University of East Anglia NORFOLK STEM...Norwich Research Park Events– for all events please contact Dawn Barrett [email protected] Friends of John Innes Centre Events. Free

NORFOLK STEM

Univers i ty of East Angl ia

Welcome back!

I hope you all had a wonderful summer. The new school year is here already and classes are

well underway. In this edition we are focusing on careers in the NHS. We are lucky enough to

have several ambassadors who work for the NHS and some of them are featured inside. If you

would like an ambassador to come and talk to your class about the NHS do get in touch!!

We would still love to hear feedback from ambassadors and from schools about STEM

events so please do visit the links which are listed in the contact details on the last page. Inside

you will also find info on funding opportunities, events, competitions and World record attempts.

We also have details of new ambassador opportunities including a careers fair at Norwich High

School for Girls and careers activities in a Norfolk Primary School. Please do have a look and

get in touch with [email protected] if you would like to get involved.

If you would like ambassadors to come and visit your school or support a specific event,

please do get in touch and we will be happy to help. Or if you would just like a chat to see how

we can best support your STEM activities we would be pleased to visit you. Ambassadors, if you

have a project in mind but no school to work with, let us know and we can partner you up.

We wish everyone a great 2012/13 and we hope to see you soon!

Industry Insight

In this edition we are looking at NHS careers. The number of different career opportunities in the

NHS is endless, fitting into the following areas: allied health professionals, ambulance service

team, dental team, doctors, health informatics, healthcare scientists, management, midwifery,

nursing, operating departments, pharmacy careers, psychological therapists and the wider

healthcare team. This includes all the jobs everyone thinks of, and ones not so obvious but just as

important: arts therapists, financial managers, speech therapists, dieticians, molecular geneticists,

communications, catering, prosthetists and hundreds more!

In one day over 800,000 people visit a GP or practice nurse, over 50,000 people visit A&E and

there are over 120,000 outpatients. There are also people who are admitted as an emergency to

hospital, calls to NHS direct, people receiving dental treatment and many others; this is why there

are so many people employed by the NHS and why there are so many different avenues to

pursue. (Figures taken from http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/working-in-the-nhs/)

Inside there are details of useful links with NHS careers advice. If you would like to engage with a

STEM ambassador who works in the NHS please contact the STEM team.

Oct 2012

“Free STEM subject support and advice from Norfolk Contract Holder and support from the

Norfolk Ambassador network.”

Upcoming events

Here are a few STEM related events for schools and the public to attend, if you have any events you

would like to list here please do let us know.

Norwich Science Cafe– 17th Oct – Exploring environmental quality and biodiversity in your local area. OPAL in the East of England: Agneta Burton (OPAL East of England, University of Hertfordshire) 14th November – Don’t panic about the zombie pandemic- ‘keep calm and carry a calculator.’ Tristan Bunn (BBSRC, STEM Ambassador) Norwich Research Park Events– for all events please contact Dawn Barrett [email protected] Friends of John Innes Centre Events. Free talks but places must be booked in advance.

8th October, 6.30pm– National scientific treasures in Norwich.

6th November, 6.30pm– Nature’s chemical toolkit.

3rd December, 6.30pm– Organic food, GMOs and sustainable agriculture; green myths and scientific reality.

STEM networking events-

16th November– Brompton Bicycles design technology event, Thorpe St Andrew Technology Centre

28th November– Creative industries careers and curriculum support event, The Forum.

Both events run from 9am-1pm. The event is for teachers and STEM ambassadors. For a teacher’s booking form please contact Mark Bruhin. To attend as an ambassador, please contact STEM ambassadors.

eBug Global Handwashing Day– 15th October: eBug and the Health Protection Agency are working together to coordinate the World record attempt at the World’s biggest hand-washing lesson. Primary and secondary schools can register to take part. Please see the advert on the next page. Please note although STEM Ambassador resources are completely free, some external events may cost. The events listed here are run by external organisations, for info please contact these organisations directly.

Teacher Feedback– We need your help!

To enable us to improve and assess the way the STEM contract is run in Norfolk, a new post

ambassador event survey has been created on the web. If you have run an event in school and used

STEM ambassadors, we would very much appreciate it if you could fill in the survey for the event.

We would really like to hear about your experiences so we can ensure that we are supporting

Norfolk schools in the best possible way.

Here is the link to the survey: http://tinyurl.com/teacherfeedbacknorfolk

Thanks in advance for your help with this and we look forward to working with you on your future

projects.

