Rebecca Quest

"I matched with the 'coach' personality type which shows I am good at working with a wide range of people, I am a good listener and I am a problem solver. I work with lots of different staff groups including those with no scientific background as well as those with a high-level scientific background but perhaps not the same science as mine. Communication and listening are both key to making these relationships productive and happy. Problem solving is also something that comes up a lot. There are often several ways to approach a problem whether it's your own problem or you are helping someone else with theirs. Sometimes you may choose to go up and over the mountain, sometimes you may choose to go around and sometimes you may need to take a step back and take another look at that mountain. Often a great opportunity comes out of a problem so it's always worth looking.I also came out as being an 'influencer', so I'm good with detail, good at finding and reviewing information and good at explaining in a way that people understand. These are all qualities that I use daily, particularly in my role as safety expert where it's crucial that staff, patients and visitors understand the risks of being around strong magnetic fields.I manage a team of other Clinical Scientists so it's comforting that I am coming out as a 'manager' personality type. I am a good organiser and open-minded: if someone comes to me with an idea, we try to work out how we can take it forward. I also try to actively listen when people are talking which means fully concentrating on what people are saying, understanding their message and properly engaging without getting distracted."

"I work in a hospital with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners. They are the ones that look like a big tube and use magnetic fields which are stronger than those used to lift up cars in junk yards. Because of the strong magnetic fields, there is a lot to be done in keeping people safe whilst they are in the room, particularly patients who may have something metal in them like a medical implant or shrapnel. I also get involved in programming the scanners, processing images and advanced techniques such as looking at which bits of the brain 'light up' when you do or think certain things. We also check the equipment is working correctly and fault-find if it's not.The best part of my job is knowing that by applying my scientific knowledge I can improve a patient's experience by helping to make their scan quicker, better quality and more accurate.After your first degree you can join the Scientist Training Programme run by the National School for Healthcare Science. You work in a hospital, training in four main fields of medical physics and will choose one of the to specialise in. You get paid ~£32,000 per year (in 2020) and when you finish the 3-year training scheme you can apply for jobs which start at ~£39,000 per year."

"At school I loved maths but I wanted to do something a bit more hands on and practical so I chose to do physics at university. In my final year, I took a biomedical physics module and really enjoyed it. My friend's dad is a Clinical Scientist in Nuclear Medicine so I did a week of work experience with him in his hospital and that inspired me to apply for a place on the training programme. I remember getting the phone call to say I'd got a place - I was going to London! I trained in medical physics and specialised into MRI. I've been in MRI since then and every year there is something new to learn, understand and develop."

"I have two young children so a lot of my spare time is spent doing children-related things and I love to learn with them. We recently went on a trip to Lyme Regis where we learned about the remarkable story of Mary Anning, a self-taught palaeontologist from the 1800s whose findings helped to change scientific thinking about prehistoric life and the history of the Earth. Wow."

"I don't really have a typical day as every day is different and I also work quite flexible hours. When I perform quality control tests or safety audits I spend most of the day working on or around the MRI scanner then a day afterwards processing data. Perhaps the most memorable was when I tested the scanners at the Olympic Park for the London 2012 Olympics. Some days I do development or research at the MRI scanner for a couple of hours or I see patients with particular cases that require a physicist to be present.For the rest of the time or the days when I am not doing hands on work, I split my time into chunks of operational work, project work and emails/communications. Operational work is work that occurs regularly and maintains our clinical service so things like attending to safety queries for patients, ensuring the scanners are working well, teaching sessions, budgeting and management activities. Project work is something that has a start and an end, this could be something like planning the installation of a new MRI scanner or being involved with research projects. Attending to emails and ensuring I'm up to date with the MR physics community through mailing lists and social media are also given a dedicated time in the day. "

"A-Levels in Maths, Further Maths and PhysicsBSc in PhysicsMSc in Medical Radiation PhysicsNHS Training SchemeMR Safety Certified MR Safety ExpertCertificate in Business Language Competence (Spanish)BTEC in SportWhilst the last two were fun, I don't use them much at work.I'm also a registered Clinical Scientist, which is a requirement for my job, a Chartered Physicist and a Chartered Scientist."