Specialty Training Interview Questions

1. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialty

   When did you first realise you wanted to do your specialty?

   A specific moment, a case or a rotation, told briefly, then what you did afterwards to test the decision. Assessors score the evidence of commitment that followed the realisation, not the realisation itself.

2. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialty

   What have you done to demonstrate your commitment to your specialty?

   List three things you did on purpose: a taster, an audit in the specialty, a course, an exam sat early, a conference, a society membership. For each, say what it taught you. Commitment is scored on actions, not feelings.

3. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical lead

   Talk us through your training to date and what has prepared you for this post.

   Pick the parts of your training that map to this post, including the hardest rotation and what it taught you. Keep it to two minutes. End on what you still need to learn, which shows insight and leads into the programme question.

4. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialty

   Why do you think you are suited to your specialty, and what might you find difficult about it?

   Two or three qualities with evidence, then an honest difficulty: the out of hours load, the emotional weight, the exam burden, the procedural learning curve. A candidate who finds nothing difficult reads as unprepared.

5. Often askedUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical lead

   Why this region, and what do you know about the training programme here?

   Name real features of the programme: the hospitals, the rotations, the subspecialty exposure, the teaching, the exam support. Say why they suit you. Panels can tell a candidate who has read the programme page from one who has not.

6. Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialty

   What would you do if you were not successful this year?

   A calm plan that strengthens the next application: a post in the specialty, the exam, a focused audit, more acute experience. Say you would seek feedback on this interview. The question tests whether commitment survives a setback.

7. Often askedUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical lead

   What are your strengths, and what is a weakness you are working on?

   A strength with an example that shows it, and a real weakness with the step you are taking to improve. Avoid the weakness that is a strength in disguise; assessors have heard perfectionism a thousand times.

8. Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialty

   What do you know about the your specialty curriculum and the exams you will need to pass?

   The stages, the length, the exams and when they fall, the capabilities in practice, and how progress is assessed. Two sentences is enough, but they must be accurate. Then say how you would fit the exams around full time work.

1. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadSTARR

   Tell us about a time you worked well in a team. What was your contribution?

   STARR with your contribution clear: what the team needed and what you provided. Include what a nurse or allied health colleague contributed. A line on what you learned about when to lead and when to follow finishes it well.

2. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadSTARR

   Tell us about a time you led a team or took charge of a situation.

   An example at your level where you took charge: an arrest call before the registrar arrived, a ward round that was falling apart, a rota problem. Say what you decided, how you communicated it and the outcome. Reflect on what you would do differently.

3. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialtySTARR

   What makes a good team in a clinical setting?

   Shared goals, clear roles, psychological safety, communication that is structured, and respect across professions. Give one example of a team that worked and one that did not, and say what the difference was.

4. Often askedUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadSTARR

   Describe a time you had a disagreement with a colleague and how it was resolved.

   A real disagreement, addressed early and in private, with the focus on the issue and the patient rather than the person. Say how it was resolved and what the relationship was afterwards. Avoid disagreements where you were plainly right.

5. Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialtySTARR

   Tell us about a time you had to delegate.

   An example where you delegated with clear instructions, checked it was done, and supported the person. Say what you learned about delegating well, including what you would not delegate.

6. Often askedUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadSTARR

   How do you work with nursing staff when you are the most junior doctor on the ward?

   With respect and curiosity: they know the ward, the patients and the systems better than you. Describe asking for their view, acting on it, and being reliable. Give one example of a nurse who taught you something that mattered.

1. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialtySPIKES

   Tell us about a difficult conversation you have had with a patient or relative.

   One real conversation stepped through with SPIKES: the setting, what they already knew, what they wanted to know, how you gave the information, how you responded to the emotion, and the plan. Say what you would do differently.

2. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadSBAR

   How do you hand over a sick patient to a senior colleague?

   SBAR in about forty seconds: who the patient is and the one line problem, the relevant background, your assessment of how unwell they are, and what you want the senior to do, stated plainly. Practise it until it is automatic.

3. Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialtySTARR

   Tell us about a time your communication prevented a problem.

   An example where structured communication avoided harm: a handover that caught a missed result, a read back on a drug dose, a conversation that defused a complaint. Say what you did differently from the norm.

4. Often askedUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadSTARR

   How do you adapt your communication for a frightened patient, or one who does not speak English?

   Slow down, sit down, plain words, small pieces, check understanding with teach back. For a patient who does not speak English, a professional interpreter and never a family member for anything clinical. One example makes it real.

5. Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialtySTARR

   Tell us about a time you had to give difficult feedback or raise a concern with someone senior.

   A real example where you raised a concern upwards, how you prepared, what you said, and the outcome. Panels score the courage and the method: private, factual, patient focused, and escalated if ignored.

1. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadGIBBS

   Tell us about a mistake you made and what you learned from it.

   Own a real mistake plainly, say what you did at the time including telling the patient and your senior, and what you changed afterwards. The worst answer has no mistake in it. The second worst blames someone else.

2. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialtyGIBBS

   Tell us about a case or event that changed your practice.

   One case told briefly, then the change: what you do differently now and how you know it stuck. Assessors score the concreteness of the change, not the drama of the case.

3. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadGIBBS

   How do you cope with pressure? Give us an example of a time you were under pressure and what you did.

   Name your own warning signs, then the strategies you actually use: prioritising, asking for help early, sleep, exercise, talking to someone. Then one example of a pressured situation and what you did. Avoid claiming to thrive on stress.

4. Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialtyGIBBS

   Tell us about a time you received difficult feedback and what you did with it.

   The feedback, how it felt, what you did with it, and the change that followed. Assessors score the absence of defensiveness and the evidence of change. Say how you now seek feedback.

5. Often askedUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadGIBBS

   Tell us about a time you felt out of your depth. What did you do?

   An honest example: a situation beyond your competence, how you recognised it, and how you got help. Panels want to hear that you know your limits and act on them, which is the opposite of weakness.

6. Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialtyGIBBS

   How do you look after your own wellbeing on a busy rotation?

   Practical and specific: sleep on nights, exercise, time with people outside medicine, saying no when overloaded, the support available at work. Mention how you would notice if it was not working.

7. Often askedUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadGIBBS

   What is reflective practice, and how do you use it?

   A structured habit, not a buzzword: a model such as Gibbs, when you use it, and one example of a reflection that changed what you do. Say how it fits with the portfolio requirement without being only a portfolio exercise.

1. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadETHICS

   You discover a drug error on the ward that no one else has noticed. What do you do?

   Patient safety first: assess the patient and treat any harm. Then tell your senior, complete the incident report, and make sure the patient is told under the duty of candour. Then support the colleague who made it. Say what you would do if a senior told you not to report it.

2. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialtyETHICS

   A patient with capacity refuses a treatment you believe they need. How do you approach it?

   Confirm capacity, make sure the refusal is informed, explore the reasons, offer alternatives, involve a senior, document carefully and respect the decision while leaving the door open. Say what changes if capacity is in doubt.

3. Often askedUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadETHICS

   A colleague appears unwell or intoxicated at work. What do you do?

   Patient safety first: they must not see patients, and you say so kindly and remove them from the clinical area. Then tell a senior. Support the colleague and keep it confidential. Say what you would do if they refused to stop.

4. Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialtyETHICS

   What does the duty of candour mean in practice for a junior doctor?

   Being open with a patient when something has gone wrong: telling them, apologising, explaining what happened and what will be done. For a junior doctor it means reporting the incident, telling your senior, and being present for the conversation. Give an example if you have one.

5. Often askedUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadETHICS

   A consultant asks you to do something you believe is unsafe. What do you do?

   Clarify what is being asked and why, say what your concern is, and ask for the reasoning. If still unsafe, decline politely, document, and escalate to another senior. Patient safety comes before hierarchy. Say how you would keep the relationship afterwards.

6. Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialtyETHICS

   How do you maintain patient confidentiality when a relative asks you for information?

   Check what the patient has agreed can be shared, explain to the relative that you need the patient's permission, and offer to ask the patient. Say what changes if the patient lacks capacity or if the information is needed to keep them safe.

1. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadSAFER

   You are the SHO on call. A ward nurse fast bleeps you because a patient has vomited a large volume of fresh red blood. Describe how you would approach this.

   • Follow-up: The blood pressure is 85 systolic and the patient is drowsy. What now?

   ABCDE, oxygen, two large bore cannulas, bloods and crossmatch, fluids and then blood, stop anticoagulants, call the registrar early and the gastroenterology and anaesthetic teams, and keep the nurse and the patient informed. When the pressure is 80 and he is drowsy, it is a major haemorrhage call and the senior comes now.

2. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadSAFER

   You are asked to review a patient two days after surgery who is breathless with a fast pulse. Talk us through your approach.

   • Follow-up: Who do you call, and what do you tell them?

   ABCDE, oxygen, observations and their trend, examine the chest and the legs, ECG, bloods and a gas, chest imaging, treat what you find, and think of the embolus, the pneumonia and the bleed. Escalate with SBAR and say what you want the registrar to do.

3. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadSAFER

   A patient on the ward collapses and you are the first doctor there. What do you do?

   Call for help and the arrest trolley, check responsiveness and breathing, start chest compressions if there is no pulse, follow the algorithm, delegate roles as the team arrives, and hand over to the team leader. Afterwards, the family, the documentation and the debrief.

4. Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialtySAFER

   You are managing a deteriorating patient and the registrar is not answering. What do you do?

   Keep treating with ABCDE, bleep again and use the switchboard to find the registrar, and escalate past them: the consultant on call, the critical care outreach team, or an arrest call if the patient is peri arrest. Say what you would do about the unanswered bleep afterwards.

5. Often askedUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadSAFER

   A patient becomes agitated and wants to leave against advice. How do you handle it?

   Assess capacity, find out why they want to go, address what can be addressed, explain the risks plainly, involve a senior, and if they have capacity and still leave, make it as safe as possible and document. If they lack capacity, the law allows you to keep them safe. Never physically restrain alone.

6. Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialtySAFER

   You have three unwell patients and one of you. How do you prioritise?

   Triage by acuity using the observations, see the sickest first, delegate the simple tasks to the nurses, and escalate early for help with the others. Say what you would ask each person to do and when you would review the other two.

7. Often askedUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadSAFER

   The nurse tells you a patient has received a medication meant for someone else. What do you do?

   Assess the patient for harm from the drug and treat it, tell your senior, complete the incident report, make sure the patient is told, and check the patient who was meant to receive it. Support the nurse. Say what the duty of candour requires and who has the conversation.

1. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadSYSTEM

   What challenges does the NHS face at the moment, and how do they affect your specialty?

   Three pressures linked to your specialty and to what you have seen: workforce and rota gaps, waiting lists, winter and flow, industrial action, the shift of care to the community. Say what a trainee can do about one of them.

2. Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialtySYSTEM

   What do you understand by clinical governance?

   The system by which organisations keep care safe and improve it: audit, incident reporting and learning, guidelines, training, patient feedback and risk management. Give one example of each part you have taken part in.

3. Often askedUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadSYSTEM

   What is the GMC's role in your training?

   The regulator: it sets the standards in Good Medical Practice, approves the curriculum, and holds the register. For you it means the standards you are assessed against and the route if things go wrong. Mention revalidation briefly.

4. Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialtySYSTEM

   How does the ARCP work, and what will you need to show?

   The annual review of competence progression: the panel reviews your portfolio against the curriculum, with outcomes from satisfactory progress to extra time or release. Say what evidence you will need: workplace based assessments, supervisor reports, teaching, audit, exams.

1. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadSTARR

   Tell us about an audit or quality improvement project you have completed and what changed.

   The problem, the standard, the measure, what you changed, the result and whether it lasted. Be clear about your own part. Numbers make this answer; vague improvement does not.

2. Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialtySTARR

   What is the difference between audit, research and quality improvement?

   Audit measures practice against a standard; research creates new knowledge; quality improvement changes a process and measures the effect. Say which yours was and when ethics approval is needed.

3. Often askedUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadSTARR

   Tell us about an incident you reported and what happened as a result.

   A real report, what you reported, what came back, and whether anything changed. If nothing came back, say so and what you did. Panels want to hear that you report routinely and follow up.

4. Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialtySTARR

   How would you go about improving something you noticed was not working on the ward?

   Define the problem, measure it, involve the people who do the work, test a small change, measure again, and spread it. Give one example, however small. Mention who you would need on side.

1. Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadSTARR

   Tell us about teaching you have done and what you learned from it.

   What you taught, to whom, how you planned it, how you knew it worked and what feedback you got. One example in depth beats a list. Say what you would do differently next time.

2. Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialtySTARR

   What research or publications have you been involved in?

   Honest and specific: your role, the question, what it found, and what you learned about the process. If you have none, say what you have done instead and why research matters to the specialty.

3. Often askedUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical leadSTARR

   Which is more important for a trainee, teaching or research? Why?

   There is no right answer; the panel wants reasoning. Both matter to patients, teaching changes practice sooner and research changes it further. Say which you are drawn to and why, with an example, and acknowledge the other.

4. Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialtySTARR

   How do you plan to prepare for your college exams alongside full time work?

   A realistic plan: a timetable, study leave, a course, a study group, the exam's structure, and protecting rest. Say how you have managed exams alongside work before. Avoid implying it will be easy.

Questions for this topic are being written.