Clinical haematology requires both clinical and laboratory expertise.
This dual role provides a unique opportunity to combine clinical skills with appropriate, often cutting-edge science to make a diagnosis; choose the optimal treatment plan; and monitor progress for a range of genetic, malignant and non-malignant disorders.
Haematology - trainee characteristics
Clinical haematology will particularly suit trainees who are:
-
clinically sound
-
eager to apply science to patient care
-
interested in continuing care for chronic disorders
-
keen to provide laboratory support for all areas of medicine.
Working/training in an ST3 haematology post
Specialty training in haematology starts with a clinically-competent generalist MRCP(UK) and develops medical and laboratory skills according to a well-structured curriculum to achieve FRCPath.
Additionally, there are a few training programmes with a paediatric haematology focus. For this reason trainees from a paediatric background are welcome to apply. Please see the 'Planning your application' tab for more information on the eligibility criteria and regions which offer paeditaric haematology training.
In the UK, haematology is an intensive, exciting and rewarding - but demanding - specialty that encompasses both clinical and laboratory practice.
As a result of this dual role, haematologists take an active part in every stage of patient management: from initial clinic visit, to laboratory assessment/diagnosis, and finally to treatment.
Holistic approach
Clinical care is delivered in both in-patient and out-patient environments and the haematologist frequently contributes to diagnosis and management in other specialties and in the intensive care setting.
This holistic approach to clinical care is a highlight of the specialty.
Research/special interests
Haematology is developing rapidly with respect to therapeutic advances, and lends itself to research.
Within haematology there is the opportunity to further develop special interests in a wide variety of clinical and laboratory areas (eg haemogloginopathies, haemostasis and thrombosis, paediatrics, transfusion medicine, malignant haematology, transplantation.)
The specialty may suit a wide variety of individuals including those who may wish to combine a clinical and academic career. The haematology consultant workforce is currently expanding.
Entry into adult haematology specialist training occurs after completion of core training (IMT, ACCS-AM) competences and requires success in the MRCP(UK) or equivalent.
The duration of specialist training is normally five years, to develop the skills for direct patient care and the management of haematology pathology laboratories.
Specialist training provides exposure to all clinical and laboratory areas, including transfusion medicine to enable the trainee to gain all the necessary competences to provide independent patient care and pass the well-established exit examination, the FRCPath.
Medical Care
Find out more about haematology and the services delivered by the specialty on Medical Care – the RCP’s online guide to service design.
Further information
General / application queries
For general queries relating to areas such as eligibility criteria, making an application or the Oriel system, please contact the Physician Specialty Recruitment Office.
Queries regarding the progress of a submitted application should be directed to the lead recruiter for this specialty. The lead recruiter for haematology in 2021 is South West Severn.
Health Education South West - Severn | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Postal address | Health Education England Level 1 Park House 1200 Parkway Newbrick Road Bristol Parkway North Stoke Gifford Bristol BS34 8YU |
|||||
email address | SEVRecruitment.SW@hee.nhs.uk | |||||
website | www.severndeanery.nhs.uk |
Eligibility
Please be aware that, in addition to physician training, the specialty also accepts applicants from paediatric training routes.
Paediatric applicants must have obtained the basic specialty professional examination in addition to specific clinical experience and competences to be eligible.
Please view the specialty's person specification for information about the requirements for applying from a non-physician background and the deadlines for when this must be achieved. You can download a document which advises on the extent of paediatric haematology each region is able to provide at the bottom of this page; although please note that paediatric haematology training cannot be guaranteed in any region in any given recruitment round.
Physician trainees can view the standard eligibility criteria as detailed in the am I eligible? section.
Please note that due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, certain recruitment processes have been affected for round 2 ST3 PSRO-coordinated specialties. As a result, the below information on this page is not applicable for this round only and should not be used where the process has changed. Please refer to the applicant guide for the latest information about how round 2 will operate.
