Gemma Hopkin

"Hello, I am a specialist biomedical scientist working in the Immunology laboratory at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford. I would say the personality types are pretty much accurate. I am a communicator and feel good communication really helps in providing excellent patient centered care by enabling collaboration between not only staff members in the lab, but also between clinicians and other service users. I am definitely an explorer, and I am constantly asking questions and finding out new information (and I like exploring nature!). As it says further down in my profile, I am consistently looking for new ways of working and new or different tests to perform. Also, being a quality controller goes hand in hand with providing an excellent service to our services users and providing good patient centered care. I believe in performing tasks with high quality to ensure we can trust the results we are sending out and that they will aid in diagnosis. "

"My role is to test pathological specimens in a laboratory that are sent in from patients by their clinicians to help diagnose disease and illness. We mainly receive blood samples, and depending on the clinical details of the patients and tests requested, we are able to quantify cells and proteins, for example, to see what's going on in the patient's body which may be causing their symptoms. When we find an abnormal result that may be causing or contributing to the patient's symptoms, it's really rewarding knowing that we are aiding the diagnosis and treatment of the patient. I enjoy looking for improvements in the way that we test and help to diagnose patients. I do this by checking guidelines that may have changed or been updated, check that we are using the best methods to test and read recent literature to see if there are any additional tests we can do in the laboratory. The starting salary for a biomedical scientist is £24,907, rising to £37,890 for experienced staff and £44,503 for senior scientists. "

"When I completed my A levels, I went to Oxford Brookes University to study an undergraduate BSc degree in Biomedical Science, which was fully funded. Along side this, I worked as a trainee biomedical scientist at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust gaining valuable experience in each of the pathology disciplines. After I had rotated through all of the pathology laboratories, I chose to undertake my final BSc project and registration portfolio in Immunology. Once I completed my degree and registration portfolio, I became a fully qualified state registered Biomedical Scientist. I was keen to continue learning and studied an MSc in Immunology part time at King's College London, funded by the laboratory, whilst still working. Once I completed my MSc, I undertook the IBMS Specialist Diploma in Clinical Immunology. I was, and still am continuously inspired and hungry to learn more immunology and the impact that a malfunctioning immune system has on the body. There is always more to learn. I was really fortunate to have been surrounded by amazing mentors, and although some do not work in the laboratory now, working with incredibly successful women inspires me to push myself and to see what is possible."

"At home I am a busy mum to two young boys who are 3 and 1, and live with my husband. I now work part time (another amazing possibility with the NHS) and really enjoy spending time in the moment with my children, who often remind me of the things in life I had previously taken for granted or forgotten, like the beauty of autumn leaves, water flowing down rocks and the creatures who live in nature. Occasionally we do simple science experiments, like making lava, and my eldest son will often ask me about the pictures in my scientist magazines. We all love to spend time together outdoors building dens, growing herbs and vegetables and exploring. I also enjoy snuggling up with a good book and a cup of tea (I realise how boring that sounds!) or spending an afternoon watching a film. I used to play guitar so when I have more free time I plan to play again. I also love adrenaline fueled activities with friends - like quad biking and driving supercars."

"I arrive early at work to switch on machines and get them up and running by performing maintenance and quality control checks. At the moment I am working on the \"cellular immunology\" section and our tests look at the types and quantities of cells in a patients body. As the training officer for the department, I will then mark evidence in portfolios that are being undertaken by staff in our laboratory and will regularly meet with our trainees to discuss their progress. I will check and reply to emails and plan for any work that needs to be done that day around testing samples. When our immunology doctors have clinics and are sending specialist tests, the patient's blood will need testing quickly, as they may have a life threatening illness and we need to do it before the cells collected die. Abnormal results are repeated and telephoned to the requesting clinician urgently so they can start the process of treating the patient appropriately. Once the day comes to an end and we have completed testing, we shut the machines down ready for the following day. "

"A Levels in: Biology, Chemistry, Business StudiesBSc (Hons) Biomedical ScienceMSc Medical ImmunologyIBMS Specialist Diploma in Clinical Immunology"