National Pathology Week 2026
Every November, the pathology community comes together to celebrate the people behind the diagnosis the scientists whose work in the laboratory shapes patient care every single day. National Pathology Week 2026 runs from 2-8 November, however we celebrate pathology week all month with different webinars. This year's theme, 'Welcome to the Lab', opening the door to what really goes on behind the scenes.
As proud members of the Pathology Alliance, LabMed is marking the week with a webinar that looks beyond the result on the page and asks what makes a test genuinely useful.
Webinar overview
Behind every test result is a system working to make sure that result is right, External Quality Assurance (EQA) opens up that world.
You'll hear how quality supports getting the right result for patients, and what can happen when things go wrong, using glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) testing in diabetes as a working example. You'll explore how the quality of point-of-care testing (POCT) supports diagnosis and ongoing patient management. And through a real clinical case, you'll see how a scientist works through the evidence to piece together what's actually happened to a patient.
Together, these talks show a side of laboratory science that's easy to overlook from the outside: the checking, the standards and the problem-solving that sit behind every trustworthy result.
Who should attend
This webinar is designed for students who are:
- Curious about a career as a laboratory scientist, whether or not you've settled on a specific route
- Studying biomedical science, biochemistry, immunology, microbiology, or a related life science degree
- Weighing up postgraduate study, training programmes, or direct entry routes into the profession
- Wanting to hear from people currently in the profession
You don't need to have decided anything yet. If you're simply exploring what's out there, you're exactly who this session is for.
Highlights
- Understand why quality matters in the laboratory and how it directly supports getting the right result for patients
- Recognise the consequences of quality failures, using HbA1c testing in diabetes as a working example
- Explain how quality assurance supports point-of-care testing (POCT) and its role in patient diagnosis and ongoing management
- Follow the reasoning behind a real clinical case, seeing how a scientist works through evidence to establish what has happened to a patient
- Get a first look at careers in External Quality Assurance, a route within laboratory science that's often less visible but central to patient safety
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