or a senior BMS.

This is the confusing thing about pathology, we don't have APs at all in my biochemistry department! We have band 2 and 3 MLA and then band 5 registered BMS, band 6 specialist BMS / trainee clinical scientists, band 7 senior BMS and clinical scientist, band 8a chief BMS, operations manager (8a/8b) and 8a, 8b principal clinical scientist, and consultant clinical scientist (8c/8d/9).
And you're right authorisation isn't just a clinical scientist job, its something done by them during the day, BMSs authorise results during the night/certain urgent tests and clinical scientists are available for interpretation. All routine biochem is automatically authorised and released as long as the results are within reference range.

Ahh, i get the gist of it now, thankyou both for that! im guessing its challenging to get into the STP programme..

Hope you're less confused now! The STP is one of the more competitive graduate schemes out there. It depends what specialism you apply for, but every year there are about 9,000 applications for about 200 positions nationwide.

definetly less confused and more knowledgeable! that sounds quite scary...but for now i think i'll just first finish my a-levels and then try to do well in uni and see how things go instead of worrying about the future already haha! one more question sorry, does the uni help with applying to STP or do you do it all yourself?

Good! You apply to the STP through the NSHCS website and apply as you would a job - previous experience, education, answering questions about science aptitude and knowledge on the profession. If you get offered a place they forward your names to the uni teaching the MSc and then you complete a simple enrolment.

I have been enlightened about this program, biomedical sciences. Thanks for your contributions. I have bsc microbiology in Africa. I have applied to study MSC biomedical sciences in the UK. What are my chances of becoming a BMS ?

If your main goal is to become a BMS the masters is not the way to do it. You should contact the HCPC and see which top up modules they would require you to do in order to get accredited. You would then be able to try and get a trainee job while you get your registration portfolio.

HCPC don't have anything to do with degree assessments, that's the IBMS.

Apologies, the IBMS would then be who they need to contact. Thanks for clarifying.

I wasn’t sure as I’m doing the accredited undergrad so I’ll not need to do top ups!

If a whole new undergraduate was required then the Practitioners Training programme is the way to to over a generic IBMS accredited Biomedical Science degree. Some MSc degrees can fill in the gaps for accreditation too but IBMS assessment is key.

Fair enough. I’ve never known anyone that I’ve spoken to in the labs to get in any other way than the top up modules if they didn’t get the accredited degree first time around! Having said that I’d say our labs have a significant number of people who didn’t do an accredited degree. I find that a weird prospect. What discipline are you in?