The suitability and commitment station is the one candidates underprepare, because the questions look easy. They are not easy to answer well. Assessors are scoring whether you understand the training you are applying for, whether your commitment is evidenced, and whether you will still be here in ten years.
Know the structure you are applying to
Since the Shape of Training reforms, physician specialties are divided into group 1, which dual train with internal medicine and contribute to the acute take throughout, and group 2, which do not. The question "what do you know about the curriculum and the structure of training" is almost universal and candidates who cannot explain which group their specialty is in, what dual accreditation means for their rota and their certificate, and how the curriculum's capabilities in practice are assessed, lose marks that cost nothing to gain.
Have a two sentence answer: the group, what that means day to day, the exam requirements, and the length of training. Then one sentence on what the ARCP will require of you each year.
Evidence of commitment
"What have you done to show your commitment" is asked in nearly every interview and rewards specifics. Build a short list before the interview:
- Clinical: the rotations and the acute experience, with one case that confirmed the choice.
- Academic: a paper, a presentation, an audit in the specialty, with the result.
- Teaching: something you taught in the specialty and how you know it worked.
- Development: a course, a taster, a conference, membership of the specialist society.
Pick the three strongest and say what each taught you, not only that you did it. Assessors can tell the difference between a list assembled for the application and a story that explains a decision.
The honest question
"What will you find hardest" is a test of insight. Answer it truthfully. The physician specialties have real difficulties: the acute take alongside specialty work for group 1 trainees, the emotional load in oncology and palliative care, the procedural learning curve in gastroenterology and cardiology, the pace of change in some specialties. Name one, say why it will be hard for you, and say how you will manage it. A candidate who claims nothing will be hard reads as unprepared.
If not appointed
"What would you do if you were unsuccessful this year" is not a trick. Assessors want to hear a plan that strengthens the next application rather than a change of direction: a clinical fellow post in the specialty, a focused audit, the remaining exam, more acute experience. Say it calmly and briefly. The question also tests whether your commitment survives a setback.
The research and teaching follow ups
Because the physician specialties expect academic engagement, expect a question on your research and one on teaching. Be honest about research: describe what you did, what it found and what you learned about the process. Overstating involvement is easy to probe and costly. For teaching, give one example with evidence it worked and say what you would teach once you are a registrar.
Putting it together
Write a one minute answer to each of the commitment questions, with a specific in each, and say them aloud against a timer. Then have someone ask the follow ups: "which part of the audit was yours", "what did the course change", "why that specialty and not the one next to it". The station is ten minutes and the assessors will use every one of them.