Dermatology: Specialty Training Interview Questions Australia

The dermatology questions that sit on top of the specialty training core: clinical scenarios, the system and governance questions specific to the specialty, and presentation titles.

Updated 24 October 2026

The structures these questions are marked on

ETHICS Establish the facts and capacity, Think through the four pillars and name the tension, Hear the other side fairly, Identify two or three options, Choose a patient centred action with the next step, Safeguard and document. Full guide →
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 →

Motivation

Evidence of commitment over enthusiasm: rotations, courses, audits, exams sat. Know the programme's stages, exams and rural requirements. Say what you would bring to a rural site, not just that you are willing to go.

Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the head of department
Why dermatology, and what have you done over several years to show your commitment to it?
One message, three pieces of evidence with reflection: the attachments and what they taught you, the research and what it found, the outreach or teaching. Years of evidence, not months. Honesty about what you lack.
Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the staff specialist colleague
Tell us about your research and publications in dermatology and what they taught you.
The question, what you did, what it found, and what you learned about the process and the specialty. Your role stated accurately; the panel reads author lists. One or two outputs explained rather than a list.
Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the head of department
What do you know about the ACD training programme, its examinations and the rotations, including rural and public commitments?
The length, the examinations and when they fall, the rotations including rural and public hospital commitments, the supervision. Two accurate sentences, then what will be hardest.
Often askedUsually asked by the staff specialist colleague
Dermatology is one of the most competitive programmes. Why should we select you over the other candidates?
Evidence and a sentence on what you would bring: a research skill, a language, an outreach interest, a procedural aptitude. Not a comparison with others. Say what you would do if not selected, because most are not on the first attempt.
Often askedUsually asked by the head of department
Which areas of dermatology interest you, including procedural and public hospital work?
An area with reasons from what you have seen, with the public hospital and procedural work included. The faculties select for candidates who see dermatology as public and clinical rather than private and cosmetic.

Communication

One real conversation, stepped through, with the outcome. For the family refusing analgesia or treatment, explore the belief, involve an interpreter or cultural liaison, explain without pressure, and find the acceptable option. Practise ISBAR until it is automatic.

Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the staff specialist colleagueSPIKES
Explain to a patient that the lesion you removed was a melanoma and what happens next.
SPIKES: find out what they understand, a warning shot, the diagnosis in plain words, silence, then what happens next: the wide excision, the staging, the multidisciplinary pathway, the follow up and the prognosis in ranges. Do not fill the silence.
Often askedUsually asked by the head of departmentSPIKES
A teenager with severe acne is distressed and withdrawn. How do you approach the consultation?
Take the psychological burden seriously: ask about mood, school, friends, and what they have tried. Offer the effective treatments including isotretinoin where appropriate with its requirements, set expectations about timing, and arrange follow up. Involve the parents as the teenager wishes.

Ethics and professionalism

For the supervisor, stay professional, use the supervisor of training and the college channels, and keep patients safe. Define cultural safety as the patient's experience and give your own actions. Know mandatory notification and open disclosure.

Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the head of departmentETHICS
A patient asks you to prescribe isotretinoin without the required pregnancy counselling. What do you do?
Decline and explain why: the pregnancy prevention requirements exist because of the teratogenicity and they are not optional. Offer to do the counselling and the testing now, and say what you would do if the patient refused.
Often askedUsually asked by the independent chair or consumer representativeETHICS
How would you improve dermatology access for rural and Aboriginal patients?
Teledermatology, outreach clinics, training GPs and rural generalists, the particular burden of skin infection and skin cancer in Aboriginal and remote communities, partnership with the community controlled services, and data on who is not being seen. Say how you would measure the change.

Clinical scenario

Systematic assessment, treat what you can, escalate early and clearly even when the consultant is distant, use retrieval and telehealth where they apply, and say what you would do afterwards. A safe answer that asks for help beats a clever one that does not.

Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the head of departmentSAFER
A patient presents with a rapidly spreading blistering rash, mouth ulcers and fever after starting a new drug. What do you do?
A severe cutaneous adverse reaction until proven otherwise: the drug history with timing, the body surface area, the mucosal involvement, the systemic features. Stop the suspected drug and every non essential drug, admit, the supportive care a large burn needs, ophthalmology for the eyes, the dermatology consultant now, and intensive care for extensive involvement. Do not wait for a biopsy. Then the allergy recorded and the patient told.
Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the staff specialist colleagueSAFER
A patient presents with a changing pigmented lesion. How do you assess it and what do you do?
The history of change, the features, dermoscopy, and the decision to excise. Excision biopsy with the margins the guidelines set, the histology, staging if melanoma, the multidisciplinary pathway, and the conversation. Do not shave or sample a suspected melanoma.
Often askedUsually asked by the head of departmentSAFER
A patient with psoriasis has become erythrodermic. What are your concerns, and what do you do?
The skin has failed as an organ: fluid loss, temperature instability, protein loss, cardiac strain, sepsis risk. The cause sought, the observations and fluid status, admission, fluids and temperature control, emollients and topical treatment, infection watched for, and the consultant for the systemic decision. Say what you would stop.
Often askedUsually asked by the staff specialist colleagueSAFER
A child presents with a widespread itchy rash and a fever. What are your differentials?
The differentials that must not be missed: meningococcal disease, staphylococcal scalded skin, Kawasaki disease, drug reactions, the viral exanthems serious in the immunocompromised. Assess the child as a child: the observations, the capillary refill, the mucosa, the nodes. The paediatric team early.

System knowledge

Know the programme's requirements in detail. Name three current pressures and link each to your specialty. Be able to explain clinical governance and the standards most relevant to your work in a sentence each.

Often askedUsually asked by the head of departmentSYSTEM
What are the main challenges facing public dermatology services in Australia?
Public waiting lists and the shift of dermatologists to private practice, the skin cancer burden, the gap for rural and Aboriginal patients, the cost of biologics, and the workforce. Say what a trainee can do about one.

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