Award win for inspiring the next generation of biomedical scientists
The Blood Sciences department at Broomfield Hospital has won a prestigious national award, and been shortlisted for another.
The winning award was in the Public Engagement category and was part of the first ever Institute of Biomedical Scientists (IBMS) Awards 2024, with judges saying that "a great mixture of examples of public engagement was shared with the judging panel."
The department was also shortlisted in the very competitive Training and Development category.
Lesley Cybichowski, Training and Health & Safety Lead at Broomfield Hospital, and the department were applauded by judges for their, “enthusiastic approach to promoting biomedical science and the laboratory services”, and ‘helping raise awareness and the profile of the service by really engaging with people at the hospital, schools, colleges and universities’.
Lesley said: “It’s fantastic for us to be given this award, it really means a lot in our field of work and has given me and the whole team a lot of pride in getting such high-profile recognition.
“The department’s student engagement events we’re intended to inspire young minds to take up careers in science, especially biomedical sciences. Hundreds have attended career events and feedback is always good. Work experience placements are often arranged for students.”
Public and hospital staff engagement events have also helped raise the profile and awareness of pathology services within the hospital and community.
Lesley said: “Staff who have supported these events as ambassadors have benefited from increased personal confidence and pride in their role, with several taking on more formal training responsibilities, such as delivering registration tutorials or becoming mentors to students. Two staff also undertook further training to become registration verifiers.”