LSC-30044 - Module Specification
School of Life Sciences
Faculty of Natural Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

This module is the culmination of the Applied Biomedical Science Placement, where students spend - depending on the placement offer - either 14 or 46 weeks between Levels 5 and 6 in a pathology laboratory, gaining work experience and engaging with a Placement Training Programme. On entering their final year of study, successful students will have completed the verification of their ABMS Placement Portfolio during this placement, demonstrating their competence in the HCPC Standards of Proficiency for Biomedical Scientists.
During their final year, students will complete a scientific report placing their practical work within the context of existing work and NHS Pathology services for the provision of high-class patient care.
By carrying out a project, analysing and reporting their results students will develop all of the graduate attributes.
An open and questioning approach to ideas, demonstrating curiosity, independence of thought and the ability to appreciate a range of perspectives on the natural worlds; Students will be carrying out their own experiments/research to generate new knowledge.
An appreciation of the development and value of your chosen subjects of study, awareness of their contexts, the links between them, and awareness of the provisional and dynamic nature of knowledge; Students will search for and evaluate up to date information and data ti improve patient care.
Information literacy: the ability to locate, evaluate and synthesise large amounts of frequently conflicting information; Students have to research and engage with the literature in their chosen field.
The ability creatively to solve problems using a range of different approaches and techniques, and to determine which techniques are appropriate for the issue at hand; Students may have to revise experimental design.
An appreciation of the social, environmental and global implications of your studies and other activities, including recognition of any ethical implications; Students will be asked to consider the ethical implications of their experiments/research.
The ability to communicate clearly and effectively in written and verbal forms for different purposes and to a variety of audiences; Students will have to communicate verbally with their supervisor and any other people working in the lab and will have to keep detailed lab notes and produce a written report.
The knowledge, skills, self-confidence and self-awareness actively to pursue your future goals; Many students say that their projects were the impetus to follow a research career.
The ability and motivation to participate responsibly and collaboratively as an active citizen in the communities in which you live and work; Students will work with other healthcare professionals and reflect on the impact on patient care.
A professional and reflective approach, including qualities of leadership, responsibility, personal integrity, empathy, care and respect for others, accountability and self-regulation; Students may be working as part of a larger research group and their actions may impact directly on others.
The flexibility to thrive in rapidly changing and uncertain external environments and to update skills and knowledge as circumstances require; Students will be learning new research skills.

To complete and achieve successful verification of the ABMS Placement Portfolio, incorporating the HCPC Standards of Proficiency for Biomedical Scientists.
To provide an opportunity for students to further develop their professional and communication skills during their placement experiences, particularly with respect to interprofessional and peer to peer learning.
To provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to perform practical experiments, record and analyse the results and to present the findings in a report and oral presentation.
To consolidate learning from the Applied Biomedical Science (ABMS) placement, by the preparation of a detailed scientific report based on practical work carried out on placement.
To apply new and existing experimental techniques to answer specific questions.
To research the relevant scientific literature to enable the student to place their own findings into context within the field.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Search scientific literature and databases at an advanced level: 1,3,5
Plan and safely execute a series of small experiments or surveys to evaluate/validate a methodology used within NHS Pathology services and demonstrate technical competence in a range of techniques used within NHS Pathology services: 1,2
Analyse, interpret and critically discuss, using appropriate statistical tests, the results of a series of experiments to evaluate/validate a methodology used within NHS Pathology services: 1,3,5
Produce a substantial, critical scientific report, including the presentation of information in a manner appropriate to the situation and data in appropriate graphical formats, synthesising and building upon existing information: 3
Demonstrate their achievement of the HCPC Standards of Proficiency for Biomedical Scientists to include conducting themselves in the laboratory in a manner becoming of a professional bioscientist (research ethics, note taking, time-keeping etc) and critically evaluate the role of Pathology in the diagnosis, management and treatment of disease: 1,2,4
Communicate effectively with other team members to ensure effective operation of the team and critically reflect on the extent and limits of their knowledge and how this impacts on working effectively with colleagues in other disciplines: 1,2,4,5
Take responsibility for their own learning and engage with the placement learning experience in order to identify personal and professional goals for CPD and lifelong learning: 1,2,3,4,5
Evaluate collaborative problem solving and decision making processes and judge their impact on patient care: 1,2,3,5
Communicate effectively as a professional using language appropriate to a range of audiences with the correct use of grammar and spelling: 1,2,3,4,5
Summarise the background, methods, results and conclusions of research undertaken in an oral presentation: 5

Study hours

20 hours learning/teaching activities, comprising:
10 hours workshop development and delivery
10 hours attendance at West Midlands placement workshops and Keele IPE level 2
140 hours guided independent study, comprising:
70 hours report preparation
70 hours portfolio preparation
140 hours placement comprising:
125 hours lab work
5 hours lab tour
10 poster development

School Rules

Conditional on satisfactory verification of the Applied Biomedical Science Placement Portfolio as evidence of meeting the HCPC Standards of Proficiency whilst on placement.

Description of Module Assessment