Consultant Clinical Scientist

International Day of Women and Girls in Science

I’ve been a Clinical Scientist for 22 years and in my current role as a Consultant Clinical Scientist in Clinical Biochemistry for 10 years. Very few people actually know about clinical scientists and we are often confused with biomedical scientists – however, it is a completely different role. 

I work as part of a clinical scientist team of eight across two different hospital sites. We are each scheduled for two or three days a week as the duty biochemist. In this role we troubleshoot laboratory problems, deal with queries from medical professionals to assist them with what test results may mean and appropriate follow up investigations, interpret abnormal results generated by the biochemistry laboratory, and add clinical advice to reports to assist with the diagnosis and treatment of patients. The sheer number of biochemistry tests and dealing with queries across such a vast repertoire can be very challenging. However, I really enjoy problem solving and find this aspect of my role particularly rewarding. 

The remainder of the week is spent managing laboratory and clinical service quality. I undertake a variety of different tasks such as clinical audit and ensuring best practice and compliance with national guidelines and standards – this includes representing our laboratory in standardisation groups across Wales, where we ensure the same high levels of quality and service are maintained throughout Wales. 
 
I help to manage our internal IQC (Incoming Quality Control) and EQA (External Quality Assessment) schemes to assure the quality of the patients results that we issue, and the verification/validation of new assays (tests) and equipment/IT systems to ensure they are fit for purpose.  

We also have trainee Clinical Scientists and Biomedical Scientists within the department and I help to assist them with their training, for example, lectures, discussing specific cases, and supervising projects. 

In terms of my own education and training, my original undergraduate qualification was a BSc in Molecular Biology. I subsequently undertook a PhD where I studied gene expression.
 
After completing my PhD, I continued to work in research for a year, but decided this was not the career path I wanted to follow. I applied to join a Clinical Scientist training scheme as I wanted a role that was more clinical and helping with patient diagnoses. The training scheme involved an MSc in Clinical Biochemistry which I completed while working at CTM’s Royal Glamorgan Hospital. I then completed my FRCPath part 1 qualification while working as a Senior Clinical Scientist at University Hospital Wales (UHW) and then the FRCPath part 2 whilst working back at CTM, this time based at Prince Charles Hospital. 

Having completed all my training to become a state registered Clinical Scientist and obtaining the FRCPath qualification, the opportunity to become a consultant arose locally. This was a natural progression for me, giving me the opportunity to have a more senior role in the laboratory. Hopefully in the future I will be able to progress again into the Head of Department for Biochemistry. 

The main challenge of this position is the limitations around patient facing interactions. There is a definite negative stereotype around scientists actually coming out of the laboratory and seeing patients directly unfortunately. I would very much like to have more patient interaction, for example, running our own clinics. The career will hopefully develop to allow these opportunities. 

There is a lot of training and studying required for a career in Clinical Science so you need to be dedicated. However, stick to your goals if you think this is the career for you and you will be rewarded with a satisfying job helping with patient care. There are a lot of career options within Clinical Science and opportunities to progress in specialist areas too.