Eleanor McLaughlan

"When I took the quiz, my personality types came back at 'Investigator', 'Quality Controller' and 'Trainer'. I feel that these categories describe me well, and the descriptions of these personality types fit with the personal characteristics required for my job. I definitely have a considered, logical approach to my work. My work involves gathering and analysing data, then coming to evidence-based conclusions. I enjoy using creative solutions to solve problems. These all fit well with the 'Investigator' personality type. My pro-active approach to establish new ways of working and trying to implement change for the better fits well with the 'quality controller' category. Finally, my role includes training others and I really enjoy trying to pass on my enthusiasm for my job along with the required knowledge to junior colleagues."

"I am a Senior Clinical Biochemist. In the Biochemistry lab at the Hospital, we analyse blood and urine samples from patients who have visited their GP or who are in Hospital. We measure a variety of different substances including hormones, enzymes, minerals and vitamins to help diagnose and monitor disease, for example kidney, liver or heart dysfunction. Clinical Scientists are the bridge between the technical service in the lab, and the requesting clinician. We review results, phone out critical results and have discussions with Doctors about how results should be interpreted. We are also involved with developing and implementing new tests, quality control, clinical audit and teaching. Although we are a 'behind the scenes' service, laboratory medicine has a huge impact on decisions affecting the patient. The aspect of my job that I enjoy the most is when we get a strange result that doesn’t fit with the clinical picture. I love the challenge of trying to figure out whether it’s due to something interfering with the measurement. The starting salary for a trainee Clinical Biochemist (which requires an undergraduate degree) is £31,000."

"At High School, I had a fantastic biology teacher who was inspirational. I did A-levels in Biology, Chemistry, Maths and French, then an undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences at Bath. As part of this, I did a 'sandwich year' for a large Pharmaceutical company where I got experience of working in a lab. I've always known I wanted to work in a Scientific field, but never really wanted to be a medical doctor. After my undergraduate degree, I did a PhD in Neuroscience then a post-doc in the USA, but then I realised that I didn’t want to spend the rest of my career writing grant applications, journal articles and teaching. Instead, I wanted to use my skills more directly for the benefit of patients. I applied for a 3-year training course (Scientist Training Programme) in Biochemistry and accepted a place to train at Leeds. This involved a part-time MSc at the University of Manchester, and on-the-job training in the lab. The course was very well organised and enjoyable, although the workload was sometimes a struggle to balance with 2 small kids at home! I passed the assessments and became registered with the Health and Care Professions Council, and accepted a permanent job to stay on in Leeds."

"I spend most of my spare time with my family - I have two sons who are primary school age. I love video games and riding my bike, and every year or two we enjoy a holiday where we can go sailing, windsurfing and mountain biking. My academic scientific career took me to Boston in the USA where I lived for two years, during which I learned to ski (badly)!"

"On a typical day, I will review blood test results from patients, adding comments to the reports, or discussing results with other healthcare professionals. I might have a meeting to discuss any issues with the automated analysers in the lab which measure substances in patient's blood and urine samples. This often involves reviewing quality control data. It is likely I will be involved in teaching / supervising trainee Clinical Scientists or some kind of outreach. I might be involved in discussions about how to evaluate and implement a new test, or looking at data from an audit of how a current test is performing."

"A-levels in Biology, Chemistry, French and Maths. 4 year undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences, with a year in industry. 3-year PhD in Neuroscience. 2 years post-doctoral research, thinking that I would like a career in University Research or Pharmaceutical drug development. Then switched paths to work for the NHS - a 3-year post-graduate training position (Scientist Training Programme) to become a Clinical Biochemist."