Core Surgical 17th October 2025

How to Prepare for the 2026 Core Surgical Training (CST) Interview

Doing well in the Core Surgical Training (CST) interview is very achievable, provided you put in sufficient preparation and practice. Starting your CST application early leaves plenty of time to prepare for your MSRA, organise evidence for the portfolio station, and practise management and clinical scenarios for the interview. The template below is a basic outline of targets to set yourself when approaching CST interviews. We’ve also developed our Core Surgical Training Interview Question Bank to help you prepare for the big day!

FY1 year/ year before

This is the year to really maximise your portfolio in preparation for CST applications. Start by reading the scoring criteria in our portfolio section, and set realistic goals for what to achieve in the 12 months. Remember, CST applications open early into FY2 therefore, most of the high-scoring opportunities will come in FY1 year.

Realistic CST portfolio goals for FY1 (more details in the portfolio section):

• Design, lead and implement change through a QI project (ideally surgically themed). The earlier you start this the better, as it will provide more opportunity to present at a conference (and gain the maximum grade!)
• Organise a teaching programme – there will be plenty of opportunities for teaching medical students on the wards.
• One poster/ oral presentation – if you ask around, there is more than likely an opportunity to get involved in a project that will lead to a presentation.
• Surgical Logbook – nearly every FY1 post will have a surgical rotation. This is the time to get into theatre and assist as much as possible. Build up the logbook, and you may even get the opportunity to carry out your own minor procedures
• Publish a chapter in a medical book
• Attend a teaching course – A Teach the Teacher Course should give you a grade D. You can complete the Medibuddy Teach the Teacher Course either live or on-demand, both of which are CPD-accredited and should count towards points in this domain. If you prefer an interactive learning environment, our live course is available in 1-day or 2-day formats, offering practical teaching experience and real-time feedback.

6 months to CST interview

When starting FY2, it is a good idea to begin building up your portfolio for interviews. Collect evidence from teaching and clinical activities, which can be entered into a professional and practical folder. Try to get this completed a few months prior to interviews taking place, as you do not want to be panicking over missing documents of evidence at this time.

Teach the Teacher Course by Medibuddy

This two-day CPD-accredited online course will earn you 12 CPD points on completion. It’s entirely flexible, so you can complete it in two days or multiple sessions over a longer period. On completion of the course, you’ll receive a certificate for your portfolio that is accredited for CCT, interviews and appraisals.

Find out more

With 6 months to go, it is also a good idea to begin planning your preparation strategy. Identify resources you are going to use, study partners, and time you will set aside. Some suggested resources are below:

• ISC Medical – Medical Interviews: A relatively detailed book with extensive guidance on how to answer questions using a structured format. It also has model answers on portfolio questions, motivation questions and up-to-date topics. It is a great resource for learning how to structure answers, however many of the questions/ answers are not relevant to CST interviews or updated regularly, so keep this in mind if you only plan to use this resource.
• Online Question Banks: Essential for revision purposes in order to bolster the number of clinical/ management cases encountered. The Medibuddy CST Interview Question Bank has been produced by high-scoring trainees and is updated every year with new questions and in response to interview feedback. We have over 40 unique scenarios, with interview questions attached, for you to practise. We recommend you practise out loud and even video yourself so you can see if you need to work on your delivery.

• 3-4 months to CST interview

  Now comes the main preparation phase. Set yourself 1-2 hours of preparation per day, building up nearer to the interview. Remember, you’ll also prepare for your MSRA at this stage, so organisation and efficiency are key. 

  One way of structuring this preparation has been detailed below, but it is by no means the only way to successfully prepare:

• First 2 months: Familiarise yourself with the online question bank. Develop a broad idea of how to structure answers to each of the common questions, including examples from your own experience where appropriate. Read up on ATLS approach to trauma, along with common post-op clinical scenarios. Most of the theory should already be provided in model answers from the question bank.
• Final 2 months: Practise answering unseen questions with friends/ colleagues. Build an outline of your 3-minute answer to the presentation question. Become familiar with your portfolio, and how to navigate through it with ease, familiarising yourself with your achievements so you don’t forget any! To score highly, you will need to practise answering the common questions over and over again.
  

