A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A MEDICAL RESEARCHER
Admin / January 24, 2023
Medical researchers have a great impact on our lives; our health. They are the backbone of the medicine field. While doctors provide us with solutions and medicine, medical researchers are the ones who develop those cures. It’s amazing how one’s life can affected by someone they’ve never met, so let’s sneak a peek into their own lives.
Who is a medical researcher?
A medical researcher is someone who investigates human health and diseases then researches and develops cures. Their work is primarily dealing with improving our health and well-being; as they work on developing methods and procedures to be applied medically. They do so by analysing scientific data and representing it.
The nature of their work:
The work of a medical researcher is quite demanding and tiresome. As they deal with human health; which basically lives of people, there are many variants to be considered; from working cautiously to avoid any risk of contamination, to following certain detailed and exact time consuming procedures to ensure safety measures are taken. From using advanced equipment that can only be handled with caution, to taking proper precautions and safety measures when working with toxic chemicals.
Preparation and analysis of organs, tissues and cell samples are the primary focus of their work, as to identify toxicity, bacterial infections and microorganisms. They study cell structures extensively and do cell count.
They also write and publish scientific articles, so they must always study and be up to date with what’s happening in the world, as well as all recent developments in the medical field.
A typical day in a medical researcher life:
They work non-stop, more than 40 hours a week. In 2016, Dr. Stefan Schrittwieser was asked to give a glimpse into his life. He wrote that his morning exercise was running to the fridge to grab breakfast, but finds it empty most days. This shows that he works long hours everyday, so this leaves no time for shopping or that he finishes work very late, by the time all the shops are already closed. He then explains his thoughts and wondering about the results of last night’s experiments, as soon as he reaches work. Then he often leaves his lab with many more questions.
He then replies to his overly full email inbox, reading articles and getting back to his experiments. From the rest of his explanation, we can get a clear picture of the day; running back and forth between the labs and the computers to input new data discovered through each experiment to try the next. Grabbing coffee or lunch while reading articles to stay up to date with the world, and also because there’s usually articles to be written. “writing a paper is a process where periods of productivity are interrupted by a scientific problem that leads to a minor or sometimes major change to the manuscript.” He says.
Another consuming part of his day, is spent discussing ideas with boss to keep the place afloat. Between meetings, emails, lab experiments, reading and writing articles, there’s hardly anytime left to have a life; grab a drink with a friend, watch the game or having a hobby. However, medical researchers are pleased with their occupation as they “make the world a better place.”
It takes nothing short of a genius to be one.