20 March 2019
UH Bristol healthcare scientists visit local schools and colleges to spread the word about healthcare science
Scientists from University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation
Trust and the University of Bristol visited IKB Academy in Keynsham
to talk to students about healthcare science, the vital role they
play in treating patients and what a career in healthcare science
can involve.
The visit, on Thursday 14 March, was part of the activities
organised by the Trust for Healthcare Science Week, a national
annual event that celebrates the work of healthcare science
professionals and highlights the difference they make to
patients' lives across the UK.
IKB Academy specialises in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) subjects and offers GCSE, A Level and BTEC
courses to students. Lucy Winch, a clinical scientist in
radiotherapy physics, and Dr Lindsay Bishop, outreach engagement
officer for Health Sciences at the University of Bristol attended
for a morning session in their state of the art lecture
theatre.
During the visit, Lucy talked about her role as a healthcare
scientist at UH Bristol, the type of advanced scientific equipment
she uses to help treat patients, and how often healthcare
scientists are involved in a hypothetical patient's treatment.
There was also opportunity for the students to test their knowledge
with a quiz highlighting the difference between MRI and CT scans
where they had to choose between different fruits and chocolate
bars based on the scan.
Talking about the visit and the role of healthcare scientists,
Lucy said: "I love speaking to students and young people about the
work we do. As a healthcare scientist and also as a STEM
ambassador, getting the opportunity to visit schools and academies
is massively important to me as it helps to spread the word of
everything we do, and hopefully inspire the next generation of
healthcare scientists! I love being a clinical scientist as it
gives me a chance to do something that interests me every day as
well as getting to use some of the world's most advanced medical
technology alongside my scientific skills to make a real difference
to people's lives."
Lindsay gave a presentation on the importance of scientific
research in developing new materials for medical implants for
patients, and how scientists take their inspiration from nature to
develop titanium implants with surfaces that physically stops
bacteria growing on the surface. With a background in dental
research, Lindsay is passionate about raising awareness of health
science careers and the study opportunities available at Bristol.
Speaking about the event, she said:"I think It is important that we
inspire the future generations of healthcare professionals and
scientist, and I hope that after today the students at IKB will
maybe think, I could do that!"
Danny Wilkinson, deputy principal at IKB said: "It was a
pleasure to have Lucy Lindsay into IKB to talk to our students. We
selected a number of year 10, 11, 12 and 13 students to be inspired
by the opportunities available in health science careers, the
students were all very interested in what Lucy and Lindsay had to
say and actively took part in a question and answer session. I'm
looking forward to seeing some of our students choosing the option
of medical science careers in the future and maybe one day I will
be able to look back at a student that has changed the world we
live in."
BACK TO NEWS
