Biomedical Science BSc course advice needed
I've applied to Uni of Manchester, Uni of Leeds and Liverpool John Moore's Uni to study biomedical science (BSc) and need some advice as to which I should choose.
My first choice was initially UoM, but I'm disappointed that the biomed BSc there isn't accredited. LJMU isn't a Russel Group uni but biomed is accredited there, and also has the option to choose a few NHS lab based modules alongside theoretical study. The accredited degree at LJMU seems to be my best option but I'm concerned that it's not ranked as prestigiously as UoM. Any advice?
My first choice was initially UoM, but I'm disappointed that the biomed BSc there isn't accredited. LJMU isn't a Russel Group uni but biomed is accredited there, and also has the option to choose a few NHS lab based modules alongside theoretical study. The accredited degree at LJMU seems to be my best option but I'm concerned that it's not ranked as prestigiously as UoM. Any advice?
Reply 1
If you REALLY want to go into diagnostics, go for the accredited course and forget prestige as the NHS don't care about that. I have spent several years working in the NHS and whilst I could have gone to a RG uni (which the relationship between them and doing well tends to be toxic IMO), I chose not to as it would have held me back when wanting to go into diagnostics, then choosing to have done a BSc, followed by a MSc in Biomedical Science.
If you go to an RG group, of which none are accredited and want to go into diagnostics, you will have to spend potentially years going back to uni, at your own expense and time, doing top up modules. I had a colleague who had done their course at an RG uni (both BSc and MSc because they fell into the honey trap of RG uni glory) and was told they would need to do 7 top up modules to get their degree accredited and recognised by the IBMS. Guess how long 7 top up modules would take them to do? 3 years. They may as well do a whole new degree with that time.
Whilst I don't know what career you want to take, consider the above and think, is the prestige if I want to go into diagnostics really worth the extra time and finance going back to uni?
If you go to an RG group, of which none are accredited and want to go into diagnostics, you will have to spend potentially years going back to uni, at your own expense and time, doing top up modules. I had a colleague who had done their course at an RG uni (both BSc and MSc because they fell into the honey trap of RG uni glory) and was told they would need to do 7 top up modules to get their degree accredited and recognised by the IBMS. Guess how long 7 top up modules would take them to do? 3 years. They may as well do a whole new degree with that time.
Whilst I don't know what career you want to take, consider the above and think, is the prestige if I want to go into diagnostics really worth the extra time and finance going back to uni?
Reply 2
5
Original post
by ScienceisgoodIf you REALLY want to go into diagnostics, go for the accredited course and forget prestige as the NHS don't care about that. I have spent several years working in the NHS and whilst I could have gone to a RG uni (which the relationship between them and doing well tends to be toxic IMO), I chose not to as it would have held me back when wanting to go into diagnostics, then choosing to have done a BSc, followed by a MSc in Biomedical Science.
If you go to an RG group, of which none are accredited and want to go into diagnostics, you will have to spend potentially years going back to uni, at your own expense and time, doing top up modules. I had a colleague who had done their course at an RG uni (both BSc and MSc because they fell into the honey trap of RG uni glory) and was told they would need to do 7 top up modules to get their degree accredited and recognised by the IBMS. Guess how long 7 top up modules would take them to do? 3 years. They may as well do a whole new degree with that time.
Whilst I don't know what career you want to take, consider the above and think, is the prestige if I want to go into diagnostics really worth the extra time and finance going back to uni?
If you go to an RG group, of which none are accredited and want to go into diagnostics, you will have to spend potentially years going back to uni, at your own expense and time, doing top up modules. I had a colleague who had done their course at an RG uni (both BSc and MSc because they fell into the honey trap of RG uni glory) and was told they would need to do 7 top up modules to get their degree accredited and recognised by the IBMS. Guess how long 7 top up modules would take them to do? 3 years. They may as well do a whole new degree with that time.
Whilst I don't know what career you want to take, consider the above and think, is the prestige if I want to go into diagnostics really worth the extra time and finance going back to uni?
