Michalina Bocho, Senior Biomedical Scientist
I love science because it doesn’t care about gender, religion or race. That’s the best part of it. You’re just doing the same job as everyone else.
The blood sciences team is at the heart of healthcare, because 80% of patient diagnoses are supported by laboratory findings. We provide critical support services to the running healthcare A&E service, operating theatres, many other hospital departments and NHS Blood Service. Even though we don’t have face to face contact with them, we have a strong empathy for our patients. At times it can be very emotional.
The department provides vital support to medical staff, working closely with them to help save lives, and so runs a 24 hour service, with a biomedical scientist on duty outside of normal hours at all times.
The blood sciences lab at WUTH handles over 2,000 full blood count tests every single day, reporting the results within one hour for urgent samples and six hours for non-urgent. On top of that we analyse coagulation in around 300 samples a day, and then we have non-routine work which looks at rarer diseases and infections like malaria, or antenatal screening.
The blood transfusion department provides the blood for transfusion patients in the hospital. This includes antibody sampling plus any additional testing such as cross-matching blood, platelets and fresh frozen plasma for patients.
I came to the UK from Poland with a masters in biology and started work as a medical lab assistant in the NHS. A colleague encouraged me to apply for a job as a trainee biomedical scientist (BMS) in the blood lab and I got the job. I was keen to progress so I started working on my portfolio of evidence needed by the Institute of Biomedical Scientists in order to progress to a full BMS, a role where you have to work alone out of hours including during the night.
After I joined WUTH’s blood sciences team I obtained a Specialist Portfolio Qualification and a few years later became a BMS. Then after a year I moved up to my current role as senior BMS. I constantly maintain my continuous professional development. Now, as well as looking after the team and the workflow of the lab, I interpret the results of data from the analyser machine. I also look at blood samples under the microscope. It requires a great deal of expertise and you have to have specialist in-house training to interpret what you see. As Senior BMS I also oversee the monitoring, maintenance of highly complex analytical equipment and respond to any non-conformities as they arise. I ensure policies are implemented and followed. It’s a demanding role, but hugely rewarding.