Further guidance about the scoring format of interviews will be published to each specialty page and we hope to have this updated by application closing date. Please visit the specialty pages closer to the time for updated information.
Interview content
You will spend approximately 10 minutes at each of the three interview stations, with three-to-five minutes' transfer time between each. Thus the overall time for the interview will be approximately 40-45 minutes.
Click on the relevant stations below for more information on the content of the interview.
Please note that this is subject to change, and will be confirmed by the date of interview.
This is where your application form and training to date will be reviewed. This will include checking the documentation you have brought along to ensure all content on your application form is correct.
Evidence checking
Normally your evidence folder will have been reviewed by the interviewers immediately prior to your arrival in the station. They will be:
• Checking that your achievements in your evidence folder match that claimed on your application form.
• Considering your career progression to date.
• Identifying areas about which they may wish to question you during the interview.
Areas for assessment
The two main aspects of discussion here, on which you will be assessed, will be your suitability for and commitment to ST3 training in the specialty, and your achievements and engagement with training and learning to date.
Scoring at the station
It is important to recognise that the scores awarded to you at this station will not purely be about your achievements, as this already contributes towards the scoring via your application form. Interviewers will be deciding upon scores via a combination of factors, for example: your responses to the questions asked, the breadth and quality of your achievements and your career progression.
Upon arrival at station 2, you will be given a clinical scenario to review, on which you will be asked questions. Please note - you will not be given details of this prior to your arrival at the station.
Scenario considerations
The scenario details will be relatively brief (two/three sentences), and will not take long to consider. Areas to consider when reviewing the scenario are:
-
what steps you would take
-
any potential treatments possible
-
any further information you would gather
-
how you would go about communicating with any people (eg patients, family members, colleagues) involved in the scenario.
You should take into account any other factors you deem appropriate, using your experience and professional judgement.
Areas for assessment
One mark will be awarded to you based on your suggestions and responses to the clinical scenario.
Following the clinical scenario will be discussion of professionalism and governance. This discussion will be prompted by a short question (often a single sentence) provided by interviewers. This will not be given to you before arriving at the station - this will be given verbally by interviewers once the presentation is finished.
This section of the interview is designed to assess your demonstration and understanding of professionalism and governance in a given situation.
Familiarise yourself with Good Medical Practice
Please note - assessment of professionalism & governance is underpinned by the principles of GMC Good Medical Practice.
At this station you will be asked to give a presentation, which you are expected to prepare in advance on a given subject (see below). Your communication skills will also be assessed at this station.
The station will be divided into two parts - five minutes for your presentation, followed by five minutes for discussion of it and some broader issues relating to general research.
Presentation
Upon arrival at station 3, you will need to give a presentation on one of the following topics, for no more than five minutes:
'An interesting case I have been involved in'
OR:
'An interesting recent development / research finding in haematology'
Again, we stress you should only present on one of these topics, not both. When preparing your presentation, please bear in mind the points below:
-
Clarity & relevance most important - Select a topic that is relevant to haematology, and which you can present with clarity. This is more important than trying to impress by choosing a subject that is esoteric or complex. It should be relevant to your application where possible.
-
No aids/resources - There will be no projectors or laptops for PowerPoint, no OHPs, flip-charts, etc. You are welcome to use prompts on small cards, but these should be for your own use only, and should not be given out as hand-outs.
-
Five minute time limit - Your presentation must last for no more than five minutes . Please note that you will be stopped after five minutes so as to allow further discussion to take place, so try and get your main points across before then. At the same time, bear in mind that interviewers will be assessing the level, depth and content of your presentation, as well as expecting some structure.
Interview nerves will be taken into consideration.[collapse]
Post-presentation discussion
Once your presentation is finished (interviewers will stop you at the five minute-mark), interviewers will discuss it with you and ask further questions relating to the items you raise and any further points.
This discussion will take place for approximately another five minutes.
Areas for assessment
The first area for which you will receive a score at station 3 will be your presentation and its accompanying discussion; essentially, this mark will reflect your understanding of the subject matter, as displayed via your presentation and the accompanying dicussion.
