Measuring the Impact of Incorporating Case Study Presentations Into Applied Biomedical Science Placement Workshops for Trainee Biomedical Scientists.

Introduction: Successfully completing the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) registration portfolio is essential to becoming a Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registered Biomedical Scientist. In the West Midlands, a unique collaboration between four universities (Aston, Wolverhampton, Coventry, and Keele) and local NHS Trusts supports student placements and portfolio development. The universities support Training Officers in delivering components of the registration portfolio through the delivery of eight combined placement workshops. These have been designed to align to the IBMS registration portfolio and help students meet the HCPC Standards of Proficiency. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a redesigned workshop where students generated and presented medical case studies to peers, academics, and training leads. Materials and Methods: The three phases of the case study intervention included a pre-intervention survey, academic-led sessions focussing on medical case presentations and delivery of the presentation followed by a post-intervention survey. Results: Analysing survey responses pre- and post-intervention, students demonstrated enhanced confidence in their understanding of clinical conditions (p<0.0001), connecting lab findings to diseases, and in delivering a case presentation to their peers (p<0.001). Students reported an increased confidence in structuring case presentations and their critical thinking ability (p<0.0001). All students agreed engaging with the case study workshop improved their ability to communicate knowledge of scientific concepts orally. Thematic analysis revealed that the case presentation deepened students' understanding of multidisciplinary teams. 98% of respondents agreed patient communication should be integrated into Biomedical Sciences courses and 85% would like to see case study presentations embedded into the curriculum. Discussion: Combined placement workshops are an integral part of the Applied Biomedical Science placement journey. Case study presentations are clearly a valuable teaching and learning tool to nurture and develop key transferable skills and competencies in conjunction with Biomedical Science expertise. The collaborative approach in the West Midlands effectively prepares graduates with essential pathology knowledge, skills, and a completed IBMS registration portfolio. This study highlights a successful framework for a collaborative partnership with local NHS trusts that has allowed the completion of numerous pathology placements and could be adopted by other universities delivering accredited Biomedical Science courses.

A Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Case Study to Promote Interprofessional Learning (IPL) Between Audiology and Biomedical Science Students in Higher Education.

Modern and effective patient care requires specialist healthcare professionals working together. Interprofessional learning (IPL) seeks to provide opportunities for different healthcare disciplines to learn with, from and about each other. This study focused on the delivery and evaluation of a cytomegalovirus (CMV) case study workshop to facilitate IPL between two Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) regulated courses: Biomedical Science and Audiology. The 2 h online workshop consisted of 1) defining the roles, responsibilities and skills of the two healthcare professions, 2) the structure of the Biomedical Science and Audiology departments, 3) routes to HCPC registration, 4) core curriculum of both degree programmes and 5) interpreting interdisciplinary data related to a CMV patient case. The workshop was interactive, with the virtual learning environment promoting peer discussions and the use of online polling. Student responses were collected through an online questionnaire. A total of 108 respondents completed a post-event survey and Mann-Whitney U tests revealed there were no significant differences in the responses between the two student cohorts in response to each of the survey statements (p > 0.05). A total of 82.4% of students agreed that they need to know the role of other healthcare professionals for their future practice, whilst 84.2% agreed that the CMV case study was a good format to facilitate effective IPL. A total of 93.5% of respondents recognised the importance of both professions in diagnosing a patient with CMV. Thematic analysis identified four common themes, including appreciation of shared roles, recognition of similarities in registration pathways, working together to provide holistic patient care and the role of clinicians in the patient journey. This novel collaboration between Biomedical Science and Audiology facilitated effective IPL whilst meeting the interprofessional education HCPC requirements. Collaborative working is an essential component of delivering effective patient care and allied healthcare degrees need to provide opportunities within their curriculum to foster this. We hope this study encourages other higher education institutes to expand and develop their current IPL activities to include a broader spectrum of healthcare courses.

An Innovative Workshop Embedding Pathology Service Users into the Undergraduate Biomedical Science Curriculum.

The integration of pathology service users into the biomedical science curriculum has been driven by the refinement of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Standards of Proficiency. This study aimed to design and implement a novel and innovative service user event with a reflective assessment to enhance students' knowledge and understanding of the impact of pathology laboratory results on the patient pathway. The 4-h workshop consisted of a series of service users. Patients discussed how pathology services had contributed to their diagnosis and treatment, while service providers-a Microbiology Consultant, a director of primary care, and the patient referral optimisation officer-discussed their roles and their interactions with pathology services. Post-event, students completed a 750-word reflective assessment, highlighting challenges experienced by service users and providing suggestions for improving the delivery of pathology services. In total, 57.5% of respondents (57/99) completed a post-reflection survey, which included open- and closed-ended questions. Quantitative analysis of the survey data revealed that over 87.7% of respondents had increased knowledge and understanding of the revised HCPC standards. Following the assessment, students reported a significant increase in their confidence with respect to reflective writing (p < 0.001), with over 90% of respondents agreeing that the reflective assessment had increased their knowledge and understanding of the limitations that may negatively impact service users and patient care. Moreover, respondents highlighted how advancements in point-of-care testing (POCT) and improvements in communication can improve patient experiences. Thematic analysis revealed that respondents agreed that embedding patients into the curriculum reinforced the importance of there being a patient behind every sample. Respondents reported that reflecting upon service user experiences enabled them to identify improvements to the delivery of pathology services while recognising the essential role that Biomedical Scientists play in the patient pathway. This successful workshop has created a platform encompassing a range of pathology service users in the undergraduate curriculum. We recommend that other accredited biomedical science programmes adopt and embed this innovative workshop and reflective assessment into their programmes to help them meet these standards relating to service users while fostering important transferable skills in their students.

