Urology: Specialty Training Interview Questions
The urology 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
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.
- Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialty
Why urology, and what have you done to prepare for higher training in it?
Evidence: the core rotations, the urology experience, the endoscopic and open procedures, the courses, the MRCS, the research, the audit. Say what each taught you and which area interests you.
- Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical lead
What do you know about the urology curriculum, the subspecialty areas and the exams?
The length, the areas in oncology, stones, functional, andrology, paediatrics and reconstruction, the FRCS, and the indicative numbers. Two accurate sentences, then what will be hardest.
- Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialty
Urology combines cancer care, benign disease and a heavy emergency load. How will you sustain a career across all three?
A real strategy for the on call and the load, the balance of the subspecialties, life outside, and what you would do if you noticed the signs of burnout.
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.
A patient presents with loin pain, a fever and an obstructing ureteric stone on CT. What do you do?
An infected obstructed kidney is an emergency: the sepsis bundle, antibiotics, the bloods, and decompression now by nephrostomy or stent with the consultant and the radiologist, before any definitive stone treatment. Say what would make you choose one route over the other.
A 25 year old presents with sudden severe testicular pain for two hours. What do you do?
Torsion until proven otherwise: theatre now for exploration with the consultant, no delay for imaging, the consent including the possibility of orchidectomy and fixation of both sides. Say what you would tell the patient and his parents.
A patient with a traumatic bladder injury after a pelvic fracture has blood at the meatus. What do you do?
No catheter until the urethra is assessed: the retrograde urethrogram, the suprapubic catheter if needed, the cystogram for the bladder, and the trauma team. Say what would make you suspect an intraperitoneal rupture and how it is managed.
A patient with gross haematuria and clot retention arrives in the emergency department. What do you do?
The three way catheter and the irrigation, the washout, the bloods and the transfusion if needed, the cause sought with the cystoscopy and the imaging, and the anticoagulants reviewed. Say what would make you take the patient to theatre.
A 70 year old man presents with a PSA of 45 and bone pain. How do you approach it?
Metastatic prostate cancer until proven otherwise: the examination, the imaging, the biopsy decision, the multidisciplinary team, the androgen deprivation started if the spinal cord is at risk or the pain demands it, and the honest conversation with the patient. Say what would make the bone pain an emergency.
A patient has priapism for six hours. What do you do?
Ischaemic priapism until proven otherwise: the aspiration and the irrigation with the alpha agonist, the bloods and the cause sought including sickle cell and drugs, the shunt if aspiration fails, and the honesty about the risk to erectile function. Say the time pressure.
A patient after a nephrectomy has a falling haemoglobin and a rising heart rate on the ward. What do you do?
Bleeding until proven otherwise: resuscitate, the bloods and crossmatch, the imaging if stable, the consultant now, and the decision between interventional radiology and theatre. Say what you would tell the patient and the family.
A patient with a renal transplant presents with fever and reduced urine output. What do you do?
The transplant team involved immediately, the infection and the rejection and the obstruction considered, the bloods and the ultrasound, the immunosuppression reviewed, and the biopsy if indicated. Say that you would not manage this alone.
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.
What are the biggest challenges facing urology in the NHS, and how do they affect training?
The cancer pathway targets and the prostate diagnostic pathway, the stone and benign waiting lists, theatre productivity, the emergency workload, the workforce, and the effect on training. Link each to what you have seen.