IBMSpod Episode 5 - Wellbeing, Histopathology and Microbiology

What mental health support has been put in place and how do we ensure these services are maintained and expanded post-pandemic?

Dr Jo Horne is a consultant Biomedical Scientist in Gastrointestinal & Hepatobiliary Histopathology at University Hospital Southampton Trust. She has been helping colleagues cope with the pressures that the pandemic has put on their mental health.

Jo discusses the issues biomedical scientists have faced during COVID-19, her role alongside her main work as a ‘safe space practitioner' delivering psychological first aid and if the increased emphasis on supporting mental wellbeing during Covid-19 will lead to permanent change post-pandemic.

Jo also chats about her scientific work, talking us through the dissection and reporting process in Histopathology and answers a question about encouraging women into STEM in light of International Women’s Day on the 8th March and faces our quick-fire round.

In LabLife, we catch up with Cherie Beckett, Biomedical Scientist in Microbiology. She chats to us about her work outside the lab hosting the IBMS Twitter chat and volunteering to show a child who has leukaemia around her laboratory for the charity Harvey’s Gang.