From Biomedical Science to Physicians Associate trainee
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Sheffield, with such a vibrant university and city, there was never a dull day. From being involved in the biomedical science staff student committee to hosting my own radio show; Sheffield has provided me with unforgettable experiences.
I am currently in my second year studying a MSc in Physician Associate studies at Hull York Medical School. Physician associates are medically trained, generalist healthcare professionals, who work alongside doctors and provide medical care as an integral part of the multidisciplinary team.
They are trained to the medical model so are involved from diagnosis through to management of a patients.
As a second (and hopefully final!) year student, it means that my working week is split by three days on placement in a hospital, one day in a GP surgery and one day for self directed learning, skills, training and dissertation. This means I have very little time to learn the science behind the conditions.
Having this background of knowledge and transferable skills meant I could spend more time focusing on the clinical aspects of my masters.
Samira Choudhury
BSc Biomedical Science
Even though in first year we were taught some biomedical science in order to increase our understanding, the majority of anatomy and physiology, immunology and pharmacology I know is due to my background studying biomedical science at Sheffield.
The human dissection during anatomy was especially useful in solidifying my knowledge. Also, being able to tailor third year to the medical route helped significantly.
As well as this I learnt many transferable skills such as scientific writing and referencing when writing lab reports in second year, and the library project in third year. Having this background of knowledge and transferable skills meant I could spend more time focusing on the clinical aspects of my masters.
An example of when I truly appreciated what I had learnt during my undergraduate studies was during my time shadowing a neurology consultant with two of my colleagues, one of whom had a biomedical science background from a different university.
The consultant proceeded to quiz us and asked us the physiology of epilepsy. I gave a brief definition of how seizures are due to the lack of inhibitory signals leading to over excitation of a population of neurones in the brain.
I had not read this since sitting my 2nd year Physiology and Pharmacology exam. This thoroughly impressed the consultant and my fellow colleagues, as it was only week seven and we had not yet learnt about these conditions. This highlights the impact the lecturers have had.