The second mark will be on the communication skills you display.
This will be both an assessment of how you would communicate with patients, colleagues, etc. in the scenario, as well as of how well you communicate with interviewers at the station.
Establishing appointability
Appointable - automatic
If you are awarded a score of at least 3/5, for all marks given to you at your interview, then you will automatically be classed as appointable.
Not appointable - automatic
If any of the 12 scores awarded to you at interview are 1/5, this will reflect poor performance and an area of major concern.
If three or more of your 12 interview scores are of 2/5, this will reflect several areas of concern across your whole interview.
Should your interview assessment falls under either category above, the level of concern over your potential progression to ST3 will see your application classed automatically as not appointable .
Appointability subject to panel decision
In the event that your 12 interview scores contain one or two marks of 2/5 (and the rest 3/5 or above), your appointability status will be subject to discussion in the post-interview 'wash-up' meeting.
The clinicians who have interviewed you will discuss your general performance during the interview and any concerns or otherwise they have about your application as a whole.
Should they deem it appropriate, your application will be classed as appointable, and you can then be considered for post offers; whereas if they feel their concerns are too substantial for this outcome, they must class your application as not appointable, and it will progress no further in the current recruitment round.
Review vs automatic status
Please note there is no distinction made between candidates judged as appointable automatically, and those classed as appointable on review. Once deemed appointable it is only your overall score which will be used to determine ranking.
Total score calculation
After interview, a weighting is applied to the scores in each area, as well as the application form score, to give a 'total score'. This score determines your ranking which is used to inform how offers are made. The weighting of different sections, as well as the method by which your total score is established, can be seen by clicking on 'Total score calculation' below.
Please note that this is subject to change, and will be confirmed by the date of interview.
Int. 1 | Int. 2 | Weighting | Max score | |
Station 1 | ||||
Evidence | / 5 | / 5 | x1.6 | / 16 |
Suitability for specialty | / 5 | / 5 | x1.2 | / 12 |
Station 2 | ||||
Clinical scenario | / 5 | / 5 | x1.6 | / 16 |
Professionalism and governance | / 5 | / 5 | x1.2 | / 12 |
Station 3 | ||||
Presentation research | / 5 | / 5 | x1.6 | / 16 |
Communication mark | / 5 | / 5 | x0.8 | / 8 |
Raw interview score | / 60 | |||
Interview score (including weighting) | / 80 | |||
Short-listing (app form) | / 80 | x0.25 | / 20 | |
Overall assessment score | / 100 |
As part of the process of applying to ST3, you may wish to gain an idea of how recruitment progressed in previous years for the various specialties participating in the nationally-coordinated recruitment.
To this end, we have published data dating back to 2013 (where this is available), based around four main areas:
-
Competition ratios - application numbers submitted to each specialty, along with the number of NTN and LAT posts available in each. It is worth noting that posts are subject to change throughout the round (increasing on average between 20-40%), and post numbers for this data are taken at the end of the round.
-
Shortlist scores - the scores awarded to all submitted applications, including average scores and distribution nationally.
-
Total scores - the total score awarded to all candidates who completed the full recruitment process for a specialty (application and interview), including some analysis of scores.
-
Post fill rates - the number of posts filled by region.
We have published information for all specialties participating in our process that year; consequently not all specialties will have data in all cases.
Round 1
Year | Apps. | NTN posts | LAT posts | Total posts | Comp. | Unique* |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | 138 | 78 | 3 | 81 | 1.7 | 65% |
2018 | 120 | 74 | 1 | 75 | 1.6 | 69% |
2017 | 131 | 80 | 0 | 80 | 1.6 | 67% |
2016 | 125 | 88 | 1 | 89 | 1.4 | 64% |
2015 | 135 | 58 | 12 | 70 | 1.9 | 75% |
* the percentage of unique candidates that only applied to this specialty (out of the 24 PSRO-coordinated specialties)
Round 2
Year | Apps. | NTN posts | LAT posts | Total posts | Comp. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | 41 | 33 | 0 | 33 | 1.2 |
2017 | 46 | 34 | 0 | 34 | 1.4 |
2016 | 22 | 32 | 0 | 32 | 0.7 |
2015 | 33 | 26 | 0 | 26 | 1.3 |
Provisional post numbers
Specialty vacancy numbers are available in the table below, broken down by region and divided between substantive national training number (NTN) and locum appointment for training (LAT) posts.
