Profile

While my working day is spent as a Biomedical Scientist my spare time can get very hectic. My children do lots of hobbies and I join in with them while at rugby helping to coach the younger age groups.

I love getting out and about either walking or on my bike. My favourite places to cycle to are the Falkirk Wheel and the Helix and Kelpies in Falkirk.

I have a big passion for music of all kinds. I have played various musical instruments including the trumpet, clarinet and the bagpipes. I even used to play in a pipe band!

I like spending any spare time I have making things by knitting and sewing. I also like mending and fixing things which comes in handing when my children frequently present me with broken toys including remote control cars and gaming controllers. I love seeing their faces light up when I get their favourite toys working again!

In Pathology I rotate between the Cytology lab and Histology lab. I take a patients sample and carry out a set of special steps to transer the sample onto a slide so that the cells can be examined under a microscope. A sample could be a biopsy, like a piece of tissue from a lump or bump a patient might have in their skin, or it could be a fluid sample like a urine sample. A doctor will then look at the slide down the microscope to see what is wrong with the patient. The shape, colour and number of cells can give clues as to what disease or illness the patient may have. The result can help the doctors decide what treatment or medication the patient needs.

Setting up the Cytology lab in the morning involves sorting the staining machine and running quality control slides. This ensures the stain is correct prior to staining any patient samples as this is how the Consultant is able to tell what is wrong with the patient. I then set up the microbiological safety cabinet where I will prepare the samples. This ensures I am not exposed to any illnesses the patient may have when I am handling their sample. I use various different equipment such as centrifuges and cytospin centrifuges to concentrate the cells in the patients samples and transer these onto slides. The lab gets different kinds of cytology samples that range from cyst fluids, bronchial washings and joint fluids. Some samples are urgent and I will prioritise these so the results can get back to the patient quickly. Sometimes I will not be able to prepare all the samples the lab receives in a day and they are put in a fridge for the next day.