Specialty Content

Haematology specialty

The Haematology track covers Full Blood Count workflow, morphology, haemoglobinopathies, and the overlap with coagulation.

Where the content lives

• Interview page — /haematology-interviews — Band 2 through Band 8 questions
• Embedded guides — thalassaemia screening, blood film morphology, flow cytometry, haemoglobinopathy screening, FBC validation, automated analyser troubleshooting
• Haematology LIMS Virtual Lab — /virtual-laboratory → Haematology — the 9-step validation checklist (QC, sample quality, flags, delta checks, clinical review, critical values, blood film triggers, reflex testing, authorisation). UK g/L units throughout.
• Result Interpretation — open /result-interpretation and click the Haematology card — FBC patterns, blood film correlation, critical values, NEQAS-style cases
• Specialist Portfolio (Haematology) — /portfolio → Specialist Portfolio → Haematology

Key competencies covered

• Full Blood Count interpretation and morphology
• Haemoglobinopathy screening (sickle, thalassaemia, variant identification)
• Flow cytometry — gating strategies, lymphoma/leukaemia panels
• Bone marrow handling and reporting (Band 6+)
• Coagulation overlap (PT, APTT — see also article 31)
• NEQAS performance bands and EQA failure investigation
• Critical-value escalation (Hb 65 g/L, platelets, neutropenia)

UK units and terminology

• Hb in g/L (UK uses g/L; 65 g/L not 6.5 g/dL)
• Anaemia / haemoglobin / thalassaemia (UK spelling)
• HDFN (Haemolytic Disease of the Fetus and Newborn — current term, not HDN)

Bands progression (2026/27 AfC pay context)

• Band 5 (£32,073-£39,043) — qualified BMS authorising routine FBCs, recognising flagged samples, basic morphology
• Band 6 (£39,959-£48,117) — specialist morphology review, method validation, training others; usually requires IBMS Specialist Portfolio in Haematology
• Band 7 (£49,387-£56,515) — section lead, advanced morphology sign-off, on-call cover, complex case review, audit

Standards alignment

• British Society for Haematology (BSH) guidelines — current editions
• UK NEQAS Haematology scheme requirements
• ISO 15189:2022 quality framework
• HCPC Standards of Proficiency for Biomedical Scientists (September 2023)
• Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) haematology curriculum (relevant for medical haematology colleagues)

Common interview question themes (Band 5-7)

• "Walk me through your FBC authorisation pathway"
• "Tell me about a critical value you escalated"
• "How would you investigate a sample flagged for blood-film review?"
• "Describe how you would respond to a NEQAS failure"
• "How do you validate a new haematology analyser method?"

The AI Interview Coach has Band-specific rehearsal for each of these. Use the Practice Tests filter set to Haematology + your target Band to drill on actual past questions.