Interview overview | st4cardiology

Overview of the interview process for ST4 Cardiology

Cardiology recruitment has changed from face-to-face to online assessment since 2021. In addition, since 2023 recruitment, slight changes have been implemented in the stations that are being assessed.

The interview process is structured into two distinct stations. At each station, candidates will be evaluated by a pair of interviewers. The evaluation encompasses a series of five questions, with durations varying from 5 to 13 minutes per question. Assessment criteria include the responses to these questions as well as the candidates' proficiency in communication skills, culminating in six scored dimensions overall. Below, the areas of inquiry are delineated, specifying the station at which they will be addressed and the aspects that will be assessed.

Each station is allocated a duration of 22 minutes. Taking into account the intermission period between stations, the entire interview process is anticipated to span approximately 50 to 55 minutes.

Interview questions:

1. Station 1 - Question 1 - Suitability and Commitment:

This station will take roughly 10 minutes. It focuses on your dedication to training in Cardiology and provides you with the opportunity to elaborate on the information provided in your application.

The usual starting question:

Walk me through your application/CV.
Why should we offer you an NTN?
What, in your opinion, qualifies you for a career in Cardiology?
How do you meet the person’s specifications for this role?

You must have a thorough understanding of your application and be able to explain the various sections involved, such as QIP, research, teaching experience, management, and leadership.

2. Station 1 - Question 2 - Medical registrar suitability:

This is a new station that has been introduced in 2022 recruitment and in line with the mandatory dual accreditation with GIM.

The station will assess the non-clinical aspects of being a medical registrar, focusing on two of the Capabilities in Practice (CiPs) from the Internal Medicine Stage 1 Curriculum:

Managing an acute unselected take.
Managing a multi-disciplinary team including effective discharge planning.

You need to have prepared examples demonstrating those capabilities. This station will last approximately 7 minutes.

3. Station 1 - Question 3 - Professionalism and governance:

This station is often prompted by a brief ethical scenario, followed by relevant questions in professionalism and clinical governance.

Typically, you will be required to provide examples of professional issues you have encountered, such as mistakes, conflicts, or difficult coworkers, and how you demonstrated professional integrity.

This station will last approximately 5 minutes.

4. Station 2 - Question 1 - Clinical Scenario 1:

It starts by showing a clinical scenario on the screen for you to read for 3 minutes. Typically, the clinical scenario is about an emergency/acute case, and you are often shown an ECG to describe, followed by questions related to the scenario. Despite the fact that it is a clinical station, your communication skills will be evaluated. You might be asked on ho

You will be asked questions about this scenario for approximately 13 minutes.

5. Station 2 - Question 2 - Clinical scenario 2:

After the initial clinical scenario, you will be presented with a second scenario without prior notice, delivered verbally by the interviewers. This will involve a discussion lasting about 9 minutes.

Like the first, this scenario will outline a hypothetical clinical situation requiring your involvement. It is often a non-emergency case (e.g., in clinic setting). In preparing for discussion, consider the actions you would take, possible treatments, additional information needed, and your communication approach with involved individuals (e.g., patients, family, colleagues). Apply your experience and professional judgement to evaluate any other relevant factors.

Top tips for the clinical stations:

The clinical stations assess your knowledge of common acute and chronic presentations.
Use a systematic approach and start from the basics, like using ABC protocol, history taking, physical examination, basic initial tests. Don’t jump into sophisticated investigations or procedures during your initial assessment.
Keep patient safety at the heart of your answers.
Demonstrate your awareness of clinical guidelines (like NICE, ESC), risk-scoring systems for diseases and relevant clinical trials in order to score highly.

6. Station 2 - Question 3 - Communication mark:

This is not an actual station. Rather, you will be evaluated and scored based on the communication skills you demonstrate throughout the interview.

This will be an evaluation of how well you communicate with interviewers throughout all inquiries, as well as how well you communicate with patients, colleagues, etc. in the scenarios.

What to expect on the day of the interview:

The interview will be conducted online using Microsoft Teams or Zoom.

When you first enter the interview, you will be greeted by a member of the recruitment administration team who will complete your ID check and will also ask you to show the room you are in, to ensure that you are alone and no other devices are available.

Once your ID has been checked, you will be passed over to the interview panel where your interview will start.

Approximately halfway through your interview, you will be shown a clinical scenario on the screen for you to read for 3 minutes, and then the interview will continue.

At the end of the interview, the recruitment administrator will let you know that the interview is over and will ask you to leave the call.

Scoring framework: (taken from www.phstrecruitment.org.uk)


Mark	Rating	Assessment
1	Poor	Not considered appointable
2	Area for concern	Performed below the level expected from a core level trainee applying to the specialty; possibly unappointable, subject to discussion and performance in other areas
3	Satisfactory	Performed at the level expected of a core level trainee applying to the specialty; the candidate is suitable for a higher specialty training post
4	Good	Above average ability; the candidate is suitable for a higher specialty training post
5	excellent	Highly performing trainee; the candidate is suitable for a higher specialty training post

Based on an analysis of previous interview data, in order to receive an offer, a candidate must receive a minimum score of four from each interviewer at each station.

Total scoring: (taken from www.phstrecruitment.org.uk)


	Interviewer 1	Interviewer 2	Weighting	Max score
Question 1
Suitability and commitment	/5	/5	1.6	16
Question 2
Medical registrar suitability	/5	/5	1.2	12
Question 3
Professionalism & governance	/5	/5	1.6	16
Question 4
Clinical scenario 1	/5	/5	1.6	16
Question 5
Clinical scenario 2	/5	/5	1.2	12
Question 6
Communication mark	/5	/5		8
Raw interview score	/50

Interview score (w weighting)				/80

Application score	/50		0.4	/20

Total score				/100

Please refer to www.phstrecruitment.org.uk for further details. Wish you the best of luck!