Question: What is a Consultant Microbiologist?

Rosie Fok answered on 14 Jun 2017:

A medical doctor who helps other doctors and healthcare professionals (nurses, midwives, etc) to look after patients with infections. I advise them on what tests to do to diagnose the infection, which antibiotics to treat their patients with and how long for, and whether any other treatment is needed (e.g. surgery). I also write the guidelines and policies that tell doctors in my hospital, and the local GPs, which antibiotics they should use for which infections. I work in the hospital laboratory, although biomedical scientists and technicians do all the hard work processing the specimens and samples. I interpret those results and help them make sense to the other doctors. I also go around the hospital wards and visit patients with infections, to check that they are getting the right treatment.