About me

• Biomedical Scientist at NHS
• Studied: BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science, 2018

About my career

My first job after graduation was a higher medical laboratory assistant (MLA) at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (NHS Wales) in Gwynedd Hospital within blood sciences. I applied for both band two and band three roles at the time via NHS jobs and luckily, I received an offer for both applications just before my graduation. I was hoping to complete my Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) registration portfolio whilst working as an MLA, therefore I chose the band three role where I could spend more time in the main labs instead of focusing on the reception area.

As a band three MLA, my main responsibility was to help the biomedical scientists to deliver efficient care to service users. I was rotated between hematology, biochemistry, and transfusion labs which involves setting up the Beckman analysers, and preparing manual blood films and traceability duties. Besides my full-time job, I was lucky enough to gain additional support on the completion of my registration portfolio where I was required to gather evidence and complete tasks in my own time. As I managed to complete my portfolio within a short period of time, I was really fortunate that my lab manager was able to see my potential, determination, and enthusiasm for the job and decided to second me to a band five Biomedical Scientist post while waiting for my portfolio verification.

My current post is a Health and Care Professions Council registered biomedical scientist specialising in hematology with hospital transfusion science at Gwynedd Hospital. My role is to support and advise trainee biomedical scientists, and aid colleagues to deliver efficient services to the users. To prioritise investigations in accordance with clinical requirements, such as trauma, cancer ward, and accident and emergency patients, to ensure optimum turnaround time for urgent requests without delay.

My main responsibilities while working in the hematology automation section are to check for abnormal results, and re-tests to confirm the result by following the laboratory protocols before authorising the results to the clinicians that have been held back by the system to optimise the turnaround time without delaying the patient’s treatments. However, in certain case scenarios, I will request an additional blood film or referral to one of the hematology consultants for further investigation based on my scientific knowledge. I am also responsible to deal with telephone enquiries including the provision of results to wards, clinics, and GP surgeries as per the laboratory standard operating procedures.

Working in the transfusion laboratory, I am also responsible for responding to major incident procedures by issuing appropriate emergency blood components accordingly in response to clinical situations. Besides the emergency protocols, my everyday responsibilities while working in the blood bank are sample acceptance, answering telephone requests, disseminating advice and information efficiently, and carrying out full antibody investigations of each patient using my scientific judgments based upon the laboratory results to determine whether further testing is required.

In general, one of my main responsibilities while working in all the different areas is to carry out internal quality control and external quality assessment procedures periodically to ensure all the results produced by the laboratory are accurate and valid.

At the end of my second year at Manchester Met, I applied to Gwynedd Hospital to do a three-month placement as a trainee biomedical scientist over the summer. This wasn’t a placement arranged by the University, it was a voluntary application that I made to my local NHS lab to gain additional experience and skills. I am so glad that I took this extra step as it aided me enormously when I went back to finish my final year and also to build my career. I was convinced that one of the main reasons that I received my first job offer was because of my NHS lab experience because that’s what most clinical employers are looking for. In my opinion, I think it is extremely important to apply for additional clinical lab placements to gain experience, even if it only lasts for a week. This would allow you to stand out from the crowd when you’re applying for your first clinical job after graduating.

After graduating I completed my IBMS registration training to become a registered biomedical scientist. I have also been to numerous continuing professional development to increase the capacity of my knowledge in blood science; particularly in hematology and transfusion science.

My top tip for students

Don’t hesitate to apply for any job, even if you haven’t met all the requirements for the post because the interview experience is most valuable. Always prepare for your interviews and don’t be afraid of rejection - and always ask for feedback from your interviewer so that you could prepare yourself better for the future. The sooner you participate in work experiences the better it is as this would show the recruiters you are dedicated and enthusiastic about the job.

I’m inspired by

I am inspired by my lecturers especially my supervisor Dr Adora Yau. She was a really encouraging and determined supervisor who guided me to the completion of my final year.

Why I love Manchester Met

I loved the people most from Manchester Met, meeting new friends that you’ll cherish for life.

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