General surgery: Staff Specialist Interview Questions Australia

The general surgery 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.

  1. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the head of departmentSAFER

    An 80 year old from a nursing home has a perforated viscus. How do you decide whether to operate?

    See the patient and the family yourself. Assess frailty, the risk score and what the patient would have wanted. The decision is the Fix: operate, or palliate well, with the reasoning. Involve the anaesthetist and intensive care, and lead the conversation with the family. Review: documentation, and how you would deliver palliation if that is the decision.

  2. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the staff specialist colleagueSAFER

    Your registrar has a leak after an anastomosis they performed under your supervision. What do you do?

    The patient first: resuscitation, the decision on theatre or drainage, and you there. Then honesty with the patient and family. Then the registrar: support, debrief, no blame. Then the morbidity and mortality presentation and your own reflection on the supervision.

  3. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the head of departmentSAFER

    You are on call, the emergency list has five cases and one theatre. How do you prioritise?

    Assess each case by urgency using the national classification, speak to the anaesthetist and the theatre coordinator, make the decisions, escalate for a second theatre if patients are being harmed, and tell the patients who are waiting why.

  4. Often askedUsually asked by the staff specialist colleagueSAFER

    A colleague's complication rate is higher than the department's. How do you approach it?

    Check the data and the case mix first. A private, collegial conversation. If there is a real concern, the clinical director and the trust's process, with the patients' safety first and support for the colleague.

  5. Often askedUsually asked by the head of departmentSAFER

    A patient asks to have their operation done by you rather than a trainee. How do you respond?

    Respect the request, explain how training and supervision work, and agree what will happen. Document it. Patient choice matters, and so does training; most patients are reassured by an honest explanation.

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.

  1. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the chief executive or general managerSYSTEM

    How would you help reduce the elective surgery waiting list here?

    The urgency categories and targets, theatre utilisation, day surgery rates, pre admission clinics, and the public and private split. Know the hospital's numbers and give one realistic change.

  2. Often askedUsually asked by the director of medical servicesSYSTEM

    How should emergency general surgery be organised in a hospital like this?

    A dedicated acute surgical unit, consultant presence, theatre access, and audit of outcomes. Give your view with evidence.

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.

  1. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the director of medical servicesSTARR

    Tell us about a complication you were responsible for and what you changed.

    Own it plainly: the patient, the disclosure, the review, the change and how you checked it held.

  2. Often askedUsually asked by the head of departmentSTARR

    What outcome measures would you use for your own practice, and how would you share them?

    National audits and registries, complications, readmissions, length of stay, patient reported outcomes, and openness about them in appraisal and the department.

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 surgery at this health service over the next five years.
  • Meeting elective surgery targets in general surgery.
  • Supporting surgical services across the district's rural sites.

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