Laboratory and Study Skills for Biomedicine

Module Provider: School of Biological Sciences
Number of credits: 10 [5 ECTS credits]
Level:4
Terms in which taught: Autumn term module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites: BI1BEC1 Building Blocks of Life and
Modules excluded:
Module version for: 2016/7

Summary module description:
?To provide training and experience in a range of basic laboratory techniques essential to a biomedical scientist and to develop the necessary mathematical and problem skills required to carry out experiments and to analyse data
?To provide knowledge of how the biomedical profession is monitored and regulated
?To help students develop effective time management and organisation, team work, communication and interpersonal skills and to encourage a self-learning approach to studying
?To develop data graphing and computing skills
?To gain knowledge of the careers of different types of Biomedical Scientists

Aims:
?To provide training and experience in a range of basic laboratory techniques essential to a biomedical scientist and to develop the necessary mathematical and problem skills required to carry out experiments and to analyse data
?To provide knowledge of how the biomedical profession is monitored and regulated
?To help students develop effective time management and organisation, team work, communication and interpersonal skills and to encourage a self-learning approach to studying
?To develop data graphing and computing skills
?To start to develop scientific writing and bibliographic skills
?To gain knowledge of the careers of different types of Biomedical Scientists

Assessable learning outcomes:
?The student should be able to:
?use basic laboratory instrumentation and carry out basic laboratory procedures accurately;
?maintain an accurate and comprehensive laboratory notebook;
?calculate the required amounts of various chemicals to make up required solutions;
?use basic computer packages such as word processors, spreadsheets, databases, and be able to use available information sources to research a project;
?and will have a knowledge of the work carried out by various biomedical scientist and will understand the legal, safety and ethical issues surrounding this work;
?write scientific prose, citing relevant materials and listing these as a bibliography.

Additional outcomes:
The students will develop self-learning, time management, team work & communication skills.

Outline content:
An introduction to basic study skills will be provided via lectures, seminars, tutorials and practicals. The development of these skills will be monitored via formative self assessments delivered via Blackboard. Lectures will also cover the function of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, the different types of roles of Biomedical Scientists (NHS, Pharmaceutical, academic researcher etc), basics of good lab safety (COSSH, microbiological, physical and chemical, human tissue act, etc) and the importance of keeping good records. Practicals, and related lectures, will introduce basic laboratory techniques and instrumentation (and its essential calibration). General lab methods such as weighing chemicals, using balances, making solutions, pH adjustment, using dispensers, pipetting, use of centrifuges, etc. The concepts of accuracy and precision, units, molar and % solutions, dilutions will be discussed and used in practice. The students will also be taught how to make maximum use of both the computer facilities available to them in the form of programmes and online materials.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:
A mixture of lectures, paper discussions, computer-based exercises, laboratory and problem classes.
Contact hours:
Lectures- 18
Seminars- 2
Practicals classes and workshops- 18
Guided independent study- 60
Total hours by term- 100

Summative Assessment Methods
Written exam- 50%
Practical skills assessment- 30%
Class test administered by School- 20%

Other information on summative assessment:
Summative assessments will include an integrated laboratory report covering work from several practicals in the form of a short paper (30%), and a small number of online questions administered through Blackboard before and after each practical (10%), and a short MCQ test on practical issues and biochemical calculations (10%).

Length of examination:
One-and-a-half hour examination

Requirements for a pass:
A mark of 40% overall.

Reassessment arrangements:
By examination in August/September.