London Metropolitan University now houses the capital’s only simulation lab which trains students in a real life laboratory environment
Date: 10 March 2016
London Met has invested £180,000 to create a ‘hot lab’ which will simulate a real life hospital laboratory environment.
The University has installed industry level equipment, including microscopes, fridges and testing apparatus to trains students to perform full blood counts, clinical biochemical assays and transfusion investigations. There is also a brand new CTOUCH smart screen which connects to the state of the art microscopes so students can examine microscopic slides on a large scale.
As part of the lab, students will be able to complete part of the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) Certificate of Competence, the industry certificate required to be a registered biomedical scientist. Traditionally, this certificate is only completed after graduation. By offering this during their degree London Met biomedical science graduates will be one step ahead of the competition for jobs as they will have more hands on experience and, crucially, for employers will be cheaper to train.
“This lab is a fantastic addition to our already impressive laboratory teaching facilities and will enable our students to practice diagnostic science though experiential learning,” says Sean Frost, MSc Blood Science course leader.
“Students will perform the same investigations, to a comparable standard that a NHS Biomedical scientist does.”
The lab was finished in February 2016 in London Met’s £30m Science Centre and will be open to all undergraduate students in September 2016. It is currently a teaching space for Master’s students.
