Emergency Medicine CSTEM Interview Question Bank – Medibuddy Ireland
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Emergency Medicine CSTEM • Ireland

The Emergency Medicine CSTEM Interview Revision Platform: Question Bank, Live Practice and Mocks with Other Candidates

The Medibuddy Emergency Medicine CSTEM Question Bank includes over 50 scenarios that closely mirror the real interview, each with a model answer written and edited by high-scoring candidates who sat the Emergency Medicine CSTEM 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 Emergency Medicine CSTEM 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 50 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 Emergency Medicine CSTEM 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.

Emergency Medicine CSTEM Revision Platform • €105

Gain access to over 50 scenarios across every theme, and collaborate with other candidates through Study Groups, Live Mocks and Peer Feedback.
Get instant access
What candidates say

Scored well, secured their post

A few of the candidates who prepared with us for the Emergency Medicine CSTEM interview.

Verified candidateInterviewed 2026
"The clinical scenarios were pitched exactly right. Having a structure ready meant I could work through a trauma call calmly under pressure."
Secured first-choice post
Verified candidateInterviewed 2026
"Practising the knowledge and suitability 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 Emergency Medicine CSTEM 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 50-plus scenarios comes with a model answer, written by candidates who scored highly in the Emergency Medicine CSTEM interview, so you know exactly how to approach every question the interviewers throw your way.
What's inside

What's included in the Emergency Medicine CSTEM 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, knowledge 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.

Approach to Clinical Problems

Emergency Department scenarios where you play the CSTEM trainee: assess, resuscitate and manage safely with a C-ABCDE approach, from major trauma and shock to sepsis and the critically ill, each with a worked answer showing how to structure your response and when to escalate.

Knowledge and Dedication to Emergency Medicine

Questions on your knowledge of emergency medicine and your dedication to the specialty, including how emergency and trauma systems work in Ireland, with example questions and model answers.

Suitability for a Career in Emergency Medicine

Your chance to show your suitability for a career in emergency medicine, your motivation and your achievements, with example questions and model answers.
Reflecting how Emergency Medicine CSTEM is really assessed
Our scenarios and model answers are written to reflect the current interview structure, across the clinical, knowledge and suitability themes.
Try it

Try an example Emergency Medicine question

You are the CSTEM trainee in the Emergency Department. A 34-year-old male motorcyclist is brought in by the National Ambulance Service after a high-speed collision, having struck a barrier at around 80 km/h unrestrained.

His pre-hospital GCS was 13, dropping to 11 en route. On arrival: blood pressure 88/60, heart rate 128, respiratory rate 28, oxygen saturations 90% on 15 litres, GCS 11, with obvious deformity of the right femur and pelvis.

He is moved into the trauma bay.

How would you approach this?

Question
How would you initially approach this patient?
Example answer
This is a time-critical major trauma with shock and a falling GCS, so I would run a simultaneous C-ABCDE assessment with resuscitation and activate the trauma team.
  • Activate the trauma team and call for senior and anaesthetic help immediately.
  • Catastrophic haemorrhage and airway with C-spine control: manual in-line stabilisation, clear the airway, and prepare for rapid sequence intubation given his GCS of 11 and falling.
  • Breathing: high-flow oxygen, examine for life-threatening chest injuries such as a tension pneumothorax, and support ventilation.
  • Circulation: control external bleeding, gain wide-bore access, send bloods including a crossmatch and a gas, and work out the source of his shock.
Question
His blood pressure stays at 82/56 despite two litres of crystalloid, and his FAST scan shows free fluid in the abdomen. How would you manage his shock?
Example answer
He has haemorrhagic shock with likely intra-abdominal bleeding, so the priority is haemorrhage control, not more crystalloid.
  • Stop the crystalloid: large volumes worsen the trauma triad of coagulopathy, hypothermia and acidosis.
  • Activate the major haemorrhage protocol and transfuse in a 1:1:1 ratio of red cells, plasma and platelets.
  • Give tranexamic acid 1 g intravenously, and keep him warm.
  • Definitive control: he needs urgent surgical review, as free fluid with persistent shock points towards a damage-control laparotomy.
Question
The team is worried about a brain injury given his falling GCS. How would you assess and manage this?
Example answer
A falling GCS in trauma is a traumatic brain injury until proven otherwise, and my aim is to prevent secondary brain injury while getting him to CT.
  • Assess fully: GCS with its components, pupils, and lateralising signs, looking for unequal or fixed pupils suggesting herniation.
  • Secure the airway with rapid sequence intubation to protect it and control ventilation.
  • Neuroprotection: maintain oxygenation and blood pressure, aim for normocapnia, nurse him head up, and avoid hypoxia and hypotension.
  • Arrange an urgent CT once he is stable enough to move, and involve neurosurgery early.
Question
On log roll you find an unstable pelvis, and CT then shows an extradural haematoma, a grade III liver laceration, an open-book pelvis and a femoral shaft fracture. How would you manage the pelvis and prioritise his injuries?
Example answer
The pelvis needs immediate splinting, and I would then prioritise his injuries by what will kill him fastest, coordinating the specialist teams.
  • Pelvis: apply a binder over the greater trochanters, assess once and then leave it, and avoid springing the pelvis, which dislodges clot.
  • Prioritise: the extradural haematoma is arterial and time-critical, so neurosurgical evacuation takes priority if he is deteriorating.
  • Control ongoing haemorrhage from the liver and pelvis with damage-control surgery and interventional radiology, and splint the femur.
  • Coordinate: keep the trauma team leader, anaesthetics, surgery, neurosurgery and radiology working to one clear plan, and reassess continuously.