The Health Protection Agency’s Primary Care Unit is attempting to set a Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous hand washing lesson. This event is open to primary and secondary schools you just need to register on the e-Bug webpage beforehand. There are also lesson packs available on the site. Ambassadors can get involved as well as witnesses and stewards are needed to make the attempt official. If you would like to get involved please contact the STEM team.

Better health through laboratory testing

Clinical laboratory testing is an invisible side of medical care to many. Have you also wondered what happens to your specimen when it is sent to the pathology laboratory, it probably may not have ever occurred to you what happens in between? Yet laboratory tests influences about 70%- 80% of clinical decisions made by the physician, from diagnosis through developing a course of action for treatment and prognosis. (From the Report of the review of NHS pathology services in England Summer 2006)

Information critical to the diagnostic process

The diagram above shows that laboratory testing is an important component in the diagnostic tool kit of a healthcare provider. The data generated from laboratory testing forms part of the information set that needs to be considered when a physician makes a diagnosis. Without the help and support of biomedical scientists, doctors would frequently be unable to diagnose diseases properly or treat their patients effectively.

Whenever a specimen taken by a doctor or nurse is sent to the laboratory, it is usually analysed by a biomedical scientist. The term “biomedical science” is applied to the investigations carried out by biomedical scientists. Each day the work of a biomedical scientist saves lives, reduces morbidity, and helps control the cost of care in thousands of hospitals. They prepare the specimen, conduct sensitive tests using sophisticated state-of-the-art equipment, analyse the data and generate results which are then used for clinical decisions. Despite this scope of influence, spending on laboratory services comprises fewer than 5% of the typical hospital’s budget. Tests are performed in laboratories that are nationally accredited for all aspects of the service they provide. This includes rigorous quality assurance procedures both internally and externally assessed. These processes help ensure that the tests performed by clinical laboratories for patient care will produce results that can be trusted. Since laboratory testing is an important part of monitoring the health status of an individual, it is therefore very important that we all become an informed advocate of our own healthcare or for that of a family member. This will guarantee a better outcome and make us get better faster. One of the most important factors in determining the accuracy and reliability of a laboratory test is the patient. Therefore, it is essential that you are involved by doing the following to ensure that the results will be useful:

1. Follow instructions, if there are any, to prepare for some certain tests. Examples of some frequent laboratory tests that require advance preparation include;

• Glucose tolerance test: fasting or eating meals at specific times may be required,

CONT. over the page.

Better health through laboratory testing cont.

• Lipid profile test: overnight fasting may be required.

2. Alert the person collecting your sample if you have deviated from the instructions.

3. Inform your doctor of any medications; including herbal remedies you might currently be taking or foods you have eaten within the day prior to the test.

4. It is crucial that you are open and honest with your doctor and person collecting your sample about any exceptions you made, in order to reduce the chance that you are improperly diagnosed. It should be noted that many tests require no special preparation. But for those that do, be certain to adhere to the instructions provided. If you are ever in doubt about the instructions, be sure to ask the person ordering the test for clarification.

There are a lot of resources available to you online. The best one is probably “LabTest online”. It will help you get the most out of preparing for the test, interpreting the test, and using it to plan your strategy for maintaining good health. Finally, biomedical science is a dynamic, varied, exciting and rewarding career with excellent

prospects and promotion opportunities. You may consider this potentially for a career for yourself, for a loved one, or for a friend. I welcome you into the profession. “You may never hear from biomedical scientists, but they are one of the loudest voices in the healthcare”.

Thanks to Olusegun, a STEM ambassador, for this article on biomedical science.

The Royal Society– Funding Opportunity

The Royal Society has opened the next round of applications for the ‘Partnerships for

excellence in science and engineering grants’. Schools can apply for up to £3000 of funding

to facilitate a partnership project between the school and a practising scientist or engineer.

The grants aim to inspire students by introducing them to cutting edge research in science

and engineering. The student cohort must be aged between 5 and 18 and the application

must involve a UK school or college partnering with a practising scientist or engineer. The

current round of funding closes on November 2nd, for more information and to apply please

see The Royal Society website.

If you would like to apply for this funding but need help in being partnered with a scientist or

engineer please get in touch with the STEM team and we will be pleased to help find an

ambassador to help with your project.

Life as a biomedical scientist– Katy Errington When I was at school I really enjoyed science and knew that I wanted to work within a hospital setting without doing medicine. Whilst I was at school, I had a few days work experience in the Haematology department of Spire hospital and decided to follow the career path of a biomedical scientist.

I originally started by doing a combined honours degree in biomedical science and forensic science. I had to convert to the single honours of biomedical science in the second year because I needed an Institute of Biomedical Science accredited degree if I wanted to become a HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council) registered biomedical scientist.

