Core Surgical Training (CST) Interview Question Bank

The Medibuddy Core Surgical Training Question Bank includes over 45 scenarios that closely mirror the real interview, each with a model answer written and edited by high-scoring candidates who sat the Core Surgical Training interview.

However, knowing a strong answer isn't the same as delivering it well under pressure, which is why we provide:

Study Groups with candidates across the country
Unlimited Live Mocks with real people
Peer Feedback on your mocks from a wide range of candidates

Preparing doctors for interviews

Users of the Medibuddy Core Surgical Training Revision Platform have secured competitive training places in recent rounds. Ask around, there's a good chance the trainees in the year above you used us too.

Always up to date

Did you know the interviews change from year to year? That's why we review and update every Question Bank on the platform regularly, so you know you're always practising with scenarios based on the latest interview structure.

Network and practise real interview scenarios with other candidates

Question Bank

See every scenario, and how to answer it well

Over 45 scenarios across every interview theme, which tell you exactly how to respond to each question.

Study Groups

Connect with candidates across the country

Most people only ever practise with one or two friends. Study Groups connect you with candidates right across the country sitting the same Core Surgical Training interview.

Live MocksBeta

Practise interview technique with different candidates

Arrange or get matched on demand with other candidates and run real scenarios out loud under interview conditions. Those who practise with the widest range of people tend to score the highest.

Peer FeedbackBeta

Reviewed by candidates across the platform

Submit your recorded mocks to candidates across the platform and get honest, varied feedback. Reviewing other people's mocks teaches you just as much.

The question bank, and other candidates to practise with, all in one platform.

What candidates say

Scored well, secured their post

A few of the candidates who prepared with us for the Core Surgical Training interview.

Verified candidateInterviewed 2026

"The clinical scenarios were pitched exactly right. Having a structure ready meant I could work through a surgical emergency calmly under pressure."

Secured first-choice post

Verified candidateInterviewed 2026

"Practising the interpersonal and motivation questions out loud with other candidates was the single most useful thing I did before the day."

Ranked highly

Part 1 • See the questions

The Medibuddy Core Surgical Training Question Bank

The interview is tightly timed, so you have a limited window to deliver the high-scoring answers you need to do well. That means every point has to land, and knowing how to structure each answer is essential. That's why each of our 45-plus scenarios comes with a model answer, written by candidates who scored highly in the Core Surgical Training interview, so you know exactly how to approach every question the interviewers throw your way.

What's inside

What's included in the Core Surgical Training Question Bank

There's nothing worse than getting to the interview and being handed a scenario you've never seen before. The panel draws on clinical judgement, interpersonal and suitability themes, so the safest approach is to revise across all of them. We provide scenarios for every part of the interview, including the common ones and the more unusual cases that have come up before, so you don't get caught out.

Clinical Judgement

Surgical scenarios and emergencies where you play the SHO: assess, reason and manage safely, each with a worked answer showing how to structure your response, investigate appropriately and know when to escalate.

Interpersonal Skills

Realistic situations covering communication, teamwork, breaking bad news, managing conflict and working with colleagues, with structured model answers built on clear principles.

Suitability for Specialty Training

Your chance to show your motivation for surgery, your professional development and your achievements in audit, research and teaching, with example questions and model answers.

Reflecting how Core Surgical Training is really assessed

Our scenarios and model answers are written to reflect the current interview structure, across the clinical judgement, interpersonal and suitability themes.

Try it

Try an example Core Surgical Training question

You are the surgical SHO on call. A ward nurse asks you to review a 34-year-old woman who is one day post appendicectomy and has become tachycardic.

She is alert and answering fully, but has increasing abdominal pain that is not settling with her regular oral morphine.

Her observations: heart rate 110, blood pressure 110/75, temperature 37.5, respiratory rate 18, oxygen saturations 96% and GCS 15.

How would you approach this?

Question

How would you proceed?

Example answer

Worsening pain with tachycardia one day after an appendicectomy is a red flag, so I would start managing it over the phone and prepare before I arrive.

Ask the nurse to ensure intravenous access, prepare fluids and equipment for bloods, perform a 12-lead ECG and have the notes ready.
On my way I would think through the differentials: my main concern is an intra-abdominal collection or breakdown of the appendix stump, but I would also consider dehydration, venous thromboembolism and other sources of sepsis.
On arrival, an A to E assessment with a full set of repeated observations.
A focused history and examination of the abdomen and the wound, and a review of her operation note and post-operative course.

