What is clinical embryology? And what does a clinical embryologist do in the IVF lab? The couples who are not able to conceive, those patients are treated in the IVF lab. So, their basic question is that the doctors and gynaecologists must be treating them. What is our job there? Or the life science graduates or those who will do clinical embryology later, what is their job in embryology?

When the patient or the couple is not able to conceive, in that condition, we have to treat them in different ways. The basic investigations and basic work-ups are done by the gynaecologists. But when it seems that the patient will not be able to conceive due to normal treatment, they will need an IVF, at that time, an embryologist is needed. Basically, by giving injections to the patient, their eggs, in raw language, we will call it egg, the follicles, you all know that one egg is formed in a female every month. Only one follicle is formed. Doctors or gynaecologist patients, by giving multiple injections, by giving growth hormones, instead of that one egg, multiple eggs are formed. And then, those eggs are removed under ultrasound.

And the follicular fluid, that follicular fluid is given to the embryologist. So, once the patient is given an injection, after removing the fluid, the gynaecologist’s work is completed. Then, from that follicular fluid, the eggs are to be found. After that, the eggs are processed, the embryos are mixed in it. Then, after mixing those embryos, the womb is to be prepared, the uterus is to be prepared. All these procedures that are done, are done by the embryologist. Until the embryo is transferred, all these procedures are done by the embryologist.

And for that procedure, special skills are required. And all these skills are taught in the Fellowship in Clinical Embryology Program.

How is Clinical Embryology different from Research Embryology?

Research Embryology, the researchers in any embryo, in any oocyte, in any procedure, there is no intervention. But in Clinical Embryology, the embryologists are involved in proper treatment. So, the 50% to 60% part is done by the embryologist. And the remaining 50% is done by the gynaecologist.

Who should consider their career in the field of Clinical Embryology?

Embryology course eligibility most suitable for those students whose graduation is in Microbiology, Biotechnology, Zoology, or any other life science related subject, this course is most suitable for them. So, students who have Life Science, MBBS, BSc Biotechnology, Microbiology, Zoology, for all these students, this opportunity is open. This course is very suitable for them. You can do your career in this course very well.

What are the qualifications required for this course? What are the qualifications required to become an Embryologist?

If you want to start your career in Embryology, it is highly recommended that you should do MSc Clinical Embryology first, followed by a Fellowship in Embryology. Yes, in the law, PhD in Clinical Embryology is also mentioned. But, if you do MSc Clinical Embryology, then subsequently, you can do PhD in Clinical Embryology as well. In India, there is no Licensing Authority which can prove that you can practice Embryology or not. So, basically, to practice Embryology, you have to do MSc Clinical Embryology. After that, you can work as a Junior Embryologist in Dr. Kamini Rao Hospitals or any other IVF Centre in Bangalore and gain experience. And then, you can start your career as a Senior Embryologist. This IVF Clinic in Bangalore is a unit of the Medline Academics, which one of the premium training institutions in Bangalore. In this clinic patients are treated as well as students are trained. This hospital has a dedicated embryology and andrology lab where procedures can be performed without any interventions. So, there are some steps that you need to follow to become a Senior Embryologist which we have already covered in the previous sections.

What are the entry levels in the field of Clinical Embryology?

When you want to start your career in Clinical Embryology, you cannot become a Senior Embryologist or a Chief Embryologist. When you want to start your career in Embryology, you have to start as a Junior Embryologist. Gradually, you have to gain experience in your career. You have to improvise your skills. And then, you can become a Senior Embryologist. Until you have sufficient experience, there are some procedures. For example, Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, Embryo vitrification, Embryo thawing, you will not be able to perform.

To bridge this gap, Padma Shri Prof. Dr. Kamini A. Rao, introduced Medline Academics, a hybrid education platform for training in reproductive medicine. They provide fellowship program in Reproductive Medicine and Embryology. After enrolment in the course, all these procedures in embryology like Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, Embryo vitrification, Embryo thawing etc. are taught during the 1 month practical training in Bangalore. Embryo freezing, thawing, everything is taught to you in the course. But, for that, you have to develop your own expertise and skills. Then, you can perform all these procedures independently.

Beginning, you will have to do it with the position of Junior Embryologist. Subsequently, you will become Senior Embryologist after 3-5 years. Once you work as a Senior Embryologist, then you can move for the position of Chief Embryologist.

Then, scope and career growth. The more you work hard, the more you will get career growth. It is so simple. The amount or the effort you will put in the field of Clinical Embryology, it will be directly proportional to your career growth. The more you work hard, the more career growth you will get. You will get money and salary.

Is Clinical Embryology a good career in terms of job opportunities? Are the opportunities available or not?

It is completely dependent on your skill. How much effort you are putting in, how much skills you are acquiring, how much you are investing in yourself, it all depends on this. Whether you will get career opportunities or not, whether you will get job opportunities or not. Students come and enroll for a two-year course. Most probably, they get their jobs before their course gets over. And mostly, it also happens that they bring expectations to get a job of Rs. 20,000 or Rs. 30,000. But they put so much effort that they get a salary of Rs. 50,000 or Rs. 60,000. And if you put effort, you can get much more salary than that. Many of my students are working as a chief andrologist, center head, regional head. Students work in big positions. Salary is not the issue for them. They work hard and get a good salary. If we talk about salaries, a junior embryologist can vary his salary from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 50,000. In some conditions, it can be more than that. But generally, it varies from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 50,000 depending on the skill depending on the number of cases that IVF center is doing. It depends on metro city, small city, etc. This salary can vary for a junior embryologist.The salary of a senior embryologist is the one who is able to perform intracytoplasmic sperm injection. He has the skill and experience. We call him a senior embryologist. His salary can range from Rs. 80,000 to Rs. 1,50,000.

Again, depending on the experience, depending on the number of days that he is doing the procedure, metro city, small city, etc. The salary of a senior embryologist can vary from Rs. 80,000 to Rs. 1,50,000. The salary of a chief embryologist can vary from Rs. 2,00,000 to Rs.

2,50,000 depending on these factors. Additionally, if the embryologist works somewhere else, the chief embryologist will not be able to perform the procedure. If the chief embryologist works somewhere else, the salary of the chief embryologist is Rs. 3,00,000 to Rs. 4,00,000. Some people who have reached a very senior level can easily earn Rs. 10,00,000 to Rs. 12,00,000 per month. The salary of an embryologist can vary from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 10,00,000 to Rs. 12,00,000.

AI in Embryology

Now research is going on. It will come. It will come after 5-10 years. But definitely it will come. This problem will be for those people who are not continuously learning. Or stuck with their fixed mind that we have learned so much that we don't want to do anything further. So those people will definitely have a problem with this thing. But if your ambition is about your work, you are ambitious about your work then you will not face any difficulty. You must have seen many people before coming to computer they used to work as a clerk in government. Slowly the papers and registers were replaced by computers. But when computers started to come, even they faced difficulty that new computer is coming how will we do?

So every new thing will pose a challenge, and we have to know how to overcome them.