It is the intention that initial post numbers for all regions will be published prior to the application opening date, although this cannot be guaranteed. Numbers will be updated as and when notifications are received from each region and will be checked later in the round when programme preferences are open for selection.
Numbers subject to change
Please be aware that it is not uncommon for vacancy numbers to change throughout the round.
More commonly, post vacancy numbers can increase as the round goes on (and confirmation of posts becomes available); but it is also possible that numbers can reduce as well. On average post numbers rise between 20-40% from the start to the finish of the round but this can vary greatly for individual specialty/region combinations.
It is possible that regions which do not have a post at the start of the round may declare one after applications have closed. Whilst we try and minimise instances of this, it is not always possible to predict vacancies so even if there appears not to be a vacancy in your preferred specialty/region combination, you may wish to consider applying in case one becomes available during the round; you can check with the region concerned if you wish to check on the likelihood of a post arising.
Generally, once a region enter a post into a round they would always have at least one post available and would only withdraw it in exceptional circumstances.
Round 1 interview dates & posts
Region | NTN posts | LAT posts* | Evidence upload date(s) | Interview date(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
East Midlands |
TBC |
N/A |
TBC |
TBC |
East of England | TBC | N/A | ||
London KSS |
TBC |
N/A | ||
North East | TBC | N/A | ||
North West |
Mersey TBC |
N/A | ||
North Western |
N/A | |||
South West |
Severn - TBC |
N/A | ||
Thames Valley | TBC | N/A | ||
Wessex | TBC | N/A | ||
West Midlands | TBC | N/A | ||
Yorkshire & Humber |
TBC |
N/A | ||
Scotland** | TBC | TBC | ||
Wales | TBC | TBC |
*English LATs
Please note, English regions do not recruit to LAT posts.
**Scotland post numbers
If you are interested in working in Scotland, a breakdown of post numbers by the four Scottish deaneries is available on the Scottish Medical Training website. This has details of all specialty training post numbers in Scotland, including specialties which are not part of the nationally-coordinated process.
Please note that whilst we endeavour to keep the Physician ST3 recruitment website up to date, the SMT website will always be the more accurate one where they differ.
Interview Content
The interview will consist of four question areas which will be 5 minutes each in length. You will be marked on these questions.
Including time for questioning and scenario reading, the interview will be approximately 25 minutes.
Please note that this is subject to change and will be confirmed by the date of interview.
This question will focus on your commitment to ST3 training in the specialty and give you opportunity to expand on the information provided in your application form.
This question will last approximately 5 minutes.
Following the clinical scenario will be discussion of professionalism and governance. This discussion will be prompted by a short question (often a single sentence) provided by interviewers. This will not be given to you before; this will be given verbally by interviewers once the previous question has been completed.
This section of the interview is designed to assess your demonstration and understanding of professionalism and governance in a given situation.
Familiarise yourself with Good Medical Practice
Please note - assessment of professionalism & governance is underpinned by the principles of GMC Good Medical Practice.
At the end of the previous question, you will be given a clinical scenario to review, on which you will be asked questions.
The scenario will describe a hypothetical clinical situation which has arisen in which you are, or have become, involved. Some points to consider when reviewing the scenario and preparing for discussion are:
- what steps you would take
- any potential treatments possible
- any further information you would gather
- how you would go about communicating with any people (eg patients, family members, colleagues) involved in the scenario.
You should also consider any other factors you deem appropriate, using your experience and professional judgement.
