Gastroenterology: Specialty Training Interview Questions

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 →
  • 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 →

Motivation

Point to things you have done rather than feelings you have: tasters, audits, courses, exams, conferences. Name what you will find hard, honestly. Know the curriculum, the stages and the exams, and have an answer for what you would do if unsuccessful this year.

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

    Why gastroenterology, and what have you done to show you are committed to it?

    Evidence: the rotation and what it confirmed, the endoscopy time, the audit, the course, the research. Say what each taught you about the job including the procedural side.

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

    What do you know about the gastroenterology curriculum, dual accreditation with internal medicine, and the endoscopy training requirements?

    Group 1 with the acute take, the length, the endoscopy certification requirements, the hepatology and nutrition and inflammatory bowel disease components, and the exams. Two accurate sentences, then what will be hardest.

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

    Which area of gastroenterology or hepatology interests you, and why?

    An area with reasons from what you have seen, and openness about how training may change it.

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

    Endoscopy training requires volume and the service is 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

Go to see the patient, assess with ABCDE, treat what can be treated, escalate early and clearly, and say what you would do afterwards. Assessors are scoring judgement, prioritisation and escalation rather than knowledge; a safe answer that asks for help early beats a clever one that does not.

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

    A patient with known varices presents with haematemesis and a blood pressure of 80. Talk us through your management.

    Resuscitate with blood rather than crystalloid, the major haemorrhage 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.

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

    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 stool cultures and the infection excluded, the bloods and the imaging, thromboprophylaxis, the daily review against the response criteria, the surgeons involved from day one, and the rescue therapy decision by day three. Say when you would call the surgeons for theatre.

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

    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. Say what would make you call intensive care.

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

    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 if it develops with the transplant centre called early. Say the criteria that would prompt the call.

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

    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 and the opportunistic organisms, the biologic withheld, the imaging, the infectious diseases involvement, and the reflection on the screening before the biologic was started.

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

    A patient presents with dysphagia and weight loss. What do you do?

    Oesophageal cancer until proven otherwise: the urgent endoscopy, the staging if confirmed, the upper gastrointestinal multidisciplinary team, the nutrition addressed, and the conversation with the patient. Say what else is in the differential.

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

    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 alcohol care team involved. Say what you would do if the patient wanted to leave.

System knowledge

Name three current pressures and link each to your specialty and your own experience. Know how your training is governed: the ARCP, the curriculum, the college and the GMC.

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

    What are the biggest challenges facing gastroenterology and hepatology services in the NHS, and how do they affect training?

    Endoscopy waiting times and the demand from screening and symptomatic referrals, the alcohol and obesity related liver disease burden, inflammatory bowel disease services, workforce, and the squeeze on training lists.

Governance, safety and quality

The problem, the measure, what you changed, the result and whether it lasted. Be clear about your own contribution. Know the definitions and be able to say which your project was.

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

    Tell us about an audit or QI project in gastroenterology and what changed.

    The problem, the standard, the measure, the change, the result, your part. If it was on bleeding management, endoscopy quality or alcohol care, say why it mattered.

Contribute to the bank

Recently interviewed? Tell us what you were asked. Every reported question goes into the ranking that decides which questions appear here and how often they come up in practice sessions.