Helping you find a career in the biomedical engineering industry
The role of a biomedical scientist is to work alongside Clinicians to help diagnose and treat diseases. Most biomedical scientists in the UK work for the NHS, but there are also biomedical roles in the private healthcare industry, as well as for other public and private bodies (for instance the Food Standards Agency or pharmaceutical businesses). There are Biomedical Science opportunities in the NHS throughout the UK, including within Hospital Trusts, Public Health England and NHS Blood and Transplant.
Biomedical Science in the NHS is split across 3 disciplines: infection sciences (virology and medical microbiology), blood sciences (haematology, immunology, transfusion science and clinical chemistry), and cellular sciences (cytology and histopathology). There are also biomedical scientists working on genetics and molecular pathology. The NHS Scientist Training Programme is the UK's major training scheme for biomedical scientists. During the application process you will be asked to state your preferred discipline.
Work as a biomedical scientist is mostly laboratory-based, although there are occasionally opportunities to work directly with patients alongside clinicians, however there are strict guidelines about what level of contact you are permitted to have with patients.
Biomedical scientists can expect to:
- Conduct standard and specialised laboratory testing on a variety of biological samples Work with clinicians to understand their patients' needs and prioritise your workload in the laboratory Support the development of new testing methodologies * Keep up with new developments in your field of specialism through Continuous Professional Development (CPD)