Vascular surgery: Specialty Training Interview Questions
The vascular surgery 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 vascular surgery, and what have you done to prepare for higher training in it?
Evidence: the core rotations, the vascular experience including the endovascular work, the courses, the MRCS, the research, the audit. Say what each taught you and whether open or endovascular work draws you more and why.
- Asked in most interviewsUsually asked by the clinical director or clinical lead
What do you know about the vascular surgery curriculum, the endovascular training, and the exams?
The length, the open and endovascular components, the venous and the diabetic foot work, the FRCS, the indicative numbers, and the arrangements for the network's centralised service. Two accurate sentences, then what will be hardest.
- Often askedUsually asked by the consultant colleague in the specialty
Vascular surgery has centralised into networks with heavy on call. How will you sustain a career in it?
A real strategy for the on call across the network, the balance of open and endovascular and clinic work, 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 75 year old presents with sudden abdominal and back pain, a pulsatile mass and a blood pressure of 85. What do you do?
A ruptured aneurysm until proven otherwise: permissive hypotension, the massive haemorrhage protocol, the vascular consultant and the anaesthetist now, the CT if the patient can tolerate it to plan endovascular repair, and theatre or the hybrid suite. Say what you would tell the family and that the decision is made in minutes.
A patient presents with a painful, pale, cold leg with no pulses for four hours. What do you do?
Acute limb ischaemia: the category assessed, anticoagulation, analgesia, the consultant now, the imaging the team want, and the embolectomy or the bypass or the thrombolysis by the cause and the category. Say the signs that mean the limb is not salvageable and what that means for the patient.
A patient with diabetes presents with a foot ulcer, cellulitis and a temperature. What do you do?
The sepsis bundle, antibiotics by the guideline, the probe to bone, the imaging, the vascular assessment with the ankle pressures and the duplex, the debridement and the drainage in theatre if there is pus, and the multidisciplinary diabetic foot team. Say what would make you consider amputation and how you would discuss it.
A patient with a transient ischaemic attack has a 70 percent carotid stenosis. What do you do?
The carotid endarterectomy within the pathway's window, the antiplatelet and the risk factors addressed now, the stroke team, and the consent conversation about the risks and the benefits. Say what would make you delay or decline surgery.
A patient after an aortic repair has a falling blood pressure and a distended abdomen on the ward. What do you do?
Bleeding until proven otherwise: resuscitate, the massive haemorrhage protocol, the consultant now, the CT if stable, and theatre or endovascular control. Say what else is in the differential including the abdominal compartment syndrome.
A patient with a dialysis fistula presents with a bleeding fistula. What do you do?
Direct pressure, the bleeding controlled, the bloods, the renal team, the fistula assessed for the cause including infection and aneurysm, and theatre if it does not stop. Say that the fistula is the patient's life and the decision to sacrifice it is made with the renal team.
A patient presents with a swollen, blue leg and severe pain. What do you do?
Phlegmasia until proven otherwise: anticoagulation, the leg elevated, the duplex, the interventional radiology and vascular decision about thrombolysis or thrombectomy, and the fasciotomy considered if the limb is threatened. Say what would make you act tonight.
A patient with critical limb ischaemia is not a candidate for revascularisation. How do you approach the conversation about amputation?
SPIKES with the reality explained plainly, the alternatives including palliation, the rehabilitation and the prosthetics team involved early, the patient's goals, and the consultant present for the decision. Say what you would do if the patient refused.
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 vascular surgery in the NHS, and how do they affect training?
The centralisation into networks and the travel it creates, the aneurysm screening programme, the diabetic foot burden, the endovascular shift and its effect on open training, the workforce, and the effect on training lists. Link each to what you have seen.