Combined Effect of Temperature and Relative Humidity on the Survival of Salmonella Isolates on Stainless Steel Coupons.

The survival on stainless steel of ten Salmonella isolates from food factory, clinical and veterinary sources was investigated. Stainless steel coupons inoculated with Salmonella were dried and stored at a range of temperatures and relative humidity (RH) levels representing factory conditions. Viability was determined from 1 to 22 days. Survival curves obtained for most isolates and storage conditions displayed exponential inactivation described by a log-linear model. Survival was affected by environmental temperatures and RH with decimal reduction times (DRTs) ranging from <1 day to 18 days. At 25 °C/15% RH, all isolates survived at levels of 103 to 105 cfu for >22 days. Furthermore, temperatures and RH independently influenced survival on stainless steel; increasing temperatures between 10 °C and 37 °C and increasing RH levels from 30-70% both decreased the DRT values. Survival curves displaying a shoulder followed by exponential death were obtained for three isolates at 10 °C/70% RH. Inactivation kinetics for these were described by modified Weibull models, suggesting that cumulative injury occurs before cellular inactivation. This study highlights the need to control temperature and RH to limit microbial persistence in the food manufacturing environment, particularly during the factory shut-down period for cleaning when higher temperature/humidity levels could be introduced.

A Virtual Approach to Promote Inter-Professional Learning (IPL) Between Biomedical Science and Medicine in Higher Education for the Benefit of Patient Care.

In the clinical setting, collaboration between multidisciplinary teams is core to providing effective patient care. The delivery of traditional interprofessional education is associated with a number of logistical challenges, which were heightened by the Covid-19 pandemic. This workshop was developed to bring together Biomedical Science and Medical students using an online platform. The workshop consisted of (1) defining interprofessional education, (2) introducing the role of the Pathology laboratory, (3) Professional registration with regulatory bodies and (4) an insight into Covid-19 laboratory diagnosis. The session was supported by mixed group breakout rooms and interactive polling. Thirty four percent of students completed a post-workshop online survey which included open and closed questions. Thematic analysis revealed a better understanding the role of the pathology laboratory in diagnosing disease, an increased awareness of the similarities and differences in the roles of a Biomedical Scientist and a Medic and the importance of a multi-disciplinary team in achieving effective patient care. Quantitative analysis of survey data revealed that the majority of students reported positive experiences of interprofessional education online. Approximately 90% of students agreed that the workshop enabled them to increase their understanding of their own roles within healthcare, in addition to increasing their understanding of the roles of other healthcare professionals. 74.3% of participants reported that working with students from a different programme provided an alternative perspective. Seventy nine percent of students agreed that the online format enabled interactivity and discussion of the tasks. Of the 204 students, 85% engaged with the four polls during the workshop. This online workshop enabled discussion between degree programmes, enabled interactivity and allowed the learning outcomes to be met. Universities should embrace online platforms to provide a novel, engaging and effective interprofessional educational experience.

Aston University's Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Roadshow: raising awareness and embedding knowledge of AMR in key stage 4 learners.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global healthcare problem and therefore raising awareness within young learners is imperative. An AMR roadshow was designed to take key stage 4 students' learning 'out of the classroom', assess pre-existing knowledge of AMR and determine the impact of the roadshow on knowledge retention. Knowledge and subsequent retention were measured pre- and post-event through a standardised questionnaire. The roadshow significantly improved knowledge and understanding of AMR, which was retained for a minimum of twelve weeks. Engaging and interactive strategies addressing key health issues provide a positive learning experience which contributes to retained knowledge in young learners.

Pet Food Factory Isolates of Salmonella Serotypes Do Not Demonstrate Enhanced Biofilm Formation Compared to Serotype-Matched Clinical and Veterinary Isolates.

Environmentally persistent Salmonella in the pet food factory environment has been described, with biofilm formation suggested as a candidate mechanism contributing to their persistence. In this study the ability of a panel of Salmonella isolates from factory, clinical, and veterinary sources was investigated for their ability to form biofilms at 24 and 48 hours. The effect of nutrient availability and incubation time on biofilm formation was investigated using full strength and diluted 1/20 TSB media at 37°C, 25°C, 15°C, and 10°C. Results highlighted that all the Salmonella isolates were able to form biofilms in both nutrient conditions and this was highly correlated with temperature. At 25°C, biofilm formation was enhanced in diluted 1/20 TSB and increased incubation time (48h) (p= <0.001). However, this was not observed at 10°C, 15°C, or 37°C. None of the factory isolates demonstrated enhanced biofilm formation in comparison to serotype-matched isolates from veterinary and clinical sources. Salmonella enterica Senftenberg 775W was the strongest biofilm former at 15°C, 25°C, and 37°C in all the conditions tested (p=<0.05). Biofilm formation is an important mechanism of environmental persistence in the food manufacturing environment; however, there is no evidence of an enhanced biofilm-producing phenotype in factory persistent strains.