> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theplasticsfella.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # ST3 Interview: Format, What to Expect, & Preparation - URL: https://www.theplasticsfella.com/st3-interview-format-what-to-expect-preparation/ - Published: 2026-10-14T08:22:26.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-14T08:26:39.000Z - Description: A practical guide to understanding the Plastic Surgery ST3 interview, planning your revision and preparing effectively for each station. - Author: PlasticsFella - Tags: Guides, Resources, Interview #### Summary Card [****What Is the Interview Assessing**](#what-is-the-interview-assessing) Understand the skills and clinical judgement expected of an incoming ST3 registrar. [****Interview Structure**](#interview-structure) Learn how the three interview stations are organised and what each assesses. [****What Does a Good ST3 Answer Sound Like**](#what-does-a-good-st3-answer-sound-like) Learn how to give clear, structured answers that demonstrate safe decision-making. [****What Should I Be Able to Do Before the Interview**](#what-should-i-be-able-to-do-before-the-interview) Review the clinical, communication, and professional skills you should be comfortable demonstrating. [****Know the Weighting**](#know-the-weighting) Understand how each interview station contributes to your final ranking. [****Before You Start Revising**](#before-you-start-revising) Identify your weaknesses, build a focused revision list, and follow a six-week preparation plan. ****Authored by:** Carissa Jacobs ****Verified by thePlasticsFella ✅** The published 2026 guidance describes a 30-minute remote interview divided into three ten-minute sections: OSCE/communication, clinical scenarios, and structured interview. The exact station content may change between recruitment cycles. Prepare the underlying skills and check the current candidate instructions for your application year. --- ## What Is the Interview Assessing? Understand the skills and clinical judgement expected of an incoming ST3 registrar. The Plastic Surgery ST3 interview is not simply a test of how many facts you know. Across the three sections, you need to demonstrate that you can: - Recognise the important problem - Prioritise appropriately - Make a safe plan - Explain your reasoning - Communicate clearly - Recognise the limits of your competence - Escalate when needed The standard is that expected of a doctor entering ST3. For familiar core problems, you may be expected to give more detailed management. In a more complex case, the important skill may be demonstrating that you can reason safely despite uncertainty. --- ## Interview Structure Learn how the three interview stations are organised and what each assesses. The published 2026 guidance describes: **OSCE/Communication - 10 minutes** Practise: - Explaining clearly - Adapting to the person you are speaking to - Communicating urgency - Prioritising - Justifying your decisions **Clinical Scenarios - 10 minutes** The guidance describes two clinical scenarios, which can include photographs. Practise: - Assessment - Recognising immediate risks - Initial management - Definitive management - Escalation - Complications and follow-up **Structured Interview - 10 minutes** The guidance describes two or three questions. Potential areas include: - Audit - Research - Teaching - Leadership - Management - Risk and safety - Consent - Ethics **Do Not Prepare for Last Year's Exact Stations** One of the easiest mistakes is to hear what previous candidates were asked and assume your interview will look the same. Historically, the OSCE/communication section has included a "Call the Boss" scenario and a consent task. However, recent candidate experience included a clinical or operative prioritisation station rather than consent. That does not mean you should stop practising consent. Instead, prepare the skills that transfer between stations: - Explain a procedure to a patient - Present a case to a senior - Communicate an urgent problem - Prioritise competing clinical demands - Explain why one problem needs attention before another Then check the candidate instructions when they are released. --- ## What Does a Good ST3 Answer Sound Like? Learn how to give clear, structured answers that demonstrate safe decision-making. You do not need to say everything you know. A useful answer usually does four things: **1\. Answers the question** Listen carefully to exactly what you have been asked. If you are asked about operative management, you do not necessarily need to restart with a complete history and examination. **2\. Makes a decision** Avoid giving a long list of possible options without explaining what you would actually do. - Instead