Christmas message from Jill Rodney

I am always amazed by the generosity and goodwill of our members, giving their time and energy to support the IBMS and their profession – not just at Christmas, but all year round. Together, we transformed 2018’s Biomedical Science Day into a fully-fledged national campaign and reached millions of people. Our voice truly rang out and as a result we are beginning to see more media coverage in newspaper articles and television programmes, all celebrating or informing the public about the vital role of biomedical scientists and laboratory staff in healthcare.

As the public begins to understand the impact of our work, I feel that it is still not fully appreciated that you are also involved in training and verifying, volunteering at schools and careers fairs, and consistently providing professional guidance and expertise at IBMS meetings across the country – and all this on top of formidable workloads, heavy regulatory requirements and major technological and structural changes in your everyday roles. We know how much you give and we’re working hard to make sure our qualifications and services remain relevant to you now and in the future.

Today, I would especially like to thank our members who are working over the holiday period. It’s only the most essential services that have to stay active during the times when everybody else gets to take a break, so if you are in the lab this Christmas remember that we are all grateful for your role in keeping people safe. For those lucky enough to get time off, now is the time to gather your family and friends around you and take a well deserved rest.

Looking ahead, we are excited to be planning Europe’s largest biomedical science event, Congress 2019, and there will be more on that in the New Year.

From all of us here at the IBMS, we wish you a happy and peaceful holiday season.