For this question you will asked to give a presentation, which you are expected to prepare in advance on a given subject.
'An interesting case I have been involved in'
OR:
'An interesting recent development / research finding in haematology'
We stress you should only present on one of these topics, not both. When preparing your presentation, please bear in mind the points below:
- Clarity & relevance most important - Select a topic that is relevant to haematology, and which you can present with clarity. This is more important than trying to impress by choosing a subject that is esoteric or complex. It should be relevant to your application where possible.
- Four-minute time limit - Your presentation must last for no more than four minutes. Bear in mind that interviewers will be assessing the level, depth and content of your presentation, as well as expecting some structure.
-
No aids/resources allowed – you are not allowed to use any visual representations, such as PowerPoint, when giving your presentation and you must not share your screen. You are welcome to use prompts on small cards, but these should be for your own use only.
Post-presentation discussion
Once your presentation is finished (interviewers will stop you at the four minute-mark), interviewers will discuss it with you and ask further questions relating to the items you raise and any further points.
This discussion will take place for approximately another three minutes.
Scoring Framework
The score of 1-5 an interviewer will award you for each assessment area is judged in relation to how well you perform against an expected level. Below is the framework used to award scores at interview, as well as interpretation of what these scores represent:
Mark
|
Rating
|
Assessment
|
1 |
poor |
not considered appointable |
2 |
area for concern |
performed below the level expected; possibly unappointable, subject to discussion and performance in other areas |
3 |
satisfactory |
performed at the level expected during CT2; the candidate is suitable for an ST3 / LAT post |
4 |
good |
above average ability; the candidate is suitable for an ST3 / LAT post |
5 |
excellent |
highly performing trainee; the candidate is suitable for an ST3 / LAT post |
As shown in the table, for each of the question areas at interview, 3/5 is considered a satisfactory score; and reflects the level of performance that would be expected of a trainee ready to progress to a specialty training programme.
Should your performance go above and beyond this expected level, interviewers can award marks of 4/5 or 5/5 as appropriate.
Conversely, should your interview performance not reach the expected level, then interviewers can award marks of 1/5 or 2/5, as reflects their level of concern over your performance.
Appointability
From the eight scores awarded during your interview, an 'appointability' status will be calculated to determine whether you can be considered for an offer.
The intention is to ensure successful candidates can display competence consistently across all areas of assessment covered at interview, rather than allowing outstanding achievement in one or more areas to make up for sub-par performance elsewhere.
Appointability is awarded automatically and is based on two factors: individual interview scores and the 'raw interview score'.
Appointability criteria
To be classed as 'appointable', you must meet three criteria below:
- none of your 8 interview scores can be 1/5
- no more than two of your 8 interview scores can be 2/5
- your RIS must be 24 or above.
If you meet all three requirements, your application will be assessed as appointable, and can progress to be considered for post offers.
However, if you fail to meet any of these requirements, your application must then be assessed as not appointable, and it will progress no further in that round.
Total Score
After interview, a weighting is applied to the scores in each area, as well as your application score.
These scores are then combined to give your total score which determines your ranking, which will in turn be used to inform how offers are made. The weighting of different sections, as well as the method by which your total score is established, is detailed in the table accessible through the link below:
|
Interviewer 1
|
Interviewer 2
|
Weighting
|
Max score
|
Question 1 |
||||
Clinical scenario |
/ 5 |
/ 5 |
2.5 |
25 |
Question 2 |
||||
Professionalism and Governance |
/ 5 |
/ 5 |
2.5 |
25 |
Question 3 |
||||
Commitment to Specialty |
/ 5 |
/ 5 |
1.8 |
18 |
Question 4 |
|
|||
Presentation |
/ 5 |
/ 5 |
1.2 |
12 |
Raw interview score |
/ 40 |
|||
Interview score (w weighting) |
/ 80 |
|||
Application score |
/ 56 |
0.36 |
/ 20.16 |
|
Total score |
/ 100.16 |