BIOMEDICAL 50 THE SCIENTIST
ADVICE How to...
HOW TO... SECURE A PLACEMENT
Biomedical science student Ryan O’Neil talks through his placement experiences and provides advice for anyone considering applying.
I
n September 2021, I began my placement year in the Cellular Pathology Department at University Hospital Southampton. This placement is a year out of my Biomedical Science degree at the University of Portsmouth. During my placement I am working towards completing my IBMS Registration Portfolio to become an HCPC-registered biomedical scientist. The Cellular Pathology Department is situated in the south block of the hospital and is on Floor E, which means running up five flights of stairs when you’re a bit late!
Applying for a placement The opportunity to apply for this placement was well advertised by my university, going as far back as when I was attending open days while on the university hunt. In the run up to the application process, we attended online meetings with representatives from different hospitals who gave us brief overviews of the departments offering placement positions. Also within these meetings, students who had completed
P50-51 Advice-Placements_March 2022_Biomedical Scientist.indd 50
placements in the previous year shared their experiences, giving further insight into what the placement had to offer. Applications for the year began in March 2021, and involved a written application and interview. The application required a cover letter in which I had to outline why I would be a good fit for the NHS and any relevant previous work experience. I also had to submit a form stating my chosen departments and locations. I applied for microbiology, which was only being offered by Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham. For some of us, our applications successfully gained us access to the interview stage of the process. The interviews were conducted virtually and organised in a round-robin style involving rotating through rooms representing different disciplines. Each interview lasted for around five minutes and involved two questions, assessing competency, values or soft skills and one extra question based on the preferred discipline choice. Eagle-eyed readers may have picked up that my chosen option does not match my current placement. I did not receive
an offer for microbiology, likely because I panicked when asked my subject-specific question and did not respond overly competently. Therefore, I was amazed when I received an email stating that I had managed to secure a position elsewhere. Initially, I was of course slightly disappointed that I did not get into microbiology. However, I realised that the few pre-COVID labs I had at university would be beneficial for working in cellular pathology as I had experience using a microscope and performing haemotoxylin and eosin stains.
Starting my placement I was given a tour of the lab and its facilities, along with a timetable in which I would rotate through new areas of the department each month. At the start of my placement a big challenge I faced was feeling out of depth. Despite having two years worth of academic biomedical experience, I was not accustomed to the specific techniques, machines and procedures. However, everyone in the department was extremely supportive as they didn’t expect me to already have
17/02/2022 09:29
