Applications open for NHS Scientist Training Programme
The programme, which will run for three years from September 2020, will give scientists the opportunity to use their specialist knowledge to benefit patients and the public.
Trainees will be employed by an NHS Trust for the duration of the programme and will spend time in a range of settings, before specialising in the last two years of the programme. They will also be enrolled in a fully funded part-time vocational master’s degree in their chosen specialism.
The aim of the STP is to produce graduates who will possess the essential knowledge, skills, experience and attributes required of a newly-qualified clinical scientist in the NHS.
They will be competent to undertake complex scientific and clinical roles, defining and choosing investigative and clinical options, making key judgements about complex facts and clinical situations within a quality assurance framework.
Many will work directly with patients and all will have an impact on patient care and outcomes. They will be involved, often in leadership roles, in innovation and improvement, research and development and/or education and training.
Posts are normally available within one of the following areas:
Clinical Bioinformatics – with pathways in genomics, physical sciences, health informatics
Life Sciences – clinical biochemistry, clinical immunology, cytopathology, cancer genomics, genomics, genomic counselling, haematology and transfusion science, histocompatibility and immunogenetics, histopathology, infection sciences, reproductive science
Physical Sciences – clinical engineering (rehabilitation engineering, clinical measurement and development, device risk management and governance), clinical pharmaceutical science, medical physics (radiation safety, radiotherapy physics, imaging with ionising radiation, imaging with non-ionising radiation)
Physiological Sciences – audiology, cardiac science, critical care science, gastrointestinal physiology and urodynamic sciences, neurophysiology, ophthalmic and vision sciences, respiratory and sleep sciences, vascular science.
Applicants must have a 1st or 2.1 either in an undergraduate honours degree or an integrated master’s degree, in a pure or applied science subject relevant to the specialism for which they are applying.
Applicants with a 2.2 honours degree or better in any subject will also be considered if they have a higher degree that is relevant to the specialism for which they are applying.
For all candidates evidence of research experience, e.g. in the form of a higher degree or equivalent evidence of scientific and academic capability, is considered desirable.
