Oncology apprentice Review

I receive tumours from patients and slice them to 300um thick using a vibratome. I dose the tumours with research drug molecules and culture the tumour slices over seven days. I sample and freeze the media for later cytokine analysis by ELISA. After culture I fix the slices, stain and image using con-focal microscopy.

I have learnt how to slice and dose tumours, how to use and con-focal microscope, how to stain using fluorescent conjugated antibodies, how to perform ELISAs, how to snap freeze for RNA extraction, RNA extraction from frozen tissue, how to analyse ELISA data, tissue dosing, and learnt ascetic technique practices.

I really enjoy my programme. Having attended university before I found it extremely stressful, hard to organise time and difficult to stay motivated as it felt we were learning a ridiculous amount of information just for the sake of it, before forgetting everything immediately after taking the exam. In my apprenticeship my time is more structured, the university work feels more relevant and I can apply it to practical lab work day to day which helps my understanding. This makes it a much more enjoyable experience. My team is very friendly and happy to help and teach me.

The programme is very well organised. I am allocated one day a week to study that I can take at home or at work and I am not asked to do any lab work on this day. I have regular 1-2-1s (weekly) with my manager and any queries can be directed to the apprentice manager directly. The modules are concise and the goals I am set are well structured and achievable.

I receive as much support as I want from my employer. My manager is happy to help me both in lab work and uni work as much as i require and when I have suffered from sports injury related back pain, I have received a stand up desk to accommodate my needs.

There is less support from my training provider. As long as you are doing well they do not seem interested in developing you further in the on site catch ups. the marking process for assignments is slow and the assignments sometimes not read properly and feedback is inconsistent and limited.

Sometimes, what I have learnt during my study backs up what I am learning in the lab and this is useful. the applied emphasis of the degree meaning going through the theory of the lab techniques you use is useful although my manager has often covered these things with me already.

There are many social activities organised by one of the apprentices that you can get involved with. the are many extra training courses during the working day that apprentices are encouraged to attend such as giving presentations, developing personal impact, using statistical packages and career development. All these are accommodated by the managers.

Yes

It is a friendly, well organised, interesting organisation to work for. the support I get from my team is excellent and I am never afraid to ask a question. then consider my mental and physical health and are happy to be flexible and make adjustments. The learning feels much more relevant and working at the forefront of pharmaceutical development is exciting.

Make sure you put emphasis on your ability to time manage and integrate within a team. Assertiveness and self motivation are also important qualities to list on your application. They are looking for friendly intelligent and enthusiastic people who are going to bring energy to the lab, be keen to learn and are reliable.