  MSRA Exam

  The MSRA exam contributes to 10% of your final selection score, while the portfolio station, and management and clinical station make up 45% each. With the number of total CST applicants surpassing 5300, scoring well in the MSRA is more crucial than ever.

  The exam is separated into the following two papers:

  Professional Dilemmas Paper

  This is a Situational Judgement Test (SJT) with 50 scenarios relating to challenging professional dilemmas. An example question taken from our adaptive MSRA question bank can be seen below:

Professional Dilemmas Question

Clinical Problem Solving Paper

This includes 86 questions designed to assess your ability to apply clinical knowledge and make clinical decisions in the context of everyday practice. An example question from our MSRA question bank is shown below:

Clinical Problem Solving Question

Our MSRA question bank dashboard (below) shows a full list of the topics you’ll be assessed on within the exam.

Medibuddy MSRA Question Bank Dashboard

You can check out our MSRA Complete Guide 2025 for more information about the exam and how to prepare, as it is vital you do well.

We also have a whole host of resources dedicated to the MSRA exam here, including our adaptive MSRA question bank with over 4000 practice questions; we have you covered!

Core Surgical Training Interview day

Interviews will take place between Monday 2 March to Wednesday 11 March 2026 using the Qpercom video platform. Make sure you test your microphone and camera well before your interview, to ensure everything works smoothly. Your time will be provided via Oriel. You should register for Qpercom when told to do so. 

On the day of your interview, you should join the call 5 minutes before your interview time, where you will wait in a virtual lobby.

2026 CST Interview

The following is an overview of the key dates relating to the 2026 CST interview:

 The interview will be held online and features management, clinical, and portfolio stations, each lasting 15 minutes. Notably, the portfolio station now fulfils the role the self-assessment section previously held in the application process.

Regardless of the application process, interview structure and format changing over the years, Medibuddy will continue to provide updated advice and questions tailored to the recruitment requirements in our interview question bank.

Management and Clinical Station

For 2026, the CST interview features a combined Management and Clinical station lasting 15 minutes. During this station, you will face three questions designed to assess your ability to think on your feet, including:

• 1 management scenario question: This will test your decision-making, problem-solving, and ability to apply frameworks such as SPIES, CAMP, or STAR in real-time.
• 2 clinical scenario questions: These typically focus on emergency or post-operative situations and assess your clinical judgement and prioritisation skills.

You will be given 5 minutes to answer each question, so it’s important to practise articulating your responses clearly and concisely. For clinical scenarios, follow a structured approach, such as ABCDE for emergencies, and escalate appropriately. For post-operative cases, ensure you have a solid understanding of common operations and potential complications.

Preparation is key. Practising with small groups, applying frameworks to management scenarios, and rehearsing answers for common clinical topics will help you gain fluency and confidence. Even though the scenarios are unpredictable, focusing on core principles and structuring your answers logically will allow you to perform effectively under interview conditions.

Here is an example of a clinical scenario from our CST Interview Question Bank, so you know what to expect.

Portfolio Station 

You’ll no longer need to complete a self-assessment on Oriel. Instead, if you’re invited to interview, you must upload an index page, indicating the category of evidence (A to E, with A being the highest) you believe applies to each domain. This serves as a guide for assessors, but the final score will be determined during the interview.

The portfolio station is a 15-minute virtual interview. It begins with a 3-minute pre-prepared presentation, followed by 2 minutes of questioning on your presentation. You will then be asked two 5-minute questions based on portfolio domains selected by the assessors.

Of course, you should ensure that all evidence is uploaded accurately and is a true reflection of your achievements.

If you have any specific questions, please do get in touch. You can access our other interview resources in the Core Surgical Interview section of the website.

Good luck!

Further Reading

How to maximise points in the 2026 CST Interview Portfolio

MSRA Complete Guide 2025

Mind The Bleep – Applying to Core Surgical Training

Core Surgical Training Person Specification

Teach the Teacher Course

Live Teach the Teacher Course