Glowing CPD: Victoria Moyse CSci
The Science Council spoke to Victoria Moyse, CSci – a Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) Registered Biomedical Scientist and Member of the Institute of Biomedical Science to showcase her CPD in 2020.
Did your approach to CPD change during 2020 in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic?
Yes, I took advantage of the fact that many organisations made a move to online platforms to conduct meetings, training sessions, and discussions.
It made things much more easily accessible (and on some cases less time out of work). It also made shorter sessions and discussions possible, which might not otherwise have happened because it wouldn’t have been worth setting up an event for people to travel to.
For this reason, I think communication with people outside your local professional area has increased, and I hope some of this continues into the future.
Did you job role change during the COVID-19 pandemic? Did this open-up anymore CPD opportunities?
Yes, firstly the lab had to handle specimens very differently and we had to take additional measures to protect staff, which was a big learning exercise. Also, in June 2020 I changed from being laboratory manager for blood sciences laboratories, to becoming training manager across all pathology disciplines in a different organisation. I have also been given the role of ‘Speaking Up Champion’ for laboratories, reporting to HCA Healthcare Speaking Up Guardian, which is a new area for me to learn about.
The pandemic itself has opened up a wealth of opportunities for CPD, although people might not always recognize it!
I have learned about the function of safety cabinets, additional PPE and ward-based practice, some of which I hadn’t had exposure to before. The introduction of new assays for COVID-19 testing and new clinical pathways, changing all the time because of the ever updated information and guidelines.
It has been a rare opportunity to follow the scientific process, and how different areas of science and healthcare fit together like a jigsaw, because it has happened at such an accelerated rate and in such a public arena.
Additionally, in my roles as a Registration Portfolio Verifier for the IBMS and a technical assessor for UKAS, assessments now must be carried out remotely, which has involved adapting my practice. Assessment in this format can be tricky for the assessor and for the candidates, especially as part of the assessment requires a tour of the candidate’s laboratory, but some innovation has been borne out of necessity!
Did you do CPD at home?
- Blackboard training with Westminster University, to be able to deliver online training to trainers – Usually I help teach on this ‘in-person’ course held at the university every year, this year it was held virtually, so I had some training to learn how to use the Blackboard system to be able to deliver the training sessions as effectively as possible.
- IBMS Support Hub – ‘Barriers to CPD training session’ – a new session, a short lunchtime discussion group, and probably one that wouldn’t have happened without online options and the increased comfort of people to use Teams/Zoom etc.
- International Pathology Day 2020, Infection Through the Lens of COVID-19 with an International Viewpoint – a session run by the RCPath featuring speakers and delegates from all over the world. I almost certainly wouldn’t have been able to attend such an even in person and it was extremely interesting to hear the similarities and differences in actions and outcomes in the pandemic response from around the world.
How have you been creative with your CPD?
The unique situation of the pandemic has meant guidance information and requirements for implementation have changed at high speed, which has led to some interesting opportunities for reflection, as we have been able to view a cycle of change much more quickly than usual!
I have also been exposed to things outside my usual discipline much more than normal, so I have learned more about equipment and requirements out on the wards, which in turn has helped to allow us to prioritise services within the lab and give instructions to clinical staff, to help patients receive what they need as easily as possible, under strange and stressful circumstances.
I have tried to attend more online events, and to encourage others to do so, while they are available (and hopefully to encourage some of this to continue in the future).
Were there any useful CPD resources from your professional body that you have used?
The IBMS did ‘Biomedical Scientist Live’ – essentially an online conference for Biomedical Scientists, covering a range of topics and pathology disciplines over a few days. All accessible online, it was the first time they had run an event like this and it was very good.
The RCPath held some ‘Art and Science of Practical Management’ online CPD sessions, which were easy to access and very interesting.
