The Introductory Course provides you with the information that you will need to do your MPhil/PhD/MD, including the excellent opportunities for training that are provided for you.  It is compulsory and runs in October of each year.  If you begin your studies at another time, please discuss what you need to do with your Academic Supervisor.  

The minimum health and safety training requirements before working in the laboratory in FHMS are:

Ethical approval
Here is a link to the FHMS Ethics Committee page.

Using radiation safely
As well as attending the Graduate School Introductory Course, prospective users must attend the University Radiation Induction before they begin work with Ionising Radiation in FHMS. Please talk to your Supervisor to start this process.

Late working
In order to work outside normal working hours your University card must be validated to give you access: permission should be sought from your supervisor by completing an Access Approval Form, in advance of any work being undertaken outside of normal hours.  These forms are available from the Safety Adviser.  A Lone and Hazardous Working assessment will also be required.

Lone and Hazardous Working
Lone working or work involving hazardous activities in a laboratory may require extra precautions. All such work must be covered by a hazardous working risk assessment in line with the University Lone and Hazardous Working Policy. Here is the Risk Assessment form you will need to complete.

Risk Assessments
The University requires that any activity where a significant hazard is identified is supported by a written Risk Assessment. 

A hazard is something that has the potential to cause harm e.g. chemicals, biological materials, electricity etc. The risk is the chance, great or small, that someone will be harmed by the hazard.

There are five steps in the risk assessment process:-
1. Identify the hazards.
2. Decide who might be harmed and how.
3. Evaluate the risks arising from the hazards and decide whether existing precautions are adequate or more should be done.
4. Record your findings using the Risk Assessment form and discuss them with your Safety Adviser
5. Review your assessment from time to time and revise it when necessary.

Hazardous Substances
Work involving hazardous substances in the University must be carried out according to the Hazardous Substances Policy. Hazardous substances used by the Faculty/Unit must be assessed prior to use and that exposure to any substance is prevented or where this is not reasonably practicable adequately controlled.  You will need to do an assessment to decide this. 

The University has a CoSHH Risk Assessment form to use for this.  Here is a completed CoSHH form that shows how this assessment might look.  You should do this for a distinct procedure or a process in your work, rather than for individual chemicals on their own - as in 'use of Methanol in my research'.  Here is a list of the CoSHH assessments on file.  Please make sure you have assessments for all of your work with hazardous materials!

Using carcinogens, mutagens and teratogens (CMTs) safely
The Faculty has Local Rules for the handling of CMTs and has a dedicated HEPA filtered glove box for use with these materials.  Please contact the Safety Adviser (Neil Chapman) if your work involves exposure to known - or suspected - carcinogens, mutagens or teratogens. The Faculty Specialist Adviser on Carcinogens is Prof. Costas Ioannides. 

Using Nano-materials safely
The HSE have provided a guidance note on the Risk management of carbon nanotubes.  The Faculty shares a facility for the safe handling of powdered nano-materials with FEPS.  Please contact the Safety Adviser in FEPS (Kevin Joyce) or the Safety Adviser in FHMS (Neil Chapman) for details.

Safety of micro-organisms and Genetically Modified Organisms
The Biological Safety Officer for the Faculty is Dr Esen Wooff.

If you work with biological material e.g. micro-organisms, cell cultures, parasites, human or animal tissue (including blood, urine and other body products) or plant material which gives rise to a risk of infection, allergy or toxicity then you must work according to the University of Surrey Code of Practice for Work with Human Blood products and other tissue specimens and the FHMS Biosafety and Biosecurity Code of Practice. If you work in the laboratory please make sure that you are familiar with these local rules.

The FHMS Disinfection Policy and the BSC Fumigation Procedure are also available here to download.

Additional training provided

The FHMS Graduate School Introductory Course also includes: Administrative Arrangements in the Faculty, What you need to know to get your PhD, Ethical Dilemmas, a Skills Workshop in the SPLASH centre, Good Laboratory Practice, Information retrieval - local and “net” resources, a Student Union/PGA Presentation  and an introduction to Student Care Services.  

Please contact the Director of Postgraduate Research, Professor Susanna Hourani, for more information.