A Student of Biomedical Science

Subjects I Studied at GCSE & A-Level I'm often asked on my Instagram ( @astudentofbms ) what subjects I studied at GCSEs and A-Level, because people like to know what opportunities they can have after completing GCSEs and A-Levels.  I didn't know what I wanted to do as a career, so I tried to pick GCSEs and A-Levels that gave me a wide range of options later on.  I did my GCSEs in 2018, and then my A-Levels in 2020. I didn't actually manage to finish my A-Levels, because of COVID, and I wasn't able to sit my exams, so I was a bit worried what results I was going to get. All that doesn't matter now though, because I got accepted onto my degree, and now GCSEs and A-Levels are a thing of the past. 📖 GCSEs As with most schools, I had to study: 📚 English Language + Literature Maths + Maths Numeracy Sciences - Biology, Physics + Chemistry And then, because I'm in Wales, I studied: 📚 Welsh Language + Literature Welsh Baccalaureate For my optional GCSEs, I was ab...

Year 1 Semester 2 Modules This post is to recap my semester 2 modules. I really enjoyed my second semester, and I am so glad that I've now completed my first year! Although not what I expected my first year of university to be like, I did find it enjoyable, overall. I didn't have as much lab time as I'd hoped, and I haven't really met any coursemates, but it's not been too bad. I am looking forward to next semester! For now though, I'll give you some information on my first semester's modules, but in particularly my second semester. 4104 - Introduction to Biomedical Science 🔬 I really enjoyed this module, I think because of the variation in content and assessments. This unit focused on the work of biomedical scientists, such as the diseases they can help diagnose, how they do this, and the procedures in different NHS laboratories. I found this extremely interesting, because this is what I want to do in the future - work in an NHS lab - so I was glad that we...

 How I Study As A Biomedical Science Student The one thing I was quite apprehensive about before starting my course were the type of assessments I'd get and if I'd be able to study for them properly. I had completed my GCSEs and done well in those and had completed my AS levels and done fairly well in them too - but I'd never got the chance to do A Level exams. I had been studying consistently throughout the year in preparation for the exams, but they never happened, so I was nervous because I wasn't sure how effective my studying methods were. When the time did come for me to have my exams, I wasn't actually that worried - because they were all open-book due to COVID! This meant that I had to do the exams from my laptop at home and was allowed to look at my notes whilst completing the exam. I feel that this was a blessing but also a curse, because on the one hand it meant that I'd probably get good results because I had the answers right there in front of me, b...

Biomedical Science Year 1 Semester 1: Lab Sessions Recap Labs are definitely something I was worried about before starting my course. I hadn't been able to complete my practical exam for Biology A-level (due to COVID) and had never even been in a lab before, so I was nervous that I'd be out of my depth. Fortunately, that is the first thing that was addressed in my first lab session! The tutors suspected that most people hadn't been in a lab before, so we were all taught the basics. This made sure that everyone was on the same page and had basic knowledge of labs, even if they'd never been in one before. It was very helpful, as now I didn't feel as unprepared. I had been able to see pictures of the lab off my university's website before I went there, but I was never able to go there in person. I had planned to, but because of coronavirus, all the open days had been cancelled. This post is just giving you an insight into what my lab sessions were for the first sem...

A Recap of My First Semester Studying Biomedical Science

Biomedical Science Degree  What are the IBMS and HCPC? LINKS: https://www.ibms.org/home/ https://www.hcpc-uk.org/

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 an...

Biomedical Science Degree - Applying for the Degree If you're now wondering how I managed to get onto my course, read ahead, as I'll be talking about the steps I took from GCSEs all the way to September 2020, when I started my degree. So, GCSEs. At 16, I had just completed my GCSEs and had no idea on what I wanted to do next. I was originally not looking to do A-levels, and was trying to find an apprenticeship or some kind of work opportunity, but I just had no idea what type of field or route I wanted to go down. I had interests in a range of fields; science, health, environmental, administrative and legal. I'd looked for apprenticeships everywhere and had emailed a hundred companies, but there were just no opportunities for me in the area I lived. I spoke to the careers advisor at school -which was no help at all! - so I just winged it.  I chose to stay on and do my A-levels, because I had nothing else to do. I'd just gotten a new job at this time, so that was honestl...

A Student of Biomedical Science Blog - Biomedical Science Blog As you may have already read, I am a student studying a BSc degree in Biomedical Science in the UK - more specifically, in Liverpool. At the time of writing this post, I am a student in my first year and I've just completed semester 1, so I'm heading into my second semester this January. My name is Lucy, and although I'm studying in Liverpool, I'm originally from Wales. In addition to science and healthcare, I have interests in writing (which is one reasons I've started writing a blog), stand-up comedy (although I don't do it myself - I just enjoy watching it) and walking, hiking and cooking.   I started studying my degree in September 2020, which was quite 'unfortunate' timing, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. It hasn't been a great year so far, as we've been in and out of lockdown and have had so many restrictions in place. I've mainly spent the first semester stuck in my flat, whi...

A Student of Biomedical Science Blog - Biomedical Science Blog Hi and welcome to my blog! I'm a student currently studying the first year of my BSc Biomedical Science degree in the UK. I have just completed my first semester and am now in my second, so I'm basically half way through my first year. If you've reached this blog, it probably means you have some sort of interest in biomedical science or you're just wanting to find out more about the subject or course content. Just to be clear - I am not a registered or professional biomedical scientist, as I haven't completed my degree yet but I hope to be in a few years! Therefore, I can't really give any opinion on the actual role of a BMS (biomedical scientist), all I can do is give information on the degree I'm currently studying, and how I find it! So, as you've probably guessed, this blog is to document my degree journey so that I have something to reflect back on myself, but it's also here to give ...