Sonic Healthcare UK is promoting the range of qualifications it supports.
The qualifications available to biomedical scientists for career progression are numerous, and Sonic Healthcare UK is active in its support of staff wishing to move forward in their careers.
IBMS Specialist Diploma
After completing their initial registration portfolio and achieving HCPC registration, biomedical scientists will look to specialise in a particular discipline. The IBMS Specialist Diploma, more commonly known as the Specialist Portfolio, is the next step.
This portfolio is available in a range of different disciplines within biomedical science, and candidates rotate around different areas within that in order to compile evidence and proceed through the portfolio’s different sections. The portfolio takes roughly two years to complete, culminating in an assessment.
Sonic Healthcare UK puts many of its staff through this portfolio, pairing them up with a training officer and developing a personal training programme.
The qualification gives biomedical scientists a sound knowledge base to work independently within their discipline, as well as the opportunity to work in different departments. There is the added incentive of an uplift in pay on completion, as well as the part it plays in a scientist’s career progression, as it renders a BMS eligible for further qualifications such as the MSc and IBMS Higher Specialist Diploma. The Specialist Portfolio is highly desirable and regarded with esteem throughout the profession.
Case study: Delecia Goes
Delecia Goes is currently working on her Specialist Diploma in Haematology and Blood Transfusion, which she started in August 2021 and is due to finish March next year.
Her particular interest in haematology stems from the manual aspect of the work, where she feels the discipline is more “hands on” than others. This, she says, affords her a more substantial appreciation of what she is doing and why she is doing it.
During the course of the Specialist Portfolio, Delecia has had the opportunity to visit different departments within haematology: such as routine haematology; blood transfusion; special haematology; flow cytometry; and special coagulation. She has particularly enjoyed the changes of scene involved:
“I’ve been to different sites like UCLH and North Middlesex Hospital, which has given me a sense of variety and an insight into how other hospitals work and what their core demographic of patients is like. All of this gives you more of an idea about what you might want to do in the future.”
The work is done mostly in her own time, which requires a high level of self-discipline and focus: “you really have to organise yourself.”
“My manager and training officer have been really supportive throughout the process.”
Delecia can’t recommend the Specialist Diploma enough:
“I would really recommend the Specialist Portfolio because it gives you more rounded knowledge and a greater understanding of what you’re doing and why. It’s great for career progression and your own learning.”
Senior qualifications: MSc and HSD
Developing new senior biomedical scientists within the business is a priority for Sonic Healthcare UK. There are two key routes to becoming eligible for a senior BMS post, both of which build on the knowledge and skill of a biomedical scientist following on from the specialist portfolio.
The first is the Masters-level qualification (MSc), an academic qualification, where candidates attend lectures, complete assignments and take exams.
The second, lesser known but equivalent qualification that confers eligibility for a senior position, is the IBMS Higher Specialist Diploma (HSD). Rather than an academic qualification, this is a professional qualification with a greater emphasis on self-directed learning, where candidates compile a portfolio of evidence and case studies before completing an exam. As with the Specialist Diploma, to which this is the natural next step, candidates can more easily fit the demands of the HSD around their work. They also have more freedom in the areas they wish to explore.
From an employer’s point of view, the HSD is more readily relevant to the day job of a senior biomedical scientist in terms of the skill sets developed and the depth of knowledge acquired in their specialist discipline.
Both the MSc and HSD take the same time to complete and require similar levels of commitment, despite the very different styles of training.
Sonic Healthcare UK supports both of these qualifications both through laboratory training, research projects and financial funding.
To be eligible for the MSc and the HSD, you must have completed the IBMS Specialist Diploma (or equivalent).
If you are interested in applying for funding for any of the above qualifications, email training@tdlpathology.com
All applications for MSc funding must be submitted no later than 1st June.