That's one scenario. There are over 50 more.

Emergency Medicine CSTEM Revision Platform • €105

Includes every scenario in the Question Bank, and access to Study Groups, Live Mocks with other candidates and Peer Feedback.
Get instant access
Actively maintained

How we keep our Question Banks up to date

The Emergency Medicine CSTEM 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 Irish emergency medicine practice, including the national trauma system, and the CSTEM recruitment process.

Our scenarios and model answers are kept aligned with the current interview structure, across the clinical, knowledge 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 Emergency Medicine CSTEM 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 Emergency Medicine CSTEM 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 Emergency Medicine CSTEM, 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 Emergency Medicine CSTEM 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

What to expect from the Emergency Medicine CSTEM interview

Emergency Medicine is a competitive training pathway, and strong applicants are often separated by narrow margins at interview.

Theme

Approach to Clinical Problems

Emergency Department scenarios that assess your clinical judgement and safe, structured management as the CSTEM trainee, from major trauma and shock to sepsis and the critically ill. Work through a safe, systematic C-ABCDE approach and be ready to explain when you would escalate.
Theme

Knowledge and Dedication to Emergency Medicine

Questions on your knowledge of emergency medicine and your dedication to the specialty, including how emergency and trauma systems work in Ireland. Show that you understand the specialty and the pathway you are applying to.
Theme

Suitability for a Career in Emergency Medicine

Questions on your suitability for a career in emergency medicine, your motivation and your achievements. Go beyond listing achievements and show your commitment to the specialty.

How the interview is scored

The interview is marked against the Emergency Medicine CSTEM person specification. Our model answers are structured against those criteria, so you know exactly what a strong, well-organised answer looks like across each theme.
Get ready

How to prepare for the Emergency Medicine CSTEM interview

Start with the Question Bank

Work through over 50 scenarios across every theme, each with a worked answer from a candidate who scored well in the interview. Start by reading how a strong answer is formed, then think about how you'd deliver it.

Talk the hard ones through in Study Groups

Study Groups are your biggest opportunity to network and connect with other candidates sitting the same interview as you. Everyone on the platform is in the same boat, so don't be scared to get involved and ask questions. Someone in your study group might just help you work through a scenario you've been struggling with.

Rehearse out loud in Live Mocks

Live mocks are where you begin to put everything you've learned into practice, and we know from experience that those who practise with a wide range of candidates usually do the best. Organise mocks with people from one of your study groups, or get matched with a random Emergency Medicine CSTEM candidate, then take turns as interviewer and candidate using real scenarios until answering out loud under pressure feels normal.

Get reviewed with Peer Feedback before the day

Once you've recorded a mock, you can have other community members review it. This lets you see how you come across to other people, and gives you time to refine your delivery as you revise, rather than being caught out on the day. Reviewing other people's mocks is just as crucial, as you see how other candidates navigate the same scenarios.
Questions

Frequently asked questions

What does the Emergency Medicine CSTEM interview involve?
A structured interview assessing three themes: your Approach to Clinical Problems, your Knowledge and Dedication to Emergency Medicine, and your Suitability for a Career in Emergency Medicine. Our scenarios and model answers cover each theme so you know how to structure a strong response.
How competitive is the Emergency Medicine CSTEM interview?
Competitive. Strong candidates are frequently separated by small margins at interview, which is why a structured, well-rehearsed approach matters.
Who writes the model answers?
High-scoring candidates who sat the Emergency Medicine CSTEM interview, so the answers reflect what came up and what scored.
Can I practise with other candidates?
Yes. Every Revision Platform purchase gives you the opportunity to connect with other candidates through Study Groups, Live Mocks and Peer Feedback.
How do the Live Mocks work?
All you have to do is join the waiting room, and we match you with another Emergency Medicine CSTEM candidate. You then take turns as interviewer and candidate on real Question Bank scenarios, so you gain experience answering out loud to a real person before you ever sit in front of the panel.
What are Study Groups and how do they help?
Study Groups are community forums for doctors across the country preparing for the same Emergency Medicine CSTEM interview. You can ask questions, share what you're struggling with, and compare how you'd approach a scenario.
Can I get feedback on my interview performance?
Yes. After you've recorded a mock, you can ask other members to review it, so you can see which part of your answer needs fine-tuning.
How long do I get access for?
Access runs for 12 months from the purchase date.

Start preparing for the Emergency Medicine CSTEM interview

The Revision Platform gives you over 50 scenarios to practise and refine with other candidates through Study Groups, Live Mocks and Peer Feedback.

Emergency Medicine CSTEM Revision Platform • €105

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