University of Tasmania, Australia

Brochure: Bachelor of Biomedical Science (PDF 697.6 KB)

The Bachelor of Biomedical Science is a professionally-accredited 3.5 year program that is designed to produce graduates who can work as Medical Scientists in clinical settings such as pathology laboratories. Whilst this is still the major focus of this successful program, the core of high quality clinical and diagnostic units within the degree is also attracting students wishing to enter post-graduate medical programs, as well as students whose interests lie in biomedical research. Once a graduate enters the clinical laboratory there are also additional career paths into informatics, management, human resource management and a wide range of clinical specialties. The course structure consists of six semesters of on-campus tuition at the Launceston campus, followed by a semester of clinical placement in an accredited laboratory within Australia.

The units in the first half of the program are structured to sequentially build a knowledge base in Chemistry, Anatomy, Physiology, Histology, Immunology and Biochemistry. The second half of the on-campus program develops professional subject areas such as Haematology, Clinical Biochemistry, Microbiology and Molecular Biology. Graduates will also develop their abilities to present and communicate information in a variety of formats. Graduates from this degree have enjoyed an outstanding employment record for many years and job prospects continue to be excellent.

A Medical Scientist carries out laboratory investigations which assist in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. These investigations can be divided into a number of categories:

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• Microbiology - Medical scientists in microbiology detect and identify disease causing microorganisms from patients with infectious diseases such as food poisoning or pneumonia and then perform tests to help select the correct antibiotic for treatment. For example, medical scientists detect the meningococcal microorganism from a sick child with meningitis and determine that penicillin is an appropriate treatment.
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• Haematology - Medical scientists in haematology assess the numbers and quality of the various cells found in the blood and bone marrow, identifying diseases such as iron deficiency anaemia and leukaemia. They also look for defects in the coagulation system that might cause bleeding or clotting to occur, and help monitor patients on anticoagulant therapy.
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• Transfusion - Medical scientists in transfusion conduct testing on blood donated by the public to ensure it is safe for transfusion, by carrying out blood group and antibody screening. They ensure the blood is compatible by also testing recipients.
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• Clinical Biochemistry & Endocrinology - Medical scientists in clinical biochemistry analyze blood and body fluids for chemicals to assist in the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with metabolic or physiological diseases, such as diabetes. Medical scientists in endocrinology measure, interpret and assess hormone levels and hormonal actions (eg. thyroid hormones) in patients with dysfunctional endocrine states that can result in a wide range of conditions and diseases.
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• Immunology - Medical scientists in immunology use their understanding of the immune system and how it protects us from the outside world to use and interpret laboratory tests that help understand where things go wrong (eg autoimmune diseases).
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• Molecular Biology - Medical scientists in molecular biology utilise specialised techniques at the cutting edge of science to investigate the genetic basis of disease and assessing the risk of developing disease based on genetic make-up.
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• Histology - Medical scientists in histology use tissues or lesions removed from a patient to enable the microscopic diagnosis of disease processes such as cancer or infection. Cytology scientists examine smears of cells such as pap smears to enable the early detection of cells that may indicate the presence of malignancy.

For further information about the Bachelor of Biomedical Science, visit the Course and Unit Entry.

What can I do with a Bachelor of Biomedical Science?