Parmi Perera

"Campaigner. Communicator. Co-ordinator.My results are a mixture of the above 3. I think my personality often adapts to the situation to try and get the best outcome. I think makes me a very adaptable person which makes it really easy to get on with people and changing work atmospheres. I currently work as part of a very large team to keep up with the large workload. For this you need good listening and communication skills along with being good with numbers and words. We also undertake lone working during shifts and you have to be confident to take initiative and work with intuition. I also have to be very organised and be able to multi task to keep an excellent service by releasing accurate results for patient care. To summarize, being a scientist requires a variety of skills and a variety of personality traits. However, if you are driven, hard working and pays attention to detail, you can start your career and develop the rest as you progress. "

"The main aspect of my job is to analyse patient samples that come to the lab from patients within the hospital and community. We have to prioritize testing to ensure urgent samples are dealt with first. We release results to medical staff so that patient care can is suited for their specific needs. I really enjoy working as a team, the workload and the service we provide. Even though we do not come face to face with patients, we still provide a service that is essential for patient care. This aspect gives me great joy and pride in my job. Starting salary as a trainee (NHS) is £ 21,892 according to NHS England Pay Scales for 2020/2021. "

"Once I graduated, I applied for a variety of jobs in the NHS and eventually landed a job as a Medical Lab Assistant (MLA) at the labs I'm currently working in. Whilst working as MLA, I applied for trainee Biomedical Scientist job in order my registration to get recognised by the Health and Care Professions Council. I was lucky enough to get a trainee position in the same lab. Once I completed my training and registration, I was offered a Band 5 Biomedical Scientist (BMS) job. After completing 2 years as a band 5, I applied for a band 6 BMS job and I am currently getting trained to be a specialised BMS. However, I have previously worked as a waitress, caterer, hostess, bartender, customer service assistant and an interpreter. I have also worked voluntarily for the 'Student Watch' and obtained work experience in healthcare settings. I thoroughly believe my experiences and skills I gained from these jobs helped me greatly during interviews for more professional jobs. I have always wanted to work in the medical field from a very young age. Seeing young women work as doctors and nurses have inspired me. Being from Sri Lanka, I would only hear doctor, engineer, teacher, lawyer as 'successful' careers. Therefore I wanted to break social barriers and become successful in a career that even I did not know about, to inspire the next generation of WISE. "

"I really enjoy social gatherings and love dancing! I love travelling and meeting new people in new countries. I must always have music in the background and love reading a funny book. I do a little bit of writing when I'm feeling inspired. I was born in Sri Lanka and grew up there for a while before moving to Oman and then back to Sri Lanka and eventually migrating to the UK where I have settled. I have a mixture of cultural backgrounds and often feel like a blend of beautiful cultures. I have 4 tattoos and want to get more! I am hoping to be a mum one day and still be a 'bad ass' in my career!"

"I don't have a typical day as a BMS. The day depends on the shift I am on. However, daily tasks include analysing samples (either automated or manual), authorise results, speak to medical staff and discuss patient results, keep up to date with changes and stay on top of my own training. On the side, I work to increase awareness on the variety of NHS careers and promote STEM jobs for young adults especially girls. I am also hoping to start a Sexual Health Awareness program in Sri Lanka in order to break the taboo around the topic. "

"I studied Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Geography for my AS. For my A2, I studied Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics. I did a foundation degree in Extended Science at Plymouth University for 1 year and then continued onto studying BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science. "