Biology News Winter 2009

Foundation Degree in Biomedical Science – the University Perspective

For a number of years we have offered both full and part-time, BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science.  Our degrees are accredited by the Institute of Biomedical Science which is the professional body for biomedical scientists.  They were developed in close collaboration with local hospitals to fulfil the demand for highly skilled scientists to progress from these vocational routes into clinical laboratories.

Developments in the career structure for NHS scientists have led us to expand our provision by developing a Foundation Degree in Biomedical Science. 

The Foundation Degree is day release over three years.  The first year is an award in its own right and students can initially enrol on, and achieve a University Certificate in Biomedical Science.  The structure and content of the Foundation Degree provides students with an underpinning of knowledge allowing them to progress onto the final year of our accredited, honours degree in Biomedical Science. 

Aimed primarily at Associate Practitioners, this degree gives students an insight into both fundamental biological knowledge and the professional requirements expected of a laboratory-based health professional.  There is a strong focus on Work Based Learning and therefore input from employers was essential in the development of the award.  Katie Berger, the Training Officer and Health and Safety Co-ordinator in the Pathology Directorate at University Hospital of North Staffordshire worked with us to develop the curriculum, to identify areas of the curriculum which could be delivered in the workplace and to establish the roles and responsibilities of the students and employers.

Foundation Degree in Biomedical Science – the Employer Perspective

The Associate Practitioner role is a new and very important role in pathology. Many of our Associate Practitioners have worked in the laboratory as Medical Laboratory Assistants prior to becoming an Associate Practitioner so they have laboratory experience but often limited formal qualifications. Working closely with Staffordshire University to develop the curriculum means that the foundation degree offers exactly what the students and the workplace needs. The strong focus on Work Based Learning leads to students gaining credit for structured evidence collected whilst in the laboratory.
The students studying for the University Certificate are kept in a small group with modules specifically aimed at improving their learning skills. This gives the students confidence in their ability and the confidence to give feedback on the course content. In the second and third years the students spend some time with students on the BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science course which helps both the full time students and those on the foundation degree as they can share knowledge and the foundation degree students can pass on their laboratory experience.
Regular communication between Staffordshire University and the University Hospital of North Staffordshire provides feedback on the student’s progress and any issues raised by laboratory or student have been promptly and professionally dealt with by the University. Laboratory based mentors spend time each week with the students to discuss current modules and any issues. There has been a very positive impact on the whole laboratory since the introduction of the foundation degree for the Associate Practitioner.

Katie Berger
Quality Manager, Training Officer and Health & Safety Co-ordinator
Pathology Directorate.
University Hospital of North Staffordshire. 

Harry Mountain led the "From Genome to Gene/DNA Techniques" Course on 18th-23rd January 2009.

This was an intensive practical course targeted at post graduate level, it attracted 4 external delegates from the Northwest as well as 5 MSc students from as far afield as Guatemala, Greece, Kenya, Denmark via Scotland, and Wales.

The feedback was excellent!  Comments included, "It was a very good experience and I learned a lot.  I also felt welcome and had a very good time." and "I must admit that I feel a little sorry that I had to leave so quickly, thanks for a great week".

The course was enjoyed by all, including the staff, as can be seen from the photo!

Please download the current Biology Newsletter (PDF, file size: 197.79KB) here.

January 2009.  The department is pleased to announce the appointment of 2 new lecturer/practitioners in Biomedical Science,  Anne Turner and Ian Davies.

Anne Turner worked as a Biomedical Scientist for 35 years. She began work as a trainee and ended up as a laboratory Manager in Microbiology at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley, West Midlands.  Anne says 2 throughout my career in the lab, I have always been interested in training and I am really excited about joining the Bioemdical Sciences Lecturing team at Staffordshire University” We are excited to have someone with Anne’s experience and expertise delivering on the Biomedical Sciences degree. “Anne will be able to set learning within the work context and this will be invaluable to our students” says award leader Dr Pauline Gowland.

Ian has been a registered biomedical scientist for over 10 years working in Shrewsbury, Telford and Stafford. Originally trained in haematology and transfusion science, Ian is now a senior biomedical scientist and training officer in the clinical biochemistry department at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. Ian is a member of the Staffordshire and Shropshire Co-Terminus working group helping to coordinate and develop work-based placements and is also a Fellow of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, a Charted Scientist and an IBMS registration portfolio assessor. Commenting upon his appointment Ian says “I have enjoyed being involved with the Biomedical Science course for several years as both an external lecturer and as a placement supervisor so I am delighted to be joining the academic team at Staffordshire University”

"You send teachers and technicians to these courses - brilliant, genius!" 
 
This was the enthusiastic feedback from one teacher who visited the Faculty of Sciences stand at the ASE conference exhibition which ran from 8-10 Jan 2009.  School teachers and technicians could find out about the activities and courses that the Faculty offers.  Sue Bird ran a workshop on Genetic timelines that was well attended and provided a taster for the Genomic Advances workshop (DOC, file size: 82.5KB) run in collaboration with the West Midlands Science Learning Centre on 3rd July 2009.
 
We showcased the range of postgraduate awards offered in areas such as Psychology, Environment & Sustainability, Molecular Biology and Forensic Science. These awards are available by distance learning making them ideal for continuous professional development.  We also discussed the short CPD courses that we run for teachers and technicians as well as other services such as crime scene simulations in our scene of crime house.

A number of talks and workshops are planned throughout Jan, Feb and March 2009 in the four areas of Forensic Biology, Human Biology, Exercise and Drugs for the following schools:

Blessed William Howard School Stafford
Cardinal Griffin School 
Westwood College Leek
NESW leaf litter rummage
Great Wyrley School of Performing Arts

Dave Skingsley will be leading Insect walks again this year at:

May/June 2009
 
Berryhill for Friends of Berryhill,
Park Hall Country Park and Consal Wood Country Park for Stoke-on-Trent City Council

Dr Angela Priestman has just completed her first year of research characterising different populations of the screwworm fly Cochliomyia hominivorax. This fly is a significant pest species of the new world tropics but has been introduced into the old world via the trade in animals. The fly lays its eggs in open wounds on cattle (for example) and the resulting larvae consume the tissues causing much harm. Dr Priestman’s work, which is funded by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) aims to compare wild populations of new world screwworm fly with those bred in fly factories and sterilised before release into the wild. Sterilised release male flies should mate normally with wild female flies and, of course, no offspring are produced. This has the effect of reducing fly numbers in a given locality.

The first year of Dr Priestman's studies have focused on establishing the technique, with the assistance of Pete Martin (Experimental Officer), in the Analytical Suite of the Faculty of Sciences. Angela and Pete have submitted their progress report and await confirmation of the second year of funding.