A Student of Biomedical Science

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...

Writing Your Personal Statement If you're at the end of Year 12 or just starting Year 13, you've probably heard something about personal statements. If you're in the stage of writing it and have no idea where to start - keep reading! If you don't even know what they are - keep reading! In this post I will discuss what personal statements are, why you need to write them and some tips to help you do so.  I am not a teacher and I don't work for university admissions or UCAS - so I'm not able to tell you exactly WHAT or HOW to write it, I'm just going to be giving some advice about what I wrote. What is a personal statement? A personal statement is something you have to write if you want to apply for university. Although they can be written for apprenticeships and jobs, they're most commonly done when applying for a university course. It's basically an opportunity for you to tell the university who you are, why you want to study the subject you've ch...

Choosing the Right University for You You might know exactly which university you want to attend, and you've known this for a long time. You might've had your heart set on the one university, or it might be the one all your friends go to or are going to, or it may simply be the closest one. Whatever your reasons, you want to make sure that you're going to the 'best' university you can go to. When I say 'best' that doesn't always mean the most famous university or the one with the best teaching facilities - it means the university that appeals to you the most! Of course, you want to go to a good university with high standards of teaching and good facilities, but there are loads of other factors to consider when studying at uni. In this blogpost, I will mention some tips on choosing the 'best' university for you, and different websites and resources that are available to you. 1. Find all the universities that offer your course First things first, y...

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 Year 1 Semester 1 Assignments This post is just some information about the different assignments I did in year 1, semester 1. #biomedical science #BMS # biomed #student #uni #university #biology #science #biomedical #bio #medical #studentofbiomedicalscience #adayinthelife #careers #school #learning #assignments #exams #preparation

Biomedical Science Degree Year 1 Semester 1 Modules  This is just a little post to talk about the content I studied in my first year and how I found it. The content and modules for each university is different in how it's taught/assessed and the actual names of the modules, but the same type of basics are covered in year 1. 

Biomedical Science Degree My Modules Here's an infographic showing the modules I will be studying during my degree. Courses do vary from uni. to uni. but the overall content is generally the same. Biomedical science is quite a broad subject which I enjoy, as it allows you to learn about a whole range of different areas. I've only just completed Semester 1 of year 1, so the only modules I've done so far are cell biology, biomedical skills and principles of biochemistry. I will go into a bit more detail about what each individual module involves in another post. 

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

Biomedical Science Degree - The Route to Becoming a Registered BMS I hope this is clear to everyone that comes across my blog, but I myself am not a registered BMS (biomedical scientist). I aim to be one day, but for now I am just half-way through the first year of my BSc degree.  To become a registered biomedical science, there are quite a few steps you need to take. You need to register with the IBMS, complete training and a portfolio and become registered with the HCPC and so on... At the moment, my future plan looks very similar to the steps I've outlined in the first infographic. However, I'm very keen on trying to get onto the Applied degree route (I'll go into more detail about the different degrees in another pot, but here's just a little information.) If you were to do the Applied route, you would do your first year as a normal degree, but for your second and third years, you would work in a lab and complete the IBMS portfolio whilst studying. This, essentially...

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 ...