Question

On assessment she has guarding and rebound tenderness in the right iliac fossa. What investigations would you order?

Example answer

These findings raise my concern for an intra-abdominal collection or stump breakdown, so I would investigate for that while covering other causes.

Bedside: urine dip and sample, a wound swab, and a repeat ECG.
Bloods: full blood count, urea and electrolytes, liver function, clotting, group and save, blood cultures and a venous gas with lactate.
Imaging: a CT of the abdomen and pelvis to look for free fluid, a collection or stump breakdown, and a chest radiograph.
I would keep reassessing her with an A to E approach and start treating as I investigate.

Question

The CT shows an intra-abdominal abscess. How would you manage her now?

Example answer

This is a surgical patient with sepsis, so I would resuscitate her and involve my seniors early.

Reassess with A to E and action the Sepsis Six: oxygen to keep saturations 94 to 98%, intravenous access and cultures, intravenous broad-spectrum antibiotics per local guidelines, fluid resuscitation, and monitor urine output and lactate.
Request an urgent senior review: my registrar and the consultant on call.
Definitive options depend on the collection: image-guided percutaneous drainage by interventional radiology, or a return to theatre if that is not feasible or she does not improve.
Keep her nil by mouth, prescribe analgesia and antiemetics, and ensure clear documentation.

Question

What would you want to know before definitive management, and how would you escalate?

Example answer

I would gather the key operative detail and make sure the right people are involved and informed.

From the operation note: whether it was open or laparoscopic, the intra-operative findings, any contamination or rupture, how the stump was ligated, and whether antibiotics were given at induction.
Discuss the case directly with the surgical registrar and consultant, and involve interventional radiology or theatre as needed.
Explain to the patient what has been found and what happens next, and gain consent for any procedure.
Document clearly, hand over to the team, and arrange an appropriate level of monitoring.

That's one scenario. There are over 45 more.

Actively maintained

How we keep our Question Banks up to date

The Core Surgical Training interview changes from year to year, and the biggest fear for any candidate is getting to interview day and realising you've revised with a question bank that's totally outdated.

That's why we review and update every Question Bank regularly, so you know you're revising with scenarios that are likely to come up, aligned with current surgical practice and the Core Surgical Training recruitment process.

Our scenarios and model answers are kept aligned with the current interview structure, across the clinical judgement, interpersonal and suitability themes, so you always practise with the format the panel is using now.

Updated for the latest interviews

Part 2 • Practise them live

The only interview resource where you can practise live with other candidates from across the country

Our Core Surgical Training Question Bank tells you exactly how to answer real interview scenarios. But how you practise with them will determine how many marks you score. Simply reading answers off a screen won't prepare you for the intense scrutiny you'll face in the interview. And only practising with the same few colleagues or friends limits the amount of feedback you'll get. Medibuddy gives you unique access to Core Surgical Training candidates across the country, so you can learn from a variety of perspectives and hear a far wider range of feedback than your own circle could ever give you.

Study Groups

When you prepare in isolation, you're relying on your own interpretation of the interview process, which is one of the quickest ways to get found out on the day. Study Groups connect you with other doctors across the country who are also applying to Core Surgical Training, so you can engage and network with people preparing for the same interview as you. Everyone brings different experience from different hospitals, meaning you won't ever miss out on the key bits of information that could swing the interview in your favour.

Live MocksBeta

Candidates who don't take part in mocks often struggle to adapt to the pressure of the interview. Your knowledge might be correct, but without convincing delivery the interviewers will score you poorly. The best way to improve your delivery is to take part in as many live mocks as possible, which is why we haven't put a cap on how many you can do. We also know how difficult it can be to organise mocks with other people, so all you have to do is join the waiting room and we'll match you with a different Core Surgical Training candidate each time. Take turns as both the interviewer and candidate on real Question Bank scenarios, so you can see exactly how other candidates perform in real time, while refining your own interview technique.

Peer FeedbackBeta

Preparing alone means you won't know how you're coming across during the interview. And preparing with the same few candidates means you'll miss opportunities to improve, which is why it's so important to get as many opinions as possible on your performance. With Medibuddy, you can record a mock and submit it for feedback from other candidates on the platform, so you receive a wider range of feedback and refine your answers with each person you practise with. Reviewing other people's mocks is just as valuable, as it shows you how strong candidates handle the same scenarios, which is one of the fastest ways to improve.

The interview