Published: 19th March 2019
Jamie Wild is a Biomedical Scientist (BMS) at the Christie Pathology Partnership (CPP), one of the UK’s leading reference centres specialising in cancer detection and treatment.
The Christie is the largest single-site cancer centre in Europe and is an international leader in cancer treatment and research. 44,000 patients are treated there each year. CPP is a joint venture between The Christie and SYNLAB UK, one of the largest European pathology service providers. It is based at The Christie Hospital in Manchester.
Jamie explains his chosen career path and his plans for a future in pathology: “Essentially I’ve always loved science and helping people so a career in pathology was an obvious choice for me. I’m interested in how changes at a cellular level present themselves in organs. As a BMS at CPP all the cases I handle are cancer specific, some are very rare, ranging in size from small biopsies to whole organs.
We are constantly looking to advance and enhance the service. We aim to improve turn-around times, reducing the time between a patient’s surgery and the pathology result, enabling the patient to start treatment faster.
I studied a BTEC Level 3 in Applied Science at Manchester College followed by a Healthcare Sciences degree at Manchester Metropolitan University. It involved an integrated placement during the three-year course and any spare time was spent in the laboratory as part of the programme. In my last year, I spent two days a week at University and three days in the laboratory which was tough but the best part of my studies.
I’m about to start my specialist training, demonstrating my gained knowledge in Cellular Pathology. From there I hope to begin advanced training, taking several years, to help me reach management. My focus is purely cancer – it’s the only world in pathology I know though clearly there are plenty of other disciplines.
I wanted a job helping people and by combining it with my other passion, science, I have the best of all worlds.”
Click here to find out more about roles at CPP and SYNLAB UK.
