Profile
Abi Attwell
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About Me:
I live in Scotland with one of my best friends. I’m a Clinical Engineer in the day and everything else when I’m not working!
I love to hang out with friends with firepits, pizza and swimming on the beach, kayaking on a lake, playing board games and trying new hobbies like woodworking!
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My pronouns are:
she/her
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My Work:
During my work as a Clinical Engineer I have worked in different areas; from giving young people talking computers to help them communicate, to helping the hospital decide on the new heart rate machine to buy, to designing and 3D printing a machine to check that x-ray machines are working, to helping teams that make medical devices to keep following to law!
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My Typical Day:
I get up and leave the house at 7:30am (with breakfast and coffee to go), meet with teams to work out how they work now and could work better, stare out at the tress in my window, have lunch with my friends on the grass, and go home about 6pm! (It’s a long day but I only work 4 days a week so it’s worth it for my long weekend!)
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I’d probably team up with my other engineer and physicist friends at the hospitals to make some really great and interactive workshop kits to share with schools! Our jobs are really cool but sometimes it is hard to find the time and equipment to show that!
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My attributes
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My curriculum links
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Education:
I went to Primary and Secondary School in Thanet, Kent.
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Qualifications:
I got lots of GCSEs, including triple Science, Maths, Statistics, History, Art & Design, English and Religious Studies.
At sixth form I got a German AS-Level (C), and some A-Levels: Physics (B), Chemistry (A), Maths (A)
I studied Medical Engineering at Cardiff University, for 4 years to get a first in my Masters.
I studied Biomedical Engineering for a year at Strathclyde University to get a distinction in another Masters!
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Work History:
Clinical Scientist specialising Quality Management in Clinical Engineering (April 2023-now!)
Trainee Clinical Scientist specialising in Clinical Engineering (September 2019-February 2023)
Clinical Technologist in Alternative and Augmentative Communication (eg talking computers) (September 2017-July 2019)
Gap Year with BMS World Mission spending 6 months volunteering in a locally run project in Delhi and 3 months visiting supporters of the charity in the UK (October 2012-June 2013)
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Current Job:
Now I have qualified as a Clinical Scientist, I work in a centre that mostly helps people by providing things like prosthetics, orthotics, wheelchairs and equipment to control their environment.
It’s a great place to work as people are really kind, creative and collaborative, and you can see the difference you can make in people’s lives everyday!
I work with all the teams who make things, getting to know all about what they do and help them organise it all so that every patient receives the same level of safe and high quality experience and products from us!
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Employer:
NHS! All of my jobs since university have been in the NHS so far, first in Kent and now up in Scotland, it’s the UK’s largest employer!
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
adventure-loving, creative engineer!
What did you want to be after you left school?
A clinical engineer! (I've been lucky a career quiz helped me work it out when I was 15!)
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Not really ... sometimes I couldn't stop chatting but I was always to scared to get told off!
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
I'd still love to own a guesthouse, be a radio presenter, a nail technician and a bathroom designer (It's going to be a busy life!)
Who is your favourite singer or band?
I really love Noah Kahan and Vance Joy at the moment, but Taylor Swift, Meghan Trainor and MIKA are my hype playlist for sure
What's your favourite food?
I love street food Satay - the chunky peanut sauce is the best!
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
I would love to have unlimited travel opportunities, a personal assistant to organise my life and a lakehouse with a kayak always ready to go!
Tell us a joke.
The optimist says, “The glass is half full.” The pessimist says, “The glass is half empty.” The engineer says, “The glass is twice as big as it needs to be.”
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