Question: do you like being a medical scientist

Monica Flaherty answered on 15 Nov 2016:

Yes I loved being a medical scientist. It is a very rewarding job as we work closely with the doctors to ensure the patient gets a correct diagnosis and is treated quickly and returns to full health as quick as possible. I am a medical scientis 21 years and even in that time there has been huge changes. Alot of the way we use to do tets have changed, they are not as manual, they are now more automated so doctors and nurses get results quicker. There is now many molecular tests for example in microbiology some tests detect the DNA of the bacteria in the sample so we no longer need to culture the sample. If we culture the sample, it takes the bacteria at least 24 hours to grow. With molecular tests the bacteria can often be detected within 4/5 hours. This has a huge benefit for the patient. Being a medical scientist is exciting as things are constantly changing. Bacteria are mutating and developing resistance to antibiotics so we have to find other antibiotics to use.