Kirstine Eastick - Clinical Scientist
Motivation and perseverance are key requirements of any Clinical Scientist whose goal is to pass postgraduate exams designed for medical trainees.
In July 2002, Dr Kirstine Eastick left Bristol, where she had gained State Registration and her PhD, to take up a Senior Clinical Scientist post at the Specialist Virology Centre in Edinburgh. In her own time, and with department support, she passed the Royal College of Pathologists Part 1 MRCPath at first sitting.
In 2008, NHS Education for Scotland's (NES) Healthcare Science Directorate introduced Training Sabbaticals for Higher Specialists. Higher Specialist Trainee (HST) Sabbaticals are a cost effective way to provide career development to the highest qualification level. They follow the principles of the Modernising Scientific Careers work programme for Healthcare Scientists.
The purpose of the training sabbatical is to fund a period of study leave to assist increased clinical exposure, cover travel expenses and course fees in defined areas. Two awards were made to Clinical Scientists in NHS substantive posts in Virology, one of whom was Kirstine.
Kirstine began work on portfolio items for FRCPath Part 2. She moved to the post of Deputy Director of the Scottish Bacterial Sexually Transmitted Infections Reference Laboratory but was still determined to sit Part 2 in Virology.
Kirstine used her award in three ways over 18 months:
- Several day visits to the Health Protection Agency (HPA) virology laboratory in Newcastle to shadow a Clinical Virologist and observe ward rounds and clinics with a particular focus on service areas not provided in Edinburgh. There she observed protocols and systems used by HPA England which differed from those in Scotland, for example, outbreak management and immunoglobulin issue.
- One half day per week spent as the Duty Virologist at the Edinburgh Specialist Virology Centre. This time maintained and reinforced her Clinical Virology experience. It was achieved by funding a postdoctoral fellow to cover some of her development responsibilities.
- Attendance at the 2010 Fourth European Congress of Virology in Italy - a joint meeting with the European Society for Clinical Virology. It provided an excellent opportunity to learn about the latest Clinical Virology practice and guidelines Europe-wide as well as those in research and development.
Kirstine said "It's encouraging to know that NHSScotland, through NES, is committed to staff development, as exemplified by the Training Sabbatical scheme. The funding helped me to maintain and expand my knowledge of clinical virology. I could not have achieved this without significant training input from the virology department and the support of Health Protection Scotland and NHS Lothian who permitted me to take time away from my 'day jobs' to train."
