In the spotlight: our Embryology director Karen Thompson
Our Embryology director, Karen Thompson, explains why she thinks Genus Medical Fertility is unique.
Q: What attracted you to embryology?
My degree was in biology. When I graduated, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to work in healthcare or academia, so I applied for many different roles. My first position was as a medical technician at Nurture, one of the IVF units in Nottingham, where I performed blood and sperm tests. It is here that I really developed a passion for embryology – I liked the balance between science and patient interaction. When you’re in a lab, especially when you’re doing blood tests and similar work, it can be very repetitive, and you often don’t get a sense of how your work translates. Whereas with embryology, you speak to patients every day.
Q: How do you stay current with the latest research and advances in embryology?
As part of my state registration as a clinical scientist, I am committed to Continuing Professional Development through the Association of Reproductive and Clinical Scientists (ARCS) scheme. I am also on the ARCS education subcommittee, and I’m an assessor for the National School of Healthcare Science and the Association of Clinical Scientists for Embryology. This means I assess portfolios for state registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), and that I am at the forefront of new developments in training standards.
Conferences are importat to keep abreast of advances in reproductive medicine research or technology leading to improvements in fertility care. LinkedIn is also a good resource as a lightly more informal was of keeping up with current thoughts and practixes within my peer group
Q: Why did you decide to join Genus Medical Fertility?
I have had a varied career, working for the NHS and private IVF clinics around the country, eventually becoming a lead embryologist at St James’s University Hospital in Leeds. I oversaw the merger of the IVF clinic there; first with the other NHS IVF clinic at Leeds General Infirmary, and then, in 2022, with CARE Fertility.
I met Dr Karolina during her subspecialty training in Leeds. Following this, when Karolina had moved back to Edinburgh on completion of her training, we met at a conference, and she mentioned she was aiming to establish her own IVF clinic in Edinburgh.
At that point, I had been in my position for almost 20 years and was considering planning my retirement, but I could see this was an exciting opportunity to shape something new for IVF patients, and it was an opportunity too good to miss.
Q: What do you plan to take from your experience working in fertility in the NHS and private sectors?
It’s a real opportunity to design things the way I want, rather than just modifying an existing service. I initially trained in a private clinic, then moved to the NHS before returning to private practice, so I have a breadth of knowledge and expertise to draw upon.
I can apply that experience without the restrictions you often inherit in a new position.
We want to be patient-focused above all. In fertility, there are various metrics to measure success. Your clinic could have a good pregnancy rate, but what is the patient experience like? Obviously, it is a balance, and I don’t want to give them a good patient experience but then fail to deliver clinically!
We have a purpose-built lab with the very latest, state-of-the-art equipment, backed by a wonderful team, so we offer the same level of clinical excellence as other IVF clinics. I’ve also been part of a large IVF clinic, but at Genus, I feel we can be more personal with patients.
Q: What else do you think will make Genus Medical Fertility unique?
We want to make sure that everything we feel is important is standard. Many clinics may offer services such as time-lapse imaging or embryo glue as ‘add-ons’. We feel confident that these may make a difference to your outcome, and thus they are included as standard.
Services such as Pre-implantation Genetic Testing (PGT-A) are treatment add-ons because they’re not necessary for all patients. However, for some patients, it may be beneficial; therefore, we would suggest it as part of their treatment protocol.
In addition, the patient management system we are using is new and more innovative. It’s very tech-driven, so there is a lot of automation, which sounds counterintuitive to what I just said, but it means we can spend more time with our patients rather than wasting time on manual processes.
Q: How do you approach patient care at Genus Medical Fertility?
It stems from the top. Dr Karolina is very engaging and patient-focused. Between the two of us, we have the scientific and clinical experience, but we’re both driven to give patients the very best experience and service.
As I’m nearing the end of my career rather than the beginning, I do want to leave a legacy, and creating something unique at Genus Medical Fertility fulfils this.
About the author:
This post has been written or personally reviewed by Karen Thompson, BSc Hons, PGDip in Clinical Embryology, Embryology Director and HFEA Person Responsible at Genus Fertility.
Karen is a Senior Clinical Embryologist with nearly 30 years of experience in assisted reproduction and fertility laboratory leadership. She is the Embryology Director and HFEA Person Responsible at Genus Medical Fertility, where she leads the development and governance of the embryology laboratory and clinical science services.
