Information for trainees
Association for Laboratory Medicine leadership and management training course
The LabMed Leadership and management training course is taking place 12 to 16 October 2026 at the Ashford International Hotel – and there’s still time to secure your place.
Whether you’re preparing for consultant-level responsibilities, working towards FRCPath Part 2, or already a consultant looking to strengthen your leadership skillset, this course is designed with you in mind.
It’s built specifically for laboratory professionals – case studies and group projects are drawn from real NHS scenarios (network working, procurement, workforce challenges), not generic management examples.
You’ll leave with practical skills in NHS finance, people management, and leadership – areas that matter for senior scientific roles but aren’t always covered day-to-day.
It’s a fully residential week, giving you space for the kind of discussion and peer learning that’s hard to fit into a shorter course.
You’ll hear directly from national and regional NHS leaders, laboratory service directors, and industry specialists
En-suite accommodation and food included.
View the full course details and book a place
Residential training course for trainees preparing for the Clinical Immunology FRCPath part 2 exam and viva
The course is designed for those candidates who feel they need to cover the basics required for this exam. The faculty includes both medical and scientific representatives with recent experience of the exams.
Course aim
To provide targeted exam preparation including technique advice for clinical scientists and SPRs approaching FRCPath Part 2 (Clinical Immunology).
- Up to 8 candidates
- 2 days residential in Plymouth with optional mock written and viva exam on day 3.
- 19 to 21 August 2026
- Open to Clinical Scientists and medical trainees in recognition that each group can learn a lot from each other.
- Open to candidates taking their Part 2 exam in the next 9 months, with priority given to those taking the exam in October; another course may run in February 2027.
- Focus on interactive, example-driven sessions covering a range of relevant topics to both the written paper and the viva, presented in a friendly and informal teaching environment.
- Topics will be focused around the written paper sections and will include EQA interpretation, IQC familiarisation and interpretation, incident reporting, validation and verification, flow cytometry workshop, Uncommon Auts, Pitfalls of Protein Chemistry.
- Exam technique is addressed in every session.
A very practical course, with lots of time for discussion about multiple relevant examples.
Prospective candidates can discuss this upcoming course, and register for attendance by contacting the organisers directly by email: lucy.leeman@nhs.net or kristenlilly@nhs.net
Guidance for trainees preparing for the Virology FRCPath part 2 exam
The Chairs of the FRCPath Part 2 Virology examiners panel have asked the school to circulate the message below to trainees preparing for the part 2 exam.
We are writing to you following the recent FRCPath Virology part 2 examinations as co-chairs of the panel of examiners, in response to a noticeable reduction in the number of candidates who successfully passed the examination. We appreciate this will be concerning to trainees who have recently sat the exam and been unsuccessful, and those who are preparing to sit in the near future. With that in mind, we feel it might be helpful to offer guidance for trainees who are preparing for the exam.
Based on the candidates’ answers and performance, and on our own reflections and those of our fellow senior examiners, we have noticed that candidates generally fail because of 2 aspects. Firstly, in not thoroughly revising and understanding all aspects of the Clinical Virology curriculum. We expect sufficient knowledge and understanding for a trainee to be confident to independently practice as a Consultant Virologist, including knowledge in (but not exclusively) viral pathogenesis, immune correlates of protection and mechanisms of disease manifestation.
The examination consists of 3 elements:
- The written component in 2 parts; 15 short written questions and then a longer series of complex clinical scenarios that will include any element of the curriculum including business cases, research and innovation, ethical and quality considerations, laboratory management as well as Clinical Virology.
- This is then followed by a viva that is drawn from the curriculum but normally based on real life clinical or laboratory scenarios.
Candidates are expected to pass both the viva and the written components to achieve an overall pass.
We have observed that frequently candidates are not thoroughly reading the question prior to answering, and/or then failing to answer in a clear and concise manner, suggesting poor exam technique rather than an insufficient level of knowledge and understanding,
We would ask that trainees are reminded that they must ensure that they read the RCPath medical virology curriculum thoroughly, and that they use the RCPath training pages to review the practice exam questions. The onus is on them to identify gaps in their own knowledge and ensure that they have sufficiently revised all areas to confidently answer questions prior to sitting the exam.
We have taken on board any feedback that will help us continue to improve the exam, and to ensure that those candidates who pass do go on to have successful careers as future consultant virologists
Sincerely,
Prof. Catherine Moore and Dr Sowsan Abatani
Co-chairs of the panel of Part 2 Virology examiners
Information for trainees and supervisors
Shape the future of the STP curriculum
Get involved in developing the curriculum
The next cycle of curriculum rolling review starts in the new academic year. We are looking for:
- Lead Editors for Clinical Informatics and Urodynamic Sciences
- Curriculum Reviewers for the Life Sciences periodic review
Details on how to apply will be shared in the next STP Monthly Memo.
Find out more about the Lead Editor and Curriculum Reviewer roles
Suggest updates to the curriculum
There is still time to submit feedback on the STP curriculum to inform next year’s rolling review. Feedback can be submitted through the Curriculum Library until Friday 18 September. Feedback received after this date will be considered in the following review cycle.
Submit your feedback in the Curriculum Library
Changes made to curricula
Periodic reviews of Genomic Sciences and Clinical Engineering are now complete. The approved changes, linked to below, have been published and will be incorporated into the 2027 curriculum.
View changes made to the Genomic Sciences curriculum
View changes made to the Clinical Engineering curriculum
Contribute to our Sharing Good Practice webinar series
If you or your network have developed practice that you feel could be valuable to share with your peers, please express an interest in sharing your practice.
Express an interest in sharing your practice
Information for supervisors
HSST Induction 2026
We will be holding the HSST Induction Day online this year via Microsoft Teams on Monday 5 October, 10am to 4:15pm. View the agenda for the day.
Trainees joining the HSST will need to attend this key event as part of their induction to the training programme.
National School staff will also be present and involved in the face-to-face induction day at MAHSE.
HSST Train the Trainer webinar
Thursday 19 November 2026 – 10am to 3pm
If you are new to the HSST supervisor role, you are expected to attend a Train the Trainer webinar, which will introduce you to the programme and your responsibilities.
View further details and register for this webinar
Missed a previous edition of the HSST Monthly Memo?
You will find previous copies of the HSST Monthly Memo on our website.