Salford celebrate Healthcare Science Week with a visit to a local school

To mark the week, a team from the University of Salford visited a local primary school to give a talk to a group of Year 2 pupils discussing the vital role that science plays in patient health care.

The group were led by a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registered Biomedical Scientist Tahmina Hussain, lecturer in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Salford, who said: “Not many people understand Biomedical Science so it’s really that we take opportunities like this to highlight its importance and that we continue to inspire and raise awareness of our roles and emphasise how we make a difference to the lives of patients. Delivering these public engagement activities is a really rewarding way to inspire the next generation of biomedical scientists.

“Students from the Biomedical Science programme joined me on the visit, outreach initiatives like this gives them the opportunity to enhance their employability skills while they are studying and preparing to step into the industry.”

The visit was inspired by Tahmina’s six-year-old daughter, who saw her mum feature in the Institute of Biomedical Science’s (IBMS) Super Lab comic as a superhero cartoon biomedical scientist.

The Salford team discussed the role of Biomedical scientists and how they use and process blood samples in a laboratory to diagnose and treat patients who are unwell. The children also had the chance to get involved in a practical activity which introduced the function of iron in the body and why it is important for our diet. The activity invited lots of questions from the children who were all excited to be given a Superlab comic to take home. 

Reflecting on the day Tahmina added: “I am hoping for the children and teachers will now have a better idea of what we do now and how significant our role is in healthcare. Although we are hidden behind the scenes, we play such an important part when it comes to the diagnosis of diseases and monitoring of treatment.

“Without us, doctors and nurses could not do their jobs, we are a team at the heart of healthcare. I also hope that the children are now aware of our profession and that this is a job they might be interested in when they are older.”

Miss Knowles, a teacher at the school added: “It has been a fantastic experience for the children, it is so important for them to know it’s possible to have careers such as being a Biomedical Scientist. They don’t know what happens to a blood sample after it is taken so this has been an incredibly interesting session." 

Image: The University of Salford team visiting a local school as part of Health care Science Week 2022.