Ireland · RCPI HST Haematology · 2027 intake criteria

RCPI HST Haematology: points estimator and scoring guide

RCPI 2027 intake shortlisting and interview criteria (Entry Guidance page) Last checked

Rate yourself on each of the five rows RCPI scores to estimate your score out of 20, and see what you can still add before the next window.

Next applications expected October 2027

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RCPI Haematology HST points estimator

Answer one question for each scored domain. We add up your points with the published rules shown on each step, then show what you could still add before the deadline, with dates. It takes about two minutes.

We'll show your result and email you a copy.

When are you applying?

We use this to date your plan. Applying this round, it works back from the deadline. Applying next year, you get the long-run version instead.

Your score is the total of the domain scores, out of a maximum of 20.

Maximum 5 pointsProfessional Qualifications/Education

Undergraduate performance, teaching awards, higher degrees

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 5 points. Pick the highest option you can evidence.

Undergraduate performance, teaching awards and higher degrees.

Watch out. Teaching awards score here, not in the teaching row.

Caps. Category maximum 5. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

Maximum 5 pointsPublication & Audit Experience

Publications, specialty publications, presentations, posters, audit

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 5 points. Pick the highest option you can evidence.

Publications, presentations, posters and audit, all in one row.

Watch out. Papers, talks, posters and audits share 5 marks; quality and relevance to haematology matter more than volume.

Caps. Category maximum 5. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

Maximum 5 pointsClinical Practice

Candidate shows evidence that present achievement and performance is commensurate with the totality of the period of training, e.g. experience in specialty, attendance at specialty clinics etc.

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 5 points. Pick the highest option you can evidence.

Performance in line with your whole period of training, haematology experience and attendance at specialty clinics.

Watch out. Attendance at specialty clinics is named. Keep a signed record of haematology clinics and any lab or transfusion exposure.

Caps. Category maximum 5. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

Maximum 2.5 pointsLeadership & Management Experience

Candidate demonstrates that they have held a leadership or management role e.g. Lead NCHD, hospital committee membership etc.

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 2.5 points. Pick the highest option you can evidence.

A leadership or management role such as Lead NCHD or hospital committee membership.

Watch out. It has to be a role you “held”, so informal organising scores little without a title and dates.

Caps. Category maximum 2.5. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

Maximum 2.5 pointsTeaching Experience

Candidate demonstrates experience with teaching or higher qualification in teaching

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 2.5 points. Pick the highest option you can evidence.

Teaching experience, or a higher qualification in teaching.

Watch out. One line, two routes. A course alone isn’t a higher qualification, so teaching experience carries most applicants.

Caps. Category maximum 2.5 of 20. No points per item are published.

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Where these numbers come from

  • 5 domains, worded as in the official guide
  • 2 official sources, each dated
Method and sources

Your score adds up the option you pick in each domain, using the published rules shown on each step. "Could still add" uses only steps the guide allows before the deadline. No competition figures are shown for Irish HST. Last checked 30 October 2026.

  1. RCPI HST Entry Guidance and Advice: Haematology Shortlisting and Interview Criteria. 2027 HST intake. The page says “Applications for our 2027 Higher Specialist Training (HST) programmes are now closed.” The criteria are HTML tables in the “HST Shortlisting and Interview Criteria & Specialty Entry Requirements” section, not a PDF.
  2. RCPI HST Application Guidance and Frequently Asked Questions. 2027 intake (MRCPI Clinical by 31st December 2026; no documents accepted after the close)

RCPI scores Haematology shortlisting out of 20 across five categories: qualifications, publication and audit, and clinical practice at 5 each, and leadership and management and teaching at 2.5 each. RCPI publishes only the maximum for each row, so the panel decides each mark. The calculator at the top of this page is a self-estimate: you rate yourself against each row and it adds up your own estimate, not RCPI’s score. Applications for the 2027 intake closed at 5pm on 29 October 2026. The in-person interview, on 22 February 2027, is scored out of 60 and includes two clinical questions.

Where Teach the Teacher counts for Haematology

The teaching row reads “Candidate demonstrates experience with teaching or higher qualification in teaching”, worth 2.5 of 20. We claim Teach the Teacher there, and the panel decides. Be clear about what it is: a live online day (09:00 to 17:00, “6 hours of live teaching with an expert”) and a self-paced course of over 12 hours in 20 modules, each with a certificate. That isn’t a “higher qualification in teaching”, a phrase that most naturally means a postgraduate certificate or above, so the course supports the row as evidence that you are developing as a teacher. Upload the certificates with a dated log of the teaching you’ve done.

Teaching awards score under qualifications, where RCPI lists “Undergraduate performance, teaching awards, higher degrees”. The interview has no teaching category, so teaching helps there only through the CV discussion. The 2027 window has closed, so new evidence counts towards the next intake.

Rules on the Haematology form that change a score

Clinical practice asks whether “present achievement and performance is commensurate with the totality of the period of training”, naming “attendance at specialty clinics”, so keep a signed clinic record. Publications, presentations, posters and audit share one 5-mark row. Leadership needs a role you have “held”, such as Lead NCHD or committee membership. And nothing can be added after the close: RCPI says “No, the Admissions Team is not in a position to accept any documents or updates to applications following the close of applications.”

How the Haematology interview is scored

The interview is scored separately, out of 60, in person on 22 February 2027 for this intake:

  • CV/interest in Haematology: 10
  • Research / Audit: 10
  • Career Plan / Scheme: 10
  • Clinical Question 1: 10
  • Clinical Question 2: 10
  • Haematology service development: 10

Places are allocated “taking into account rank at interview and available places”.