During this time I got a part-time job in the Microbiology department as a medical laboratory assistant. I enjoyed the discipline so decided to specialise in Medical Microbiology. In time, I got a trainee BMS position and eventually qualified as a HCPC registered BMS.

It has been a lot of hard work, it is very demanding and varied but I really enjoy it. I have worked in Microbiology for about 12 years now. I recently completed my MSc part-time, being funded by the department, which meant I could earn and learn at the same time. Last year I applied for the role of Training Officer and I am now involved in the laboratory training and have more responsibility within the laboratory.

My typical day involves working within the Virology section, testing patient blood samples for infectious agents and sorting out any training issues that may arise on a day-to-day basis. It is certainly varied and no two days are ever the same. Being a BMS is definitely a rewarding career path and I would recommend becoming a biomedical scientist to anyone!

Ambassador ID cards

Thanks to everyone that has sent in their passport style photo for their ambassador ID card, don’t

worry if you haven’t yet done so, you haven’t missed out! If you have not yet got an ID card, could

you please send a photo to [email protected] then we will get one sorted for you and

send it out. The photo needs to be of your head and shoulders; you can either send an actual

photo through the post or send a digital one via email, whichever is easiest. Please note, your

cards expire on the same date as your CRB check so if you have renewed recently and need a

new card please do let us know and send a new photo. Thanks!

NHS Resources

Here is a list of useful links for the NHS career pages which has a wealth of information for both stu-

dents and teachers.

Apprenticeships case studies and info: Last year, the NHS recruited 8,000 new apprentices who are now working and learning across the health service. http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/working-in-the-nhs/joining-the-nhs/apprenticeships-case-study/ Real life stories: read about people who currently work for the NHS http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/working-in-the-nhs/developing-your-career/real-life-stories/

Explore different career types:http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/explore-by-career/

Careers website for secondary school students: Contains case studies, a job matching quiz and http://www.stepintothenhs.nhs.uk/index.aspx Downloadable materials: The NHS career website has downloadable leaflets http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/downloads/

KS 4 PSHEE online activities. http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/explore-by-who-you-are/teachers-and-

Norfolk's American Connections-Young People's Writing Competition

An exciting competition based in Norfolk has just been opened. Although based on creative writing and history, why not use the competition to promote cross-curricular work and write about some form of scientific connection between Norfolk and America. Using the Norfolk’s American Connections website www.norfolksamericanconnections.com as a starting point, entrants should write about any historical links between Norfolk and North America. This could be a factual essay or a piece of creative writing (including poetry).

The competition will be judged in two age categories, children aged 7- 11, and young people aged 12-18. Entries are welcomed from individuals, schools or other groups. Entries must be no longer than 850 words. Prizes will be awarded to the top two winning entries in each age category. 1st prize: Vouchers for family days out at Norfolk County Council museums of your choice (www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk). 2nd prize: a £10.00 book token.

Entries must be received by 30th November 2012. Entry forms can be downloaded from the Norfolk’s American Connections Website or obtained from Norfolk libraries.

Genome Generation: get your students debating ethical issues

An exciting new resource has been developed by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and EMBL-

European Bioinformatics Institute. Genome generation is a card-based discussion activity to help

students debate current issues in genetics and genomics. Over the next few months there are a series of

free workshops for educators to show them how to use the resource and get their thoughts on how it

could be used in the classroom.

The activity provides students with real life scenarios and information about genomics. They analyse

data, challenge their own ideas and consider how genomics will transform healthcare and influence our

lives in the future.

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, working with the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education(www.educ.cam.ac.uk) and PATHWAY UK (www.pathwayuk.org.uk) are offering free training sessions in the use of this exciting new resource. Places are limited!

Training workshops will be taking place at the following venues:

Wednesday 10th October 17:00, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge

Tuesday 16th October 17:00, Horniman Museum, London SE23

Wednesday 17th October 17:00, University of Cambridge Faculty of Education, Hills Road,

Cambridge

Wednesday 24th October 14:00, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge

Wednesday 21st November 14:00, University of Cambridge Faculty of Education, Hills Road,

Cambridge

Wednesday 28th November 17:00, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge

Wednesday 5th December 17:00, University of Cambridge Faculty of Education, Hills Road,

Cambridge

Thursday 13th December 14:00, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge

Tuesday 18th December 17:00, Horniman Museum, London SE23

Meet The Ambassador

Name: Paul Brookes

Job: Chief Biomedical Scientist (Toxicology)

Company: Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital (NNUH)

STEM Area of expertise: Biomedical (Healthcare) Science and Analytical Chemistry

What do you enjoy about your job: The Toxicology section is very varied, there is a certain ‘feel good factor’ attached to working within the NHS lab, that when results are sent out you know ultimately you are helping a patient. Also with the Toxicology section we are, in some cases, investigating drugs of abuse present in samples, which when using a combination of techniques can sometimes be as much of an art as it is a science…… its certainly not as easy as it appears on CSI!

