• Question: Do you work independently or do you work with a partner

    Asked by eletigi232 to Laura, Nicola, Norman, Sandra, Thanasis on 14 Mar 2013. This question was also asked by qirett22.
    • Photo: Laura Soul

      Laura Soul answered on 14 Mar 2013:

      I do a lot of my work independently, however I also do work with other people, sometimes not just one partner but a big group of scientists. Quite often when scientists do work, one will come up with the idea for the experiment, another one will collect the data and then another one will join in and help them figure out the results and what the data is telling them, then they will all do the write up together. Science works much better when people collaborate because they have lots of different skills so its good to bring them all together.

    • Photo: Nicola Wardrop

      Nicola Wardrop answered on 14 Mar 2013:

      Most of my work I do on my own, but I do work with other people for specific things. For example, I analyse data which someone else has collected by taking lots of blood samples from people and cows in Kenya, and then doing lots of lab work – so I am working when them in a way, but not every day! Then I have a supervisor who helps me – I discuss what I am doing with him, my plans, my results etc to help me make sure everything is going well. Then I also work with other people sometimes…there are quite a few people that I work with in a spread out group (if that makes sense, as some of us are in different countries!)…for collecting data, for learning, for discussing results and for writing. I definitely can’t do everything on my own and two brains are much better than one!

    • Photo: Sandra Phinbow

      Sandra Phinbow answered on 15 Mar 2013:

      Most of my work I do by myself, I sat at my microscope and look at slides. There are other people in my room doing the same thing. Sometimes we see something we’re a little bit unsure about so we pop a dollop of ink on that area and give the slide to someone else to have a peek at.

      And when I am doing the actual lab work I work in a small room by myself too. So our work is done by an individual but we have a whole team of people wokring on the project.

      We have medical secretaries typing up reports, us in the lab caryring out the work and screening the slides. We have a senior scientist who checks all the slides that call ‘abnormal’, then those ones go to the consultant pathologist or consulant biomedical scientist to be authorised. We have lab assistants who also carry out some clerical work but they also process samples straight onto machines, and change the stains on our mahcines, and keep on top of stocks.

      We as scientists also have other roles – training officer, quality management officer, display screen assessor (that’s me), back care facilitator (me again), fire marshalls, first aiders. We all do other things as well as lab work. I am also a representative working with our governing body – the Institute of Biomedical Sciences so often the guys come to me with questions or wanting information or advice.

Comments