I completely agree with other reviews. The subject is poorly coordinated compared to other subjects I've taken, and assessments are marked way too harshly. This feedback is supposed to be 'constructive' but the feedback is released very untimely (often the day before your next report is due if you get the feedback before the next report at all) and isn't all that helpful as most feedback is specific to the experiment so you can't use it for your next report anyways. It is week 12 and the grade for a quiz we did in week 1 has still not been released. I may be biased though, because my demonstrator (who made me hate going to pracs) seemed peeved whenever someone asked a question she thought was 'obvious' even if you just want to clarify something. It is also confusing because the subject coordinator (Sophie) and the demonstrators (my one especially) can give conflicting advice, which got frustrating when you get marked down for something Sophie said to do but your demonstrator disagrees with. The other demonstrators seemed nice though, so you may enjoy this subject more than I did if you don't get my demonstrator (you'll know who it is if you get her). The only reason why I gave 2 stars is because the content is genuinely interesting and supplements PATH20001 really well. The pracs themselves were very interesting, and is a good taste of what pathologists do. Another good thing I will say about the subject is that the weighting of your assessments increases over time and the first SR is purely for feedback so you have time to improve for your next assessment which is weighted more. I recognise my review is incredibly biased but your demonstrator really does make or break this subject (they also basically determine 85% of your mark) and my one disappointed me.

Grade: 89. 12 weeks into the subject, and I am massively disappointed, and frankly pissed off. Everything the previous reviewer said is true, the coordination of this subject is pure crap. They gave us the same shitty lecture about scientific writing over and over which basically didn't teach us anything of substance. It's very harshly marked and the content is not interesting enough to make up for how bad this subject is. They try to teach you the bare minimum for techniques, and even then the practical aspect feels secondary to all the theory and anatomy they try to shove down your throat. Do not be fooled by older reviews, the staff and coordinators have changed since then and it's no longer the fun, easy subject it used to be. I am averaging H1 and only because I'm a 3rd year biochem student. Had I done this in my second year I probably would have averaged 60 if not worse (even now I'm averaging less than I got for BCMB20005 AND BCMB30010). I have massive regrets about taking this subject, if I could go back I would not touch it with a 10m long stick. Like others have said, do yourself a favour and take BCMB20005 instead. It's beautifully coordinated and you actually get to learn about techniques and practical science in a constructive and positive manner. Fuck this subject.

theoretically, this subject should be a pretty straightforward and engaging subject, but it couldn’t be further from it. sophie is a terrible coordinator, which makes the subject way harder and more stressful than it needs to be… and if you get caroline as your demonstrator, you can count on being marked extremely harshly with little justification given. the lectures, workshops and pracs are repetitive, useless and a waste of time. feedback for assessments are given so close to the due date of the next assessment that there’s not even enough time to implement the feedback. there’s also no way to really ask for any clarification except in the workshops and pracs themselves as the staff very rarely respond to any communication, if at all. there is also no useful resources provided at all in this subject. the only good thing about this subject is that the topic quizzes are quite easy, but this won’t take you very far at all. in saying that, a h1 may be achievable if you don’t get caroline as your demonstrator and you put in the time and effort.

8 weeks into the subject, and I am a little disappointed. The subject coordinator is disorganised. Lecture notes are uploaded late the night before the 9 AM lecture. The tutorials and lecture quizzes are uploaded a day before they are due. The online practicals were run quite well, but often went 15 minutes overtime. The topics studied were interesting and gave a good introduction to pathological techniques. Scientific reports and lab record books are marked quite harshly. However, the feedback provided is helpful for improvement. Perhaps, if COVID-19 restrictions were not in place and we could do face-to-face practicals, I would have a better impression of this subject. However, the disorganisation left me feeling really frustrated. If you want a highly organised subject that introduces you to practical laboratory skills and is not impossible to do well in if you put in the work, try BCMB20005.

It is a great introduction into the lab aspect of pathology. The topics were interesting and relate to real-life issues. The only set back for me was that I felt that the lab record books and scientific reports were quite harshly marked. The end-of-semester MCQ was fair but there were some questions that required deeper thinking.

This subject was a fantastic introduction to Pathology. The pracs were really chilled and fun, and the lecture content was very light. It is easy to do well on the reports and lab book provided that you follow your demonstrator's feedback carefully, and from what I've heard, most of the demonstrators were happy to answer emails if you had any questions about the reports. The 5 topics were all really interesting real-life scenarios. I was worried about my prac technique, but they walk you through all the techniques really slowly and you become a master at pipetting by the end of it! I rated it 4 stars because the subject timetable was poorly set out in that we only received feedback for report 1 after report 2 had been submitted, so that is 30% of your grade submitted with no real indication of how you've done, which could have easily been avoided.

A VERY interactive subject that gives you lots of experience in working in a lab and writing up scientific reports. The content is not too heavy. Your performance comes down to how prepared you are before your practicals and making sure you follow the criteria when writing up your reports. Having a good demonstrator is also key- if you can, try to form a study group via chat, etc. with peeps in your group which is super helpful. The only reason I’m giving it 4 stars is because at times, important materials weren’t uploaded on time on the LMS such as results and because they can take their time when it comes to giving feedback so you won’t really know where you stand until after you’ve done a few practicals and reports. Overall, great subject, very insightful and there’s a total of 5 pracs which is very doable not to mention the exam is held in week 12 and is MCQ so you’ll be done with the subject before your exams.

Not a bad subject, if you've done path before you'll find the theory aspect quite straightforward. It's a really good subject to learn how to write proper scientific reports, they walk you through it quite slowly and in depth which I found really helpful. Definitely a good selective choice!

Great subject with very helpful coordinators and demonstrators in practical classes. Always willing to answer your questions and promote interest in extracurricular pathology studies. Assessments consist of written practical reports due every 2weeks, in lab and workshop participation, prac online quizzes (short), lab book completion and an end of year MCQ exam. This subject enhances your academic writing skills and prepares you for 3rd Year lab based studies. Relatively easy H1 providing you participate in class and pay careful attention to workshops. Would definitely recommend!

Fantastic subject! Don't be overwhelmed by the prac component - It is all aided and very well organised. Easy to do well if you're willing to put in the work during sem :)