Thanks so much. Still not completely sure on what career to go into, but diagnostics does seem interesting. Are your generic work days quite repetitive like continuous lab analysis or is there variation in tasks to keep you interested?
Reply 3
Original post
by crazyIemonThanks so much. Still not completely sure on what career to go into, but diagnostics does seem interesting. Are your generic work days quite repetitive like continuous lab analysis or is there variation in tasks to keep you interested?
Whilst I have not yet become a registered BMS yet, the highest band I’ve been is an associate practitioner, I would say the days for myself tended to be fairly repetitive, with some days being busier (typically Mondays as people put off going to hospital until after the weekend) and Fridays and weekends being typically quieter.
Once you have completed your degree, you will have to complete your IBMS portfolio (if you wish to be a Biomedical Scientist) which requires you to get a job as you can’t do it outside of a training lab. Getting your first job from experience is a mission and a half and based on that, I would highly suggest looking for a degree which offers a placement year (and I know some people who have completed their portfolios on said year). Currently right now I’m unemployed as I left my job last September (I graduated on the 26th November this year) and have had several interviews thus far (most recent one being yesterday for another Associate Practitioner role in London) I hopes of getting my IBMS portfolio competed… but based on questions two and three of the interview, I don’t have high hopes!
Tl;dr - from what I’ve seen, they tend to be fairly similar days throughout and different times of the year tend to be busier, particularly after times of the year people go to bars and festivals such as New Year or Reading Music Festival where people tend to be a bit, well, less careful.
I know there is someone on here who is far more knowledgeable than myself on this subject matter and hopefully, they will happen upon this and be of far more help to you than myself! Whilst I know a fair bit on how to get to be a BMS, actually doing the job is out of my area I’m afraid… so I’m going based on what I’ve seen!
Reply 4
Original post
by crazyIemonThanks so much. Still not completely sure on what career to go into, but diagnostics does seem interesting. Are your generic work days quite repetitive like continuous lab analysis or is there variation in tasks to keep you interested?
Just thought I would ask, I can give you an example of a question you will get (obviously will deviate to the type of question you will actually get) in your final year depending on the specialism you choose. I personally chose Clinical Biochemistry.
Reply 5
The question will be for an accredited course and not a course not accredited.
Reply 6
Hey there!
As you're already aware, LJMU offers a BSc Biomedical Sciences, which is accredited by IBMS. We also offer a BSc Applied Biomedical Sciences, which gives you regular NHS lab practice throughout your degree. The accreditation means that you can also join the Institute as an eStudent and have access to their resources!
I would greatly recommend looking into this, either as a primary option or even as a safety option, as our entry requirements are BBC-ABB (112-128 UCAS points). You can always apply to your other options as well and have this as a back-up, so it allows you more time to decide or change your mind.
BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science | Undergraduate course | Liverpool John Moores University
If you have any questions or concerns about the course, or just wanted to talk your options through with somebody, I would suggest you either contact our admissions team or our course enquiries team (emails put below) - please just note that the Uni officially reopens on Jan 6th so it will take a few days for them to catch up on emails and get back to you
[email protected]
[email protected]
Thanks,
Jorja (LJMU Student Rep)
As you're already aware, LJMU offers a BSc Biomedical Sciences, which is accredited by IBMS. We also offer a BSc Applied Biomedical Sciences, which gives you regular NHS lab practice throughout your degree. The accreditation means that you can also join the Institute as an eStudent and have access to their resources!
I would greatly recommend looking into this, either as a primary option or even as a safety option, as our entry requirements are BBC-ABB (112-128 UCAS points). You can always apply to your other options as well and have this as a back-up, so it allows you more time to decide or change your mind.
BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science | Undergraduate course | Liverpool John Moores University
If you have any questions or concerns about the course, or just wanted to talk your options through with somebody, I would suggest you either contact our admissions team or our course enquiries team (emails put below) - please just note that the Uni officially reopens on Jan 6th so it will take a few days for them to catch up on emails and get back to you
[email protected]
[email protected]
Thanks,
Jorja (LJMU Student Rep)
Reply 7
5
Original post
by ScienceisgoodThe question will be for an accredited course and not a course not accredited.
