Ear nose and throat: Specialty Training Interview Questions Australia
The ear nose and throat 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 28 October 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 →
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 staff specialist colleague
Why otolaryngology, and what have you done to prepare for SET?
Evidence: the terms, the clinic and theatre experience, the courses, the examination, the research, the audit. Say what each taught you and which area draws you: head and neck, otology, rhinology, paediatrics.
- Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the head of department
What do you know about the otolaryngology SET programme, its examinations, the rotations and the research requirement?
The length, the rural rotations, the examinations, the logbook, the research requirement and the subspecialty exposure. Two accurate sentences, then what will be hardest.
- Often askedUsually asked by the staff specialist colleague
The specialty combines microsurgery, head and neck cancer and a large paediatric load. How will you develop across all three?
The skills for each named, the training that builds them, the subspecialty you would lean toward and why, and the honesty about which you will find hardest.
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.
A patient presents with stridor, drooling and a muffled voice. What do you do?
An airway emergency: do not examine the throat or lie the patient down, call the anaesthetist and the consultant now, oxygen, the nebulised adrenaline and the steroids, and theatre for the airway secured by the most experienced person with a surgical airway ready. Say what you would do in a regional hospital.
A child swallows a button battery. What do you do?
An emergency with the clock running: the X ray now, the battery removed within hours if in the oesophagus, the honey or sucralfate while waiting by the guideline, theatre with the consultant, and the complications watched for afterwards. Say what you would tell the parents.
A patient presents with a sudden profuse nosebleed and a blood pressure of 90. What do you do?
Resuscitate, the pressure and the ice, the examination with suction and the anterior packing, the posterior pack if it continues, the bloods and the anticoagulants reviewed, the consultant and theatre or interventional radiology if the packs fail. Say what you would tell the patient.
A patient with a neck lump and weight loss presents to the clinic. How do you approach it?
Head and neck cancer until proven otherwise: the full examination including the nasendoscopy, the fine needle aspiration, the imaging, the multidisciplinary team, and the honest conversation. Say what would make you refer urgently.
A patient after a thyroidectomy has a swelling neck and difficulty breathing on the ward. What do you do?
A haematoma compressing the airway: call for help, open the wound at the bedside if the airway is threatened, oxygen, the anaesthetist and the consultant, and theatre for exploration. Say the kit that should be at the bedside after every thyroidectomy.
A child with recurrent ear infections and hearing loss is referred. How do you assess and manage them?
The history and the examination, the audiology and the tympanometry, the watchful waiting versus grommets decision by the guideline, the adenoids considered, and the conversation with the parents about the evidence.
A patient presents with sudden sensorineural hearing loss. What do you do?
An emergency for the ear: the examination and the audiogram now, the steroids started by the guideline, the magnetic resonance imaging arranged, and the consultant. Say the time window and what you would tell the patient.
A child with a peritonsillar abscess presents to a regional hospital. What do you do?
The airway assessed, the antibiotics, the aspiration or the incision and drainage under the right conditions for a child, the fluids, and the retrieval to a centre with paediatric anaesthesia if the airway is at risk. Say what you would do if the child could not open their mouth.
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.
What are the biggest challenges facing otolaryngology in Australian public hospitals, and how do they affect training?
The paediatric waiting lists for grommets and tonsils, the head and neck cancer pathways, theatre access, the Aboriginal ear health burden, the regional workforce, and the effect on training. Link each to what you have seen.