of: "You could do A, B, or C." - Aim for: "I would favour A here because of X. If Y were present, that would make me consider B." **3\. Explains the reasoning** The panel needs to understand **why** you made the decision. **4\. Shows safe judgement** Recognise: - Immediate threats - Patient safety issues - When senior input is required - What needs to happen while help is being arranged ### Common Interview Pitfalls **Answering the Question You Expected** - Candidates sometimes recognise the general topic and launch into a rehearsed answer. - Listen to what has actually been asked. - If the panel redirects you, stop and answer the new question. **Giving Too Much Information** - More detail does not automatically mean a better answer. - If your key decision becomes lost in a long explanation, the panel may never hear the important part. - Start with the most important point. **Listing Without Choosing** - A list of all possible investigations or treatments does not demonstrate decision-making. - Explain what you would choose **in this situation** and why. **Forgetting Patient Safety** - Clinical knowledge should always sit within safe practice. - Think about: - Deterioration - Sepsis - Bleeding - Neurovascular compromise - Threatened reconstruction - Escalation **Trying to Sound Completely Independent** - Recognising when you need senior help is part of safe ST3 practice. - Appropriate escalation is not a weakness. **Memorising Scripts** - Prepared structures can help you organise your thoughts, but an interview should still sound like a conversation. - Know your principles and examples well enough that you can adapt them. --- ## What Should I Be Able to Do Before the Interview? Review the clinical, communication, and professional skills you should be comfortable demonstrating. By the time you sit the interview, you should be comfortable: **Clinically** - Recognising common plastic surgery problems - Giving a focused assessment - Identifying what cannot wait - Proposing an initial and definitive plan - Explaining when you would escalate **In Communication** - Presenting to a senior - Communicating urgency - Explaining procedures clearly to patients - Prioritising more than one problem **In the Structured Interview** - Discussing your own projects and experiences - Explaining what you personally contributed - Reflecting on what you learnt - Discussing underlying principles such as audit or research methodology --- ## Know the Weighting Understand how each interview station contributes to your final ranking. In the published 2026 process, the three interview sections contributed: | Assessment component | Contribution to final ranking | | -------------------- | ----------------------------- | | Portfolio | 20% | | Clinical scenarios | 25% | | Structured interview | 25% | | Communication / OSCE | 30% | | Interview subtotal | 80% | | Overall total | 100% | Together, the interview contributed **80% of the final ranking**. That makes practising how you answer at least as important as collecting more information to read. Success depends not only on clinical knowledge but also on communication and your ability to reflect on your professional experience. --- ## Before You Start Revising Identify your weaknesses, build a focused revision list, and follow a six-week preparation plan. **Do One Timed Mock Early** It can quickly show whether your main problem is: - Knowledge - Structure - Prioritisation - Excessive detail - Delivery - Timing That should guide the rest of your preparation. You may discover that you know enough clinically but struggle to explain your decision within the time. That is a different problem from simply needing to read more. **Build a Focused Revision List** Focus on common plastic surgery presentations, important emergencies, and the clinical decisions expected of an incoming ST3 registrar. Here are some suggested revision topics. - **Hand Trauma:** Tendon and nerve injuries, fractures, fingertip injuries, infections, and vascular compromise - **Burns:** Assessment, initial management, referral, operative principles, and complications - **Skin Cancer:** Assessment, biopsy, excision principles, reconstruction, and MDT working - **Reconstruction:** Wound assessment, grafts, local flaps, and choosing an appropriate reconstructive option - **Emergencies:** Necrotising fasciitis, compartment syndrome, replantation and revascularisation, failing flaps, flexor tenosynovitis, and open fractures - **Aesthetic Surgery:** Breast reduction and mastopexy, breast augmentation, abdominoplasty, and rhinoplasty - **Postoperative Problems:** Bleeding, infection, deteriorating patients, and threatened reconstruction - **Professional Practice:** Consent, capacity, duty of candour, safety, teamwork, audit, research, and teaching For each topic, practise answering: 1. What is the problem? 