Gastroenterology: Specialty Training Interview Questions Australia
The gastroenterology 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 head of department
Why gastroenterology, and why this unit?
Evidence: the gastroenterology terms, the endoscopy time, the research, the audit. Then this unit: its endoscopy volume, its hepatology and inflammatory bowel disease services, its research, in terms that show homework.
- Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the staff specialist colleague
What do you know about advanced training in gastroenterology, the endoscopy requirements and the hepatology component?
The length, the endoscopy certification requirements and the conjoint committee, the hepatology and nutrition and inflammatory bowel disease components, the research project, and the assessments. Two accurate sentences, then what will be hardest.
- Often askedUsually asked by the head of department
Endoscopy training requires volume and the lists are under pressure. How would you make sure you get the training you need?
The requirements known, the lists negotiated, the logbook kept, the supervisor's support, and the honesty to say when training is being squeezed by service.
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 with known varices presents with haematemesis and a blood pressure of 80. Talk us through your management.
Resuscitate with blood, the massive transfusion protocol, terlipressin and antibiotics, the airway considered, the endoscopy within the window with the anaesthetist, and the balloon tamponade and the transjugular shunt if endoscopy fails. Say who you would call and in what order, and what you would do in a hospital without a shunt service.
A patient with ulcerative colitis is admitted with ten bloody stools a day, a temperature and a heart rate of 110. What do you do?
Acute severe colitis by the criteria: intravenous steroids, the infection excluded, the bloods and the imaging, thromboprophylaxis, the daily review, the surgeons involved from day one, and the rescue therapy decision by day three. Say when you would call the surgeons for theatre.
A patient with cirrhosis is admitted confused and drowsy. What do you do?
Hepatic encephalopathy with a precipitant to find: infection including the ascitic tap, bleeding, drugs, constipation, electrolytes. The lactulose, the treatment of the precipitant, the airway considered, and the discussion about the ceiling of care and transplant candidacy with the transplant centre. Say what would make you call intensive care.
A 40 year old presents with jaundice and a markedly raised ALT. How do you approach it?
The history including drugs, alcohol and travel, the liver screen, the ultrasound, the clotting and the encephalopathy watched for, and the recognition of acute liver failure with the transplant centre called early. Say the criteria that would prompt the call.
A patient with Crohn's disease on a biologic presents with fever and a cough. What do you do?
Infection in the immunosuppressed: the full screen including tuberculosis, the biologic withheld, the imaging, the infectious diseases involvement, and the reflection on the screening before the biologic.
A patient is admitted with alcohol withdrawal and a history of seizures. What do you do?
The withdrawal scale and the benzodiazepine regimen, thiamine before glucose, the seizure plan, the delirium tremens watched for, the liver assessed, and the drug and alcohol team. Say what you would do if the patient wanted to leave.
A patient presents with dysphagia and weight loss. What do you do?
Oesophageal cancer until proven otherwise: the urgent endoscopy, the staging, the multidisciplinary team, the nutrition addressed, and the conversation. Say what else is in the differential.
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 main pressures on gastroenterology and hepatology in Australian public hospitals, and how do they affect this unit?
Endoscopy waiting lists and the bowel cancer screening demand, the fatty liver and alcohol related disease burden, hepatitis B and C in Aboriginal and migrant communities, inflammatory bowel disease services, workforce, and the effect on training. Link each to this unit.