NEWS
Life Member awarded Honorary Doctorate at Middlesex University
John Lawrence James, whose biomedical science expertise culminated in worldwide responsibility for quality and competence in medical laboratories, has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate at a recent Middlesex University graduation ceremony. John has been involved with
standardisation in laboratories for nearly 40 years and still chairs three British Standards Institution committees. He has been a keynote speaker at many international conferences and seminars, and has also played a key role in World Health Organization conferences. On receiving his award, John said: “I am
greatly honoured by this award from the university that puts down a marker to which others should aspire. Throughout my career I have set examples on how to serve others. It is my earnest wish that today’s graduates will use the knowledge and skills they have acquired while at Middlesex University to improve the health and wellbeing of others.” Commenting on John’s Honorary
Institute member to join WISE Fellowship programme
NHS England has announced the four successful recipients of the first Chief Scientific Officer’s (CSO) Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Fellowship scheme. One of the recipients is IBMS member Michelle Martin who is the training manager and a senior specialist biomedical scientist in haematology and blood transfusion at Barts Health NHS Trust. The competition, launched in
John James.
Doctorate, Professor Tim Blackman, Vice- Chancellor of Middlesex University, said: “It is a real privilege for Middlesex University to be able to recognise expertise, public duty and creativity by offering outstanding individuals one of our Honorary Degrees. I am delighted to be able to play a part in today’s ceremony and want to congratulate each recipient. Their achievement is very well deserved.”
Draft Level 6 healthcare science apprenticeship standards
Draft apprenticeship standards at Level 6 for healthcare science practitioners and biomedical scientists are aimed at those who may have voluntary registration with the Academy for Healthcare Science or, in the case of biomedical scientist statutory regulation, with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and who use their expertise in clearly defined scientific based roles in the laboratory. Since submitting its initial comments as
part of the consultation, the IBMS has received a positive response to a number of the concerns raised in the consultation. It was concerned that the use of the term ‘apprenticeship’ may be confusing in the context of long-established career pathways for biomedical scientists. It has now been advised that, while this term reflects the terminology used by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), employers will be able to reflect local practices and may choose to use different descriptions, such as ‘trainee’. The IBMS expressed its wish to see
explicit inclusion of the HCPC Standards of Proficiency for Biomedical Scientists in the standards, and to see acknowledgement that completion of the IBMS Registration
THE BIOMEDICAL SCIENTIST AUGUST 2016
Training Portfolio, combined with an accredited biomedical science or healthcare science degree for the award of a Certificate of Competence, already meets the requirement for end-point work-based assessment (EPA) and the standards of proficiency, thereby giving eligibility to apply for statutory regulation. The IBMS has received assurances that
the final draft submitted to the BIS will make specific reference to the Standards of Proficiency required by the HCPC for the Life Sciences, as well as indicating that the IBMS Certificate of Competence is required for HCPC registration. However, the issue of EPA is more complex, requiring a formal employer assessment of performance and achievement of the specific requirements of the EPA. The IBMS was reassured that the IBMS Training Portfolio could be used to provide evidence of achieving these requirements; however, this can only be confirmed once the standard is accepted. The Institute is pleased to have received
these responses and intends to seek clarification on the employment and educational status of these proposed apprenticeships where they may affect aspirant biomedical scientists.
conjunction with International Women’s Day in March, attracted 60 applicants from female healthcare scientists who will act as role models to inspire the next generation of female scientists. The Chief Scientific Officer’s WISE Fellowship Programme is a bespoke 12-month initiative, launched in partnership with WISE – the campaign to promote women in science, technology and engineering. The Fellowship includes a career
development programme, providing mentoring support, communication and leadership skills training, starting in September. In addition to allocated training, activity and network days, the Fellows will attend the WISE and Chief Scientific Officer conferences later in the year. Michelle said her interest in scientific
leadership stems from the fact that “there is no Chief Executive or board member that I am aware of with a healthcare science background. I believe this to be a loss because as a healthcare scientist I feel there are skills which could be greatly utilised in a leadership position. I look forward to this Fellowship and hope it will give me the opportunity to attend and speak at conferences with a goal of sharing my experiences and motivating others.”
Immune engineering
Immunotherapy has been one of the most startling and promising developments in cancer research. After decades of false starts and dead ends, scientists have finally found effective ways of encouraging the immune system to destroy cancers. Some use ‘checkpoint inhibitors’ to lift the natural brakes that restrain immune cells, while others extract, engineer and re-inject the immune cells into the patient. The results obtained have been staggering, with some advanced cancers going into complete remission.
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