What is Biomedical Science?

Biomedical Science Degree - What is biomedical science?

What is biomedical science?

Biomedical science involves studying and understanding the causes, diagnoses, effects and treatments of illnesses and diseases - basically. A person who has studied biomedical science and has become registered with the IBMS and HCPC (I will go into more detail about these two organisations in later posts) is known as a biomedical scientist. This person's job is to carry out different tests on a range of patient samples, such as blood, urine and tissues, and to investigate any medical conditions. If you go to your doctor or hospital and they take your blood for testing, it's probably a biomedical scientist who will take that sample and see if there is anything 'wrong' with your blood. 

The types of diseases a biomedical science will investigate include:

• Diabetes
• Anaemia 
• AIDS
• Cancer
• Viruses 

During this pandemic, it's biomedical scientists who have played a vital role in looking at and analysing all the COVID-19 test results. They play an extremely important job but mostly 'behind the scenes', so they often don't get much recognition. 

What types of specialties/areas are there in biomedical science?

One good advantage of doing biomedical science is that there are so many areas and specialties within the subject. 

• Haematology/Blood Science - diagnosing problems with the blood etc. anaemia, leukaemia, haemophilia
• Infection Sciences (virology, immunology, parasitology) - susceptibility testing, study the culture/identification of infectious diseases/parasites/fungi etc.
• Microbiology  - studying organisms that cause infections etc. MRSA
• Histopathology - study of tissues
• Cytopathology - study studies of cells

Specialist training is generally required to work in these areas - more information can be found on the NHS website - the link is below!

What opportunities are there?

There are many different opportunities for registered biomedical scientists and you have loads of opportunities after you get your degree and become registered. For example, you could work as a biomedical scientist in a pathology lab, or you could choose something completely different. You could carry on with your education or gain further training and become a doctor, or you could work in another part of the health sector, such as radiology, nursing, therapy or counselling. You could choose to do research or scientific writing too! The possibilities are endless, if you are motivated and willing to take the extra education and training needed. That's why I've said before that it doesn't really matter if you pick a degree and later think you might like to do something different, as long as they are similar and you do some research, you should be fine! Even if you feel like you want to go down a completely different route, such as IT, law, finance or the environment, there are always options with further training and the right skills. 

If you're unsure about the careers, maybe talk to a careers advisor or do some further research. The NHS Health Careers website is a good resource, and I'll post the link at the bottom of the post. You can also look at the prospects website - I'll also link this below.

Where are they employed?

Biomedical scientists can be employed by a number of companies and charities, but the main ones include:

• NHS
• The Private Sector
• Charities 
• Universities and schools
• The Armed Forces
• Research Centres

There are many more employers for biomedical scientists, of course, but that's a short list. You can also get opportunities working with pharmaceutical or food companies, or with the Health Protection Agency. 

USEFUL WEBSITE LINKS:

https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/biomedical-scientist

https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/healthcare-science/roles-healthcare-science/life-sciences/biomedical-science

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/biomedical-scientist

https://careers.ibms.org/home/