Belfast-bound morning musings

Whilst a proportion of my role is field-based, the majority of it is spent working from home. For me, the main benefits to working in this way are that I am less distracted and more productive (tick), and that I have just enough flexibility in my day to do things like the school run so I can catch my kid at a time when he’s actually chatty rather than flagging from a day of learning and play (huge tick).

As a self-confessed empath and “fixer”, I find building relationships and working in service of others rewarding. The company’s tagline is “responsive service and support” and we pride ourselves on delivering just that. Helping people get back on track is very satisfying.

As a scientist, troubleshooting difficult-to-analyse cases from a wide array of transplant diagnostic tests and instruments, learning about novel assays and software tools to support molecular matching, and attendance at conferences keeps me on my toes and up-to-date with my learning all the time.

The first few months of this year sees me in Cambridge, Colindale, Tooting, Liverpool, Manchester, Belfast (today), Newcastle, Brighton and Brussels. Sounds intense, and it can be. But the period when I’m travelling is where the magic happens. Meeting budding scientists at the beginning of their careers, being able to support them with their projects and career development, and watching them flourish is a special perk. Continuing the education of others through lunchtime talks, webinars and teaching new skills is another. ?

Before joining VH Bio, I only really interacted with the lab that I was in, perhaps other colleagues as part of a Super User Group or regarding tenders and most of those meetings were virtual. Being able to get to know scientific, clinical and surgical colleagues in person is much more nourishing. We’re all human, we all have lives outside of work, we’re all committed to providing the best care and outcomes for our patients, and it’s immeasurably better when we do it together.

“Nurturing Interdependence” is this year’s NHSBT-BTS Joint Congress theme and I, for one, think it’s important. Right on theme, Mr George E. Nita (Royal Liverpool University Hospitals) will be pitching a national study approach to post-transplant monitoring at this year’s Dragons Den. We’re here to facilitate that collaboration so get in touch if it’s something you’d like to be a part of.

And if you’re thinking you might like to join our growing Transplant Team, we’d love to hear from you.