"Claire is a Chief Scientist, working in the NHS to ensure her hospital has strong scientific services to support patient care.Scientists need to be curious but also logical, organised and thorough. This matches well with the ‘Investigator’ and ‘Developer’ types. Claire is fair-minded which is helpful as she works in several different teams and must get along with lots of different people. Empathy and good humour are also important when working in a hospital, useful traits for the ‘Service provider’ type.Claire wouldn’t necessarily describe herself as being academic, but her career shows where you can get by being hard-working, well-organised and a good communicator."

"As Chief Scientist, Claire leads a range of clinical scientific services in a hospital. This includes medical physics (radiation, imaging), clinical engineering, bowel cancer screening and sterile services. Claire makes sure that the hospital has the most up to date technology and can use it well for the diagnosis and treatment of patients, and for research. She is very proud of becoming the first Chief Scientist in her hospital. She also loves helping develop other people and getting recognition for all the great work she and her team do. Claire’s work day is quite varied. She used to do a lot of hands-on patient care but now she is in a more senior role, she works with senior scientists to help them deliver their services. She still provides advice on radiation issues relating to nuclear medicine therapy and she undertakes research projects. Claire enjoys using a scientific approach to solve problems, helping patients, developing staff, and most of all spreading the word about all the great things Healthcare Scientists do."

"Claire did a degree in Physics with Medical Physics. She then took a job in Nuclear Medicine followed by doing an MSc in Radiation Physics. After that she led a Nuclear Medicine Service before taking on more senior leadership roles. She then did an MSc in Leadership for Health and Social Care and got promoted to Chief Scientist. The starting salary for healthcare scientists is between £20,000 and £30,000. Claire was motivated to use her scientific background and knowledge to benefit patients. She was also keen to undertake research in her field to benefit patients, the public and staff and to raise the profile of Healthcare Science."

"Claire enjoys playing volleyball and attending exercise classes like boxing and kettlebells. She also likes cycling, walking, spending time with her family, eating, drinking and shopping. In her job, Claire loves being able to present her work to large audiences and she even has the opportunity to travel abroad to present at conferences. Claire is currently at the most senior scientific level in her organisation but in the future, she may consider options to lead a broader range of services as a clinical director. In her industry there is a great career structure, supporting you all the way from a trainee through to a Consultant Healthcare Scientist, as well as the option to do research or service delivery."