General medicine: Staff Specialist Interview Questions Australia
The general medicine questions that sit on top of the consultant appointments 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
- 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 →
- STAR Situation in a sentence, Task: what you had to do, Action: what you did in the first person, Result: the outcome with a number where there is one. Add Reflection for STARR. Full guide →
Clinical scenario
Own the case plainly, describe the change and how you checked it worked. For scope of practice, be honest about your credentialing and the hospital's, do what is safe now, and tell the head of department either way. Describe your CPD as a system with one recent change in practice.
You arrive for the post take ward round and forty patients have been admitted overnight. How do you run it?
See the sickest first: a quick triage with the registrar to find who needs you now. Assess at a pace, making decisions rather than lists. Fix: senior decisions on every patient, discharges identified early, ceilings of care set where needed. Escalate the ones who need intensive care or specialty input. Review: hand over the jobs clearly, and look afterwards at why the take was that size.
A frail 88 year old is deteriorating on the ward and the family want everything done. How do you lead it?
See the patient yourself. Assess the reversibility and what the patient would have wanted. Fix: the treatment that helps, and a clear ceiling of care. Escalate to the family conversation, which you lead, with the nurse present. Review: documentation, the resuscitation decision, and support for the team.
The medical registrar calls you at home at 2am about a patient they are worried about but cannot quite explain why. What do you do?
Take it seriously, because experienced registrars are often right. Ask the specific questions, decide whether you need to come in, and if in doubt, come in. Say what you would want them to do before you arrive and how you would support them afterwards.
A patient has been on the ward for weeks waiting for a care package. What is your role?
Clinical review to confirm they are medically fit, then the system: discharge coordinators, social care, step down options, and escalation through the trust's flow meetings. Document the harm of delay and support the patient and family.
How would you set up or expand same day emergency care for medical patients here?
The patient groups suited to it, the space, the staffing, the pathways with the emergency department and primary care, and how you would measure admissions avoided and safety.
System knowledge
Know the population, the hospital's role in the district and the waiting list position. Name three national pressures and link each to this hospital. For waiting lists, name the levers a specialist has and how you would measure progress. Explain the difference between staff specialist and VMO appointments and why you want this one.
What are the biggest pressures on general medicine in this hospital, and how would you help?
Access block, the ageing population and multimorbidity, length of stay, workforce, and the shift of care to the community. Know the hospital's position and give one realistic contribution.
How do you see hospital in the home and virtual care fitting with general medicine?
What they do well, which patients suit them, the governance, and what the ward team still needs. A balanced view.
Governance, safety and quality
Define governance in your own words and name your part in it. For the incident, describe your role, how it was reported, what the review found, the open disclosure conversation and what changed. For QI, give the measure and the result and whether it lasted.
Tell us about a death you reviewed that changed how the team works.
A structured judgement review or a mortality meeting case, what it found, the change and how you know it stuck.
How would you reduce harm from falls and delirium on the medical wards?
The evidence based bundle, multidisciplinary ownership, measurement, and how you would keep it going after the project ends.
Presentation
Answer the title set, use facts about this district, give a recommendation, and finish inside the time. Prepare for the questions afterwards, which are where panels separate candidates.
- Your vision for general medicine at this health service over the next five years.
- Reducing length of stay and access block from the medical wards.
- Supporting general medicine across the district's rural sites.