A Muggle's Laboratory

Hello everyone, welcome back to another blog posts. Yes!! I have posted twice in under two weeks. Here is another interview to inspire and show people what biomedical scientist’s do. 

So, sit back, grab a cuppa and happy reading!!!

Hi, welcome to A Muggels laboratory can you tell me your name and what your role is?

“Hi my name is Sheri Scott Senior Lecturer, Course Lead for BSc Applied Biomedical Science (apprenticeship) course NTU.”

Can you tell me What your favourite subject is?

 “My favourite subject is Clinical Biochemistry and Training”

“What would you say is your favourite movie”

“My favourite movie is Outbreak or Volcano”

How did you begin your career and What inspired you to work in Biomedical science?

“I knew I wanted to be a Biomedical scientist early (Age 14) I did A level Biology, Chemistry and Geology and studied one year at NTU on an accredited Biomedical Sciences course before gaining a trainee position and continuing my degree part-time.”

What department do you work in and what is a common test carried out in your laboratory?

“I worked in Biochemistry for over 20 years before leaving a Band 7 role to become a lecturer.”

Can you tell me what a typical day or week is like for you?

“A typical day or week includes preparing module and course materials, running practical sessions, lecturing, generating  assessments, marking and lots of IBMS and Science Council activities.”

“What is your favourite thing about your career?”

“Seeing people grow, develop and achieve.”

What motivates you to work hard?

“The Love for my job”

What are the greatest challenges you faced during your career?

“Studying while working full-time and raising a family. It requires commitment, multitasking skills and a very supportive family.”

What are the current issues and trends in the field we should be aware of?

“The Lack of funds, time or support for training and developing staff. You can’t get quality without quality training”

What made you go into teaching and assessing and what are your main responsibilities?

“Mr Harvey – my science teacher”

What has been your most successful post? What made it successful to you?

“My current post – doing what I love, seeing a difference it makes and being able to do extracurricular professional activities as part of it.”

Do you feel like you’re making a difference in your job?

“Yes – 3 years into my course I am now looking towards my first cohort of apprentice students becoming registered in the next year.”

“What skills are the most crucial to succeeding in this career? What type of person do you need to be?”

“People and communication skills., approachability and not being afraid of hard work.”

“How does your position fit in within the Biomedical science field?”

“I am teaching, training and assessing all grades of laboratory professionals and future professionals”

“Do you have any advice or tips you would give to the future generation interested in working in a laboratory setting?”

“Its hard work, but rewarding. It’s not for everyone but if you find a discipline that’s right for you then you can make a difference.”

If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same for yourself? If not, what would you change?

“I wouldn’t change a thing”

What does being a biomedical scientist mean to you?

“It means being a part of a profession that has an impact on patient’s health, and a community of likeminded professionals who are invested in being the best they can be to produce high quality practice.”

A special thanks to Sheri for allowing me to interview her. I hope this post has given you an idea of what career options they are aside from being a Biomedical Scientist that works in a laboratory. Also, this interview shows how Biomedical scientists’; like Sheri work in academia to prepare the next generation of Biomedical scientists.

Give Sheri a follow on Twitter: @teachbiomed to see how her work continues.

Thank you for taking your time in reading this post, please leave a comment and subscribe. If anyone is interested in taking part in any future interviews please don’t hesitate to email me.