Corporal Megan Idle is an RAF biomedical scientist based at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) at the
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and yet her route into the role was a little unconventional.

What attracted you to a career in biomedical science in the military?

I studied biology for my undergraduate degree, specialising in biomedical science, and my master’s was also in biomedical science.

One of the main differences between a military and a civilian biomedical scientist is that civilians are single discipline and very specialised. I’m passionate about the entire subject matter, so the military is perfect because we have to work across all four main disciplines: microbiology, haematology, biochemistry and transfusion science.

There are fewer than 60 biomedical scientists working across the tri-service profession and fewer than 15 in the RAF. We can deploy with the Hospital Staging Unit as a team of two or individually, and have the responsibility of managing a multi-disciplinary diagnostic laboratory.

There must be a lot of variety in this role compared to working as a civilian biomedical scientist? 

Definitely. To maintain that multidisciplinary aspect and keep up with clinical skills, we work for a period in each department and then rotate. The amount of time we spend in different departments can differ, but it’s usually about six to eight months.

I’m currently working in clinical biochemistry at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, so I’m specialising in paediatric work. In my last rotation I worked in haematology and transfusion, and I’ve also worked in microbiology and neurology.

The role is varied and you have to get stuck in and get to grips with everything. One of my favourite things about the job is there’s always more to learn. I know I’ll learn something interesting every single day.

You must have developed a wide skill set given the level of responsibility you now hold? 

It takes many years. I’m still quite junior in my career, so I have a long way to go.

Also, we generate results but it’s not just a case of a computer telling us those results and us sending them out – they have to be thoroughly validated. We have to be able to recognise when a result is erroneous or unexpected and know that something is wrong. We also have to detect sample contamination, as well as be able to look at specific results, especially in biochemistry.

It takes confidence and critical thinking to recognise that something’s not right and then add on further testing to figure out what’s going on. It takes a lot of study and experience, but over the years you get used to it.

There’s a certain pressure now I’m a biomedical scientist because I can’t ask a biomedical scientist how something is done! It’s good pressure, though, because it’s your responsibility when results are being passed on, and you have to trust and have confidence in yourself that you’re getting it right.

Are overseas deployments part of the role of an RAF biomedical scientist?

Absolutely. We have a broad range of deployment scenarios. We can be routinely deployed for general healthcare concerns, to keep serving personnel medically fit for operations. Our main job is to work with other healthcare professionals to ensure personnel are kept ready. We can handle routine illnesses, figure out the problem and provide results to guide clinical intervention such as whether people need antibiotics while on deployment.

We can also deploy to scenarios where blood transfusions are the main capability to treat battlefield trauma. We can perform in an emergency, select the blood and arrange the crossmatch. We then issue the appropriate units for that individual in readiness for transfusion.

Can you tell us about the emergency donor panel that you work on? 

One of the main things that separates civilian and military biomedical science is that we run emergency donor panels ahead of operations and deployments. We take blood samples from individuals on that deployment, get a background history and send those samples off for a range of testing including blood grouping.

If someone is suitable, they will be added to a donor list, so if we have a logistical issue with blood resupply, or if clinical need dictates, we can manufacture fresh whole blood in the field.

It’s something that happens in the military but not in the NHS and it’s one of our main capabilities as biomedical scientists. It doesn’t happen very often – hence the name – but it is something we have the capability to do and it could save someone’s life.

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about a career in military biomedical science?

My number one piece of advice would be to try to get a placement because it’s hard to see what the job is like unless you’ve been in a lab. If you know that’s what you want to do, try to find a placement – even if it’s temporary – just to see what goes on and how it works.

RAF biomedical scientists are always open to talking about our roles. We attend careers fairs at RAF stations around the country because we like to tell people how much we enjoy our jobs. If someone has an interest in science but can’t find their niche, military biomedical science is a varied and enjoyable job.