Typical day: Unfortunately a lot of my working day is filled with paperwork, but there is often an opportunity or two to get some real science done. The section currently runs three LC:MSn (Liquid chromatography: mass spectroscopy) systems (with plans to bring in at least one more) as well as Atomic absorption, Gas Chromatography and High Performance Liquid Chromatography, so there is always something that needs tinkering with. We assay: drugs of abuse, vitamins, tumour markers and metals (to name a few), in urine, blood and sometimes faeces. It’s a really good mix of medical science and chemistry.

Favourite scientific idea/experiment: Drugs of abuse is definitely my area of interest (in a completely legal and above board way I hasten to add!), interactions and developments, from the first synthesis of diacetylmorphine (Heroin) to the development of the new ‘legal high’ groups. There is always a twist and a turn as a new recreational drug is produced, then from this follows methods of detecting it and/or it becomes a classified compound and almost as soon as we get a handle on it, another drug is synthesised/produced and takes its place on the market.

Best STEM event you took part in: So far I’ve mostly done one-off teaching for high schools, which I’ve really enjoyed. It’s true what is said about some of the best questions coming from these groups, a number of the questions I’ve been asked are very insightful and challenging, and often left me disappointed I hadn’t thought of it first.

Favourite sci-fi film: Star Wars Trilogy (I am ignoring the new films I-III)....... and if pushed for the favourite of the trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back, its a bit darker then the other two films, the rebels can’t always win!

STEM hero: I saw a lecture at Cambridge University when I was at 6th form by Professor Stephen Hawking and he was amazing, he explained the very complex subject in a way that we as 16 & 17 year olds could grasp, as well as him being very funny and more than a little rude! And Jonny Ball, as he brought science from the brown suits of BBC 2 Open University to people like me when I was a kid and made it look fun.

If you would like to feature in meet the ambassador in a future issue please email your profile to [email protected]

Ambassadors wanted-A snapshot of requests

● Norwich High School for Girls are running a careers fair on November 14th between 15.30-

17.30 and are looking for ambassadors to help hold stands and chat to year 10/11 students

and their parents. You do not have to act on behalf of a company, any individuals that would

like to take part and talk to people about their job are welcome.

● The Norwich Science Café is looking for both speakers and hosts for the 2013 season.

Each month the café runs at the Maddermarket Theatre Bar and presents a talk on a

scientific theme. The talks last between 30-45 minutes and then the whole audience

discusses the topic. The café are looking for people to do one off talks on any subject or any

format they like. They are also looking for people who would be interested in acting as the

host for the evenings, introducing the speaker and helping to set up/take down the

equipment. Contact [email protected] for more info.

● 8th October –20th October: Cobholm Primary School are running aspirations assemblies for

2 weeks before a Saturday celebration day. They are looking for people to do a 15/20

minute talk on their career for the assemblies and for activities and information stalls for the

celebration day on Saturday 20th.

● The Millennium Library want to engage with ambassadors who are interested in leading

science activities for children aged 8 and over. Ideas are welcome!

● Ongoing– Barford Primary School would like ambassadors to support their Year 2+3 class

and Year 5+6 class on Mondays. The groups are currently studying materials in their

science classes and would welcome anyone who would like to do a one-off talk or activity.

● March 2013– Admirals Junior School and Thetford Academy link up. The junior school will

be holding a science fair on 22nd March 2013. There will be a 6 week after school science

club before the fair. The organiser would like help with writing the projects for the science

club (the children will be able to pick which project they take part in), each project has an

introduction session, three experimental sessions and 2 poster making sessions. The

organiser also would like help with people attending the science club (you do not need to

commit to all 6). If you would like to be involved in any aspect of this activity or have an idea

for one of the projects contact the STEM team.

Don’t forget to check the full list on the ambassador request page.

Contact details:

STEM, Careers Centre, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ

[email protected] 01603 591738

[email protected] 01603 591659 07826 877188

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and type unsubscribe in the subject line.

www.stemnet.org.uk www.uea.ac.uk/teachers/STEMNET

Teacher feedback survey: http://tinyurl.com/teacherfeedbacknorfolk

Ambassador feedback survey http://tinyurl.com/NorfolkAmbassadors