I am a clinical microbiologist working in a National Health Service (NHS) hospital in the north of England.
As a clinical microbiologist I am involved in all aspects of the diagnosis and treatment of infections. A lot of my time is also spent in trying to prevent infections from occuring, especially those which arise from medical treatment: so-called healthcare-associated infections, which can be casued by bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile (“C. diff”).
One of the reasons I love my job is because it is so varied. One moment I’m in the microbiology lab, the next I’m on the wards. You can find me at work pretty much anywhere in the hospital whether it’s doing a kitchen inspection or in the education centre teaching trainee doctors or nurses. I also work outside the hospital doing everything from talking to school students about the science of microbiology, especially as it applies to “real life” situations to pursuing my research interests.
I am also a member of the Royal College of Pathologists (www.rcpath.org.uk). Many people think of pathology as cutting up bodies in the mortuary, but there is much more to pathology than this! Pathology consists of a number of different branches including microbiology, haematology (the study of diseases of the blood) and histopathology (which is the diagnosis of disease by looking at tissue specimens, for example if a breast lump is removed by a surgeon, histopathologists will examine it to see whether it is cancerous).
Nearly three-quarters of all diagnoses made by doctors rely on results produced by pathologists. Some pathologists spend much of their time in the lab whereas others, such as haematologists will spend more of their day on the wards treating patients with diseases such as leukaemia.
Every November the College organises National Pathology Week. There are lots of events across the UK where you can meet pathologists and find out what they do. There are also a large number of events when you can get “hands on” experience of pathology. To see if there is an event in your area, please visit www.nationalpathologyweek.org).