2. What cannot wait? 3. What would I do next? 4. Why? 5. When do I need help? Check clinical details against current guidance while revising. 💡 Do not treat this as a checklist of facts to memorise. Practise explaining your assessment, immediate priorities and management decisions aloud. **Use an Adaptable Six-Week Preparation Plan** - **Week 1:** Review the interview format and complete a baseline mock - **Output:** Prioritised revision list and error log - **Weeks 2-3:** Cover core clinical topics, including emergencies and aesthetic surgery, and practise explaining them aloud - **Output:** Short, reasoned answers to clinical scenarios - **Week 4:** Practise communication, prioritisation, and structured interview topics - **Output:** Flexible examples and clearer decision-making - **Week 5:** Complete full-timed mocks with feedback - **Output:** Targeted correction of recurring weaknesses - **Week 6:** Consolidate and rehearse the remote interview setup - **Output:** Reliable timing, familiar equipment, and a manageable final revision list Adjust this plan around your starting point, rota, and interview date. You do not need to finish all your reading before practising aloud. **Make Mock Interviews Useful** Form a practice group and ask registrars or consultants early if they can help with mock interviews. After each answer, ask the observer: - Did I answer the question asked? - Was my main decision clear? - Did I explain my reasoning? - Did I recognise risk and the limits of my competence? - What essential point did I miss? - What could I remove? Then repeat the answer using that feedback. Improvement comes from changing your response, not simply accumulating more mock interviews. **Keep an Error Log** Record specific areas for improvement after each mock. Instead of writing "revise burns", identify the task you need to practise, such as "give a concise assessment and escalation plan for a burns referral". Review your error log regularly and use it to guide your remaining revision. **Use Your Revision Resources Effectively** Combine focused reading with active recall and timed interview practice. For example, - [**thePlasticsLibrary**](https://www.theplasticsfella.com/library/)**:** Use articles to review the clinical principles behind weak topics. - [**Flashcards**](https://www.theplasticsfella.com/anki-builder/)**:** Use them for recall of important clinical information. Where possible, say the answer aloud rather than only recognising it on screen. - [**Practice Questions**](https://www.theplasticsfella.com/oral-exams/)**:** Use them to practise turning knowledge into a structured verbal response. - [**Mock Interviews**](https://www.theplasticsfella.com/live-mock-interview/)**:** Use them for, - Timing - Delivery - Prioritisation - Follow-up questions - Feedback Recognising an answer on a page is different from explaining it clearly in an interview. **Final Interview Checklist** - Read the current candidate instructions. - Confirm the interview format and timings. - Revise the core clinical topics. - Practise clinical scenarios, communication, and structured interview questions. - Prepare examples from your own experience. - Complete timed mock interviews. - Review recurring weaknesses in your error log. - Test the required interview platform and equipment. - Prepare the required identification and room setup. - Know how to report a technical problem. 💡 ****Key Take-Away Points** 1\. Prepare for the standard expected of an incoming ST3, rather than trying to predict the exact questions. 2\. Build a focused revision list that includes core clinical topics, emergencies and aesthetic surgery. 3\. Start practising aloud before you have finished all your reading. 4\. Use mock interviews to identify weaknesses and improve your answers. 5\. Keep the final week focused on consolidation, timing and interview readiness. --- **Next:** [*ST3 Interview: Communication, Clinical, & Structured Interview*](https://www.theplasticsfella.com/st3-interview-communication-clinical-structured-interview/) #### Plastic Surgery ST3 Guide 1. [****Eligibility & Portfolio Scoring**](https://www.theplasticsfella.com/eligibility-for-st3-and-portfolio-scoring/)****:** Eligibility, evidence, and portfolio scoring. 2. [****Interview Format & Preparation**](https://www.theplasticsfella.com/st3-interview-format-what-to-expect-preparation/)****:** How the interview works and what is expected. 3. [****Clinical Scenarios & Communication**](https://www.theplasticsfella.com/st3-interview-communication-clinical-structured-interview/)****:** Clinical reasoning, prioritisation, consent, and calling a senior.