Sure - if you could, that would be great!
Reply 8
Original post
by crazyIemonSure - if you could, that would be great!
Please don't feel overwhelmed as these are final year questions of a BSc, so it's just to give an idea of what to expect and if it's what you are looking for. Note these are all exam questions, of which you were given 3 hours to answer 3 questions, written not typed.
Ok, I've included some random examples of questions in this post from my BSc exams (I graduated in 2018 ), so these are about 10 years old question wise (yes these have lived on my hard drive for the last 7 years) but I suspect they're still relevant as I went back to do my Masters last year (23-24 year) and I saw content very similar to them. This is all Clinical Biochemistry based, I did not do modules related to medical microbiology, haematology, immunology, med gen etc…
(edited 11 months ago)
Reply 9
I don't know if you want to go into a Masters course but here is a random example of a piece of coursework I was given this year. Translation, diagnose the patient and rule out what conditions he can't have, I had to do this within 1,500 words (in the end, my final word count was 1,499)!
Reply 10
5
Original post
by ScienceisgoodI don't know if you want to go into a Masters course but here is a random example of a piece of coursework I was given this year. Translation, diagnose the patient and rule out what conditions he can't have, I had to do this within 1,500 words (in the end, my final word count was 1,499)!
Wooooow, these are so helpful, thank you!! Was there a lot of maths in your BSc course?
Reply 11
Original post
by crazyIemonWooooow, these are so helpful, thank you!! Was there a lot of maths in your BSc course?
If your course is an honours degree (which most are), there is a fairly heavy amount of statistics in your second year (to determine statistically significant vs insignificant results), translation, calculate P Values.
It will depend on your course structure as with mine, we had an exam specifically for calculating statistics, after which I never calculated it again and just stuck it into Microsoft Excel. If you’re lucky, you may be given coursework for the statistics section as you will need to use statistics on your dissertation or your project (whichever you choose). Either way, you will need to do some but once you’ve done the hard stuff, a lot of it can be done on your computer (as said, Excel) which saves you a lot of effort.
When it came to the piece you quoted, I just Googled an eGFR calculator and plugged in the data. Why put in extra effort for the same result right? 😐
Reply 12
20
Original post
by crazyIemonI've applied to Uni of Manchester, Uni of Leeds and Liverpool John Moore's Uni to study biomedical science (BSc) and need some advice as to which I should choose.
My first choice was initially UoM, but I'm disappointed that the biomed BSc there isn't accredited. LJMU isn't a Russel Group uni but biomed is accredited there, and also has the option to choose a few NHS lab based modules alongside theoretical study. The accredited degree at LJMU seems to be my best option but I'm concerned that it's not ranked as prestigiously as UoM. Any advice?
My first choice was initially UoM, but I'm disappointed that the biomed BSc there isn't accredited. LJMU isn't a Russel Group uni but biomed is accredited there, and also has the option to choose a few NHS lab based modules alongside theoretical study. The accredited degree at LJMU seems to be my best option but I'm concerned that it's not ranked as prestigiously as UoM. Any advice?
"Accredited" only matters if you want to do just hospital lab-work - and top Unis are not interested in training lab-staff, they want to train higher-achievers for research roles, and thats why they don't bother with accreditation. So - if you want to go to a high-grade Uni just be aware of what the course is designed to train you for.
Reply 13
The previous poster is incorrect. IBMS accreditation is needed to become registered with the HCPC as a Biomedical Scientist. Biomedical scientist is a protected title in the UK so if you want to work in that profession you want to consider that.
If you don't want to be a biomedical scientist then it doesn't matter. There are lots of discussions on here about 'top universities' but I will give an employers perspective - it's rare for the institution to be the most important thing when hiring someone. And once you have work experience it becomes even less of a factor.
If you don't want to be a biomedical scientist then it doesn't matter. There are lots of discussions on here about 'top universities' but I will give an employers perspective - it's rare for the institution to be the most important thing when hiring someone. And once you have work experience it becomes even less of a factor.
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