RCPI Haematology HST HST Shortlisting Criteria (RCPI Entry Guidance and Advice) points at a glance

RCPI 2027 intake shortlisting and interview criteria (Entry Guidance page) Last checked

Your score is the total of the domain scores, out of a maximum of 20.

Out of 20: qualifications 5, publication and audit 5, clinical practice 5, leadership and management 2.5, teaching 2.5. Only category maxima are published. The interview is out of 60, not 100: CV/interest in Haematology 10; Research / Audit 10; Career Plan / Scheme 10; Clinical Question 1 10; Clinical Question 2 10; Haematology service development 10. “Posts are allocated by the NSD(s) taking into account rank at interview and available places.” Self-estimate (owner ruling 30 Oct 2026): RCPI publishes only the maximum for each row, so the calculator asks you to rate yourself on each row (none, some, good, strong) and adds up your own estimate. These steps are ours, not RCPI's; the panel scores the real marks.

RCPI Haematology HST: every domain, what scores and the maximum
DomainWhat scores (official wording)Max
Professional Qualifications/Education
  • 0 points None yet
  • 1.5 points Some (about a third of the marks)
  • 3.5 points Good (about two thirds)
  • 5 points Strong (full marks for this row)

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 5 points.

Category maximum 5. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

5
Publication & Audit Experience
  • 0 points None yet
  • 1.5 points Some (about a third of the marks)
  • 3.5 points Good (about two thirds)
  • 5 points Strong (full marks for this row)

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 5 points.

Category maximum 5. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

5
Clinical Practice
  • 0 points None yet
  • 1.5 points Some (about a third of the marks)
  • 3.5 points Good (about two thirds)
  • 5 points Strong (full marks for this row)

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 5 points.

Category maximum 5. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

5
Leadership & Management Experience
  • 0 points None yet
  • 1 point Some (about a third of the marks)
  • 1.5 points Good (about two thirds)
  • 2.5 points Strong (full marks for this row)

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 2.5 points.

Category maximum 2.5. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

2.5
Teaching Experience
  • 0 points None yet
  • 1 point Some (about a third of the marks)
  • 1.5 points Good (about two thirds)
  • 2.5 points Strong (full marks for this row)

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 2.5 points.

Category maximum 2.5 of 20. No points per item are published.

2.5
Total20

Dates for this round

  • Applications opened source
  • This round closed 29 Oct 2026 (2027 intake); nothing can be added to those applications source 1 source 2
  • MRCPI Clinical (relevant to the specialty) passed by source
  • Interview (in person) source
  • Next applications open (2028 intake), expected early October 2027 expected source
  • Next applications close (2028 intake), expected late October 2027: what you claim must be done by then expected source

What you can still add before 29 October 2027

What each of these adds is the difference between the option you would reach and the one you already hold, so it can be nothing if you hold that option already. The calculator works out the gain from your own answers.

  • Teaching Experience. For the next intake (window expected October 2027): complete the Erudical Teach the Teacher course (live day plus self-paced) and keep both certificates, and keep a dated log of teaching you deliver, with feedback where you can get it. Gets you to: Some (about a third of the marks).

Evidence traps

  • The interview has no teaching category. It is out of 60, with two clinical questions and a service development question. Clinical Question 1 | 10 / Clinical Question 2 | 10 / Haematology service development | 10 source
  • Clinical practice is judged against the whole of your training, with specialty clinic attendance named. Candidate shows evidence that present achievement and performance is commensurate with the totality of the period of training, e.g. experience in specialty, attendance at specialty clinics etc. source
  • Teaching is 2.5 of 20. The row accepts experience or a “higher qualification in teaching”; a course alone isn’t the second. Candidate demonstrates experience with teaching or higher qualification in teaching source
  • Everything has to be uploaded with the application. A paper accepted, a talk given or a course finished after the window closes can’t be added later. No, the Admissions Team is not in a position to accept any documents or updates to applications following the close of applications. source
  • The shortlisting score gets you an interview. Places are then given out on interview rank, so prepare for the interview criteria as seriously as the CV. Posts are allocated by the NSD(s) taking into account rank at interview and available places. source

Sources

For every category, the interview marks and the dates on one printable page, add your email and we’ll send you the PDF.

Email me the printable version

We'll email you the PDF in the next few minutes, plus a few RCPI Haematology HST emails until applications close. Unsubscribe any time.

Haematology HST questions, answered

How many points is teaching worth for RCPI HST Haematology?

Teaching Experience is 2.5 of the 20 shortlisting marks: “Candidate demonstrates experience with teaching or higher qualification in teaching”. The 60-mark interview has no separate teaching category.

Does a teach the teacher course count for Haematology HST in Ireland?

We claim it in the teaching row, and the panel decides. The row accepts teaching experience or a “higher qualification in teaching”; a course isn’t a higher qualification, so pair it with teaching you have done.

How is RCPI Haematology HST shortlisting scored?

Out of 20: Professional Qualifications/Education 5, Publication & Audit Experience 5, Clinical Practice 5, Leadership & Management Experience 2.5 and Teaching Experience 2.5. Only these maxima are published.

What is the RCPI HST Haematology interview scored on?

Six categories of 10, total 60: CV/interest in Haematology, Research/Audit, Career Plan/Scheme, Clinical Question 1, Clinical Question 2 and Haematology service development. For the 2027 intake it is in person on 22 February 2027.

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