Healthcare Science – STP Perspectives

STP Specialisms | Andrology

Hi, my name is George and I’m a second year Andrology trainee at the Shropshire and Mid Wales Fertility Centre. Andrology is a relatively new specialism so there aren’t currently many trainees or fully qualified Andrologists, and it may not be as well-known as other specialities, so hopefully I can give a bit of an insight into what the role involves!

What is Andrology?

Andrology is the branch of science relating to male reproductive health, so the clinical scientist role covers working with male patients struggling with infertility, preserving male fertility for those who may become infertile in the future, and dealing with sperm donation, which is a vital resource for those who cannot produce or use their own sperm. It is a varied role, so tasks may be different from day-to-day and different clinics may place difference emphasis on each of the areas within the field depending on their clinical workload.

STP Specialisms – Embryology

What is Embryology as a clinical field?

Fertility treatment has been an established medical specialism for over four decades, yet many people are unaware of what it entails, and the role clinical and non-clinical staff play. An IVF clinic combines the skill sets of consultants, specialist nurses, and scientists to assist couples trying to conceive. The latter is where I come in. Hi! My name is Laurie-Anne, and I am a second-year Embryology trainee (Reproductive Science) at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust. I’m going to show you what a day in the life of an Embryologist is like and how we contribute to fertility treatment.

Preparing for your IACC

It has been such a long time since I wrote a blog here it feels a bit surreal. Thank you to everyone that has kept STP Perspectives alive and thriving. I was hoping this could be published earlier but work and annual leave have significantly delayed it. I am still including the IACC write up tips in case it would be useful insight for second years. If you are just interested in interview tips please skip further down. 🙂

What is the IACC?

The IACC, another STP acronym for your collection, is the Independent Assessment of Clinical Competence. It was introduced in 2020 to replace the OSFAs due to the constraints of the pandemic but it may be here to stay. My STP year was the first cohort to sit the IACC as their sole final assessment and I must say it has definitely improved since then. In my final year we got a flavour of the OSFAs as we had our mocks just before all the lockdowns. I am not sure I enjoyed the OSFAs but I was determined to practice and be ready for the real ones. The school came up with this alternative assessment which didn’t need 12 different stations and everyone gathering in London, which might be a bonus for our environment as whole. Since then after passing the IACC and finishing the STP I was also given the opportunity to assess some IACCs so in this post you will get both a perspective from someone who has written it but also assessed it.

The STP: Application, Interview and First Year Structure – Medical Physics

My name is Holly and I’m a first year Medical Physics trainee specialising in Radiotherapy, across Suffolk and Essex. I first heard about the STP in a careers lecture during year 1 of my undergraduate degree and began preparing to apply virtually as I left the hall. Hopefully this post will give a little insight (and hope) for entrance to the STP and what to expect once you reach the flip side

Before too much waffle I just wanted to say when I began my application to the STP, I felt like I may as well have been applying to be an Olympic sprinter (I reckon I’ve ran successfully about a 2km total in my entire life). I applied with an undergraduate physics degree from a smaller university, and my work experience was serving chips, so it goes without saying if I can do it, you certainly can.

Application and Interview

For anyone who is a skim reader, here are my main tips beyond your long-listing:

An Introduction to the HSST

I am a Clinical Scientist in Clinical Bioinformatics Genomics at the Viapath Genomics Laboratories in London, and I started the HSST in September 2021 (so I am cohort 8 in HSST speak). Before moving to Viapath in May 2021 I was based in the East Midlands Regional Molecular Genetics Service in Nottingham, where I completed the STP in Clinical Bioinformatics Genomics in 2016, and then worked as a Clinical Scientist. This blog represents my experience of the HSST so far.

International Women’s Day 2022

International Women’s Day (IWD) evolved from the universal suffrage movement that originated in New Zealand, and was the catalyst for movements in North America and Europe in the early 20^th century. It is recognized throughout the world in a diverse range of ways, however became ‘official’ in 1975 when the United Nations began celebrating it. To commemorate IWD in 2022 we are shining a light on some current and past STP trainees. We asked them a range of questions to find out what inspired them to pursue a career in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics).

STP Specialisms | Ophthalmic and Vision Science

Hi, my name is Linda and I’m a third year STP trainee in Ophthalmic and Vision Science (OVS) at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust. While we may not be one of the larger specialisms out there, we have a vital role to play in patient care. After all, vision is one of the most fundamental ways we experience the world, and the eye is a window into the brain and body! For those considering starting their journey with clinical science, hopefully I can provide an eye-opening insight (see what I did there?) into the ‘What’, ‘Why’ and ‘How’ of OVS.

STP Specialisms | Medical Physics: The Pathway of a Radiotherapy Treatment

Hello! My name is Alick and I’m a second year Medical Physics trainee with Liverpool University Hospitals NHS FT, specialising in Radiotherapy at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. I initially started the STP with an undefined specialism, which meant that I chose my specialism after completing first year rotations in the different strands of Medical Physics: Radiotherapy, Imaging with Ionising Radiation, Imaging with Non-Ionising Radiation and Radiation Safety. This blog post will cover the pathway of a radiotherapy patient, from immediately after the diagnosis through to treatment. Hopefully I’ll be able to convey the important role that physics plays along the way, as well as why I chose to specialise in radiotherapy!

My time at a private healthcare company | STP Reflections

It was Spring of 2020 and time to go on my first rotational placement of the STP; the informatics team of a private healthcare company. Throughout my career I have worked in the public sector, so this placement was a great chance to gain an insight into the corporate world of the private sector.

3 (and a bit) lessons on prepping for your OSFAs

Hello there lovely STP friends. I imagine you’re all feeling very stressed about your OSFAs right now, as they loom menacingly on the horizon. If you’re fairly chilled out about them, congratulations! I don’t really have anything else I can offer you in this post, so probably best for you to stop reading and go and spend your time a bit more wisely.

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