Haematology: Registrar Interview Questions Australia
The haematology questions that sit on top of the specialty training core: clinical scenarios, the system and governance questions specific to the specialty, and presentation titles.
Updated 7 November 2026
The structures these questions are marked on
- CAMP Clinical experience, Academic work including audit, research and teaching, Management and leadership roles, Personal: who you are as a colleague and what you will find hard. For the CV walkthrough. Full guide →
- SAFER See the patient, Assess systematically with ABCDE, Fix what you can and decide, Escalate with a clear request in SBAR or ISBAR, Review: the patient told, the handover, the documentation and what you would do if the first plan failed. Full guide →
- The What it is in a sentence, Why it matters with a fact, What it means for this organisation and specialty, What I would do at my level and how I would measure it. Full guide →
Motivation
Evidence of commitment over enthusiasm: rotations, courses, audits, exams sat. Know the programme's stages, exams and rural requirements. Say what you would bring to a rural site, not just that you are willing to go.
Why haematology, and why this unit?
Evidence: the terms, the cases, the research, the audit. Then this unit: its subspecialty strengths, its research and its catchment, in terms that show homework.
What do you know about advanced training in haematology, its requirements and the research project?
The length, the core and elective years, the procedural or clinic requirements, the research project and the assessments. Two accurate sentences, then what will be hardest.
Clinical scenario
Systematic assessment, treat what you can, escalate early and clearly even when the consultant is distant, use retrieval and telehealth where they apply, and say what you would do afterwards. A safe answer that asks for help beats a clever one that does not.
A blood film shows blasts and the white count is 150. What do you do?
Acute leukaemia: admission, tumour lysis prevention, leukostasis assessed, the consultant now, and the patient told honestly about what happens next.
A patient has a massive haemorrhage and is on warfarin. What do you do?
Reversal with prothrombin complex concentrate and vitamin K, the transfusion protocol, and the source controlled with the treating team.
A patient's platelets fall sharply five days after starting heparin. What do you do?
Heparin induced thrombocytopenia: the score, heparin stopped, an alternative anticoagulant, and the confirmatory test.
A patient refuses blood products on religious grounds before chemotherapy. How do you approach it?
Capacity, what the patient will accept, alternatives, the plan documented, and respect for the decision.
System knowledge
Know the programme's requirements in detail. Name three current pressures and link each to your specialty. Be able to explain clinical governance and the standards most relevant to your work in a sentence each.
How do laboratory and clinical haematology work together in this unit?
The film review, the urgent result, the multidisciplinary meeting, and the training balance between the two.