Students look to the future after placement experience

Two students have reflected on their clinical placement experience as they look ahead to their final year at GCU.

Parmida Sharghi and Rebecca Doyle both started on the BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science course at GCU before applying to the Applied Biomedical Science route after Year 2. This pathway is designed for students aiming to become registered biomedical scientists in the NHS and involves a 15-week clinical placement during third year.

Just 13 out of around 100 students from the Biomedical Science programme were selected last year, with Parmida and Rebecca managing to securing a place.

“It’s really competitive, but it’s an amazing opportunity,” explained Parmida.

“A certain amount of students are interviewed by our lecturers and then they make the decision who is going to be selected. Placement allows us to complete what is known as the Registration Training Portfolio, which comes from the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS). You need to complete this to become a qualified Biomedical Scientist and work in the NHS. If you don’t go on placement then you can still get the qualification by getting a trainee position and completing the qualification through them, but it can be really difficult to source an opportunity.”

After spending Year 1 and 2 on campus, both Rebecca and Parmida took full advantage of their placement opportunity.

Rebecca said: “Placement was a really good chance to take everything we had learned in our first two and a half years and apply it in a real life scenario.

“I was in a microbiology lab at Forth Valley Royal Hospital. It was really cool for me to culture different things and deal with patient samples. Creating the portfolio felt quite easy because I had so many different pieces of evidence and experience to reflect on.”

Parmida added: “Placement was a very good experience for me. I was working in biochemistry, which is probably the most automated discipline in our profession.

“I was at University Hospital Wishaw where they have a track system, which means there is essentially a conveyer belt that runs all the tests and gives you the results. In that sense, it’s not as hands-on as the likes of microbiology where you get to culture the stuff you’re working with. However, it did let me see the different errors that come up, which is something we don’t really get to experience in university. That really helps with overall clinical context and understanding.”

The 13 students involved were invited to share their experience of clinical placement at an event held on campus in May. Celebrate Success in Biomedical Science brought together staff, students and key stakeholders.

Rebecca said: “It’s hard to keep in contact with everyone when you’re on placement and working full-time hours, so I really liked the fact we actually got some time together. I really found it interesting to hear about the different disciplines people have experienced because we can’t get an insight into absolutely everything as students. For example, I was doing microbiology and didn’t have a clue what a biochemistry lab was like, so hearing that from Parmida was really beneficial.”

Parmida said: “I think it was really nice to close up the semester at university after being away for 15 weeks. When you’re out on placement you can feel quite far away from GCU, so this event was a nice way of bringing us all together again as a community. It also allowed us to ask questions about what to expect from 4th year and have some casual conversations in-person, rather than having to send emails to our lecturers.”

The students returning from placement were also joined by their counterparts from Tung Wah College, Hong Kong. GCU and Tung Wah have a long-standing relationship and regularly send students to each institution on exchange, something Rebecca was excited to find out more about as she looks ahead to her final year.

She said: “I would definitely be up for going over to Tung Wah College in fourth year. I want to get as much experience as I can and see what our profession is actually like in the wider world. It’s a job that you can do anywhere - there are so many opportunities for us.

“I think fourth year overall can sound really daunting because our learning will definitely go up a level, but I’m excited to build on what I’ve learnt on placement. My experience last year will definitely help me understand everything because I feel now that I’ve had more exposure than ever thanks to my clinical placement.”

Parmida added: “It’ll be funny returning to lecture halls after so long on clinical placement, but it’s an exciting time for all of us. I know it’s going to be a step-up in learning, but we only have one more year to go!”

You can find out more about BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science/Applied Biomedical Science here

By Ross Clark

Currently studying at GCU and achieved something related to your course or in your personal life? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk