Prepare for the 2026 Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery ST1 Interview with Structured, Specialty-Specific Practice Questions

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery ST1 Interview Questions built for doctors preparing for the 2026 national selection interview. This question bank covers every station of the virtual OMFS ST1 panel, from Training Pathway and QIP through Clinical Scenario and Situational Judgement to the actor-led Communication station. Written and reviewed by high-scoring trainees and registrars who’ve sat this interview recently.

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Updated for 2026

What to Expect from the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery ST1 Interview

OMFS ST1 is recruited nationally through Oriel, coordinated by NHS England (Severn / South West). For the 2025 round, NHS England published 77 applications for 22 posts, a ratio of 3.5:1, historically low for a surgical specialty, reflecting the dual medical-dental entry requirement rather than any lack of interest. Around 17 ST1 posts are advertised for August 2026 entry.

For the 2026 cycle there is no shortlisting. All candidates meeting the essential person-specification criteria are invited to interview, held virtually on 2 February 2026. The MSRA is not used. Before interview, you upload evidence to an Oriel self-assessment portal (2-9 January 2026), which a consultant panel verifies over roughly 20 minutes per applicant. The specific video platform will be named in your Oriel invitation.

The interview runs as four stations. Station names below are confirmed; timings, per-station marks, assessor numbers and the interview-versus-portfolio weighting are not published by NHS England, so we don’t state them here.

Training Pathway in OMFS

This station explores your motivation for the dual-qualification route, the structure of run-through training, the operative domains within the OMFS curriculum, MFDS and MRCS requirements, and evidence of sustained commitment to the specialty. Expect the panel to probe how your dental core training and foundation experience map onto surgical competencies, and whether you understand the scope of the training pathway you’re entering.

QIP, Audit and Research

Assessors examine audit methodology and the full audit cycle, quality improvement approaches, presentations and publications, research governance, teaching activity, higher degrees, prizes, and any leadership roles. You’ll be expected to talk fluently about the projects on your portfolio, not just list them.

Clinical Scenario and Situational Judgement

Scenarios draw on OMFS emergencies and on-call presentations (facial trauma with airway concerns, odontogenic infections, escalation and handover), alongside prioritisation, consent, capacity and duty of candour. The station tests clinical judgement, patient safety and situational awareness under pressure, framed against the person specification rather than deep sub-specialty knowledge.

Communication

This is an actor-based role-play, which changes what is being marked: you are handling a live person, not describing what you would say. Scenarios span breaking bad news (suspected oral or oropharyngeal cancer, unexpected intra-operative findings), consent conversations for extraction or orthognathic surgery, explaining complications such as inferior alveolar nerve injury, handling angry relatives, safeguarding concerns with inconsistent facial injuries, and best-interests decisions in spreading neck infection.

What the Panel Is Looking For

Across all four stations the panel is scoring against the 2026 person specification: clinical judgement and prioritisation, communication and empathy, professionalism and probity, patient safety and governance, and a demonstrable, informed commitment to OMFS. Strong candidates show structure in their answers, insight into the dual-degree pathway, and the ability to link portfolio evidence directly to what each station is assessing.

The Medibuddy 2026 Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery ST1 Interview Question Bank

We’ve built the question bank around the actual shape of the OMFS ST1 interview, organised station by station so you can drill one at a time. The weight sits where the interview’s does: the clinical scenarios run the full range of OMFS emergency and on-call presentations, and the communication scenarios are written for the actor station. Cases don’t stop at an opening answer. Each one unfolds through follow-up questions the way a panel actually probes, including the awkward turns, so you practise holding a position under pressure. Every question is written by high-scoring OMFS trainees and registrars who recently sat the interview, and the question bank is refreshed every year using feedback from the most recent cohort.

What’s Included in the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery ST1 Interview Question Bank

The question bank is organised by the four stations, so what you practise maps directly onto what each panel scores.

How to Prepare for the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery ST1 Interview

OMFS ST1 rewards structured preparation more than most surgical interviews. The four stations each test something different, and the dual-qualification context means panels expect a level of insight into the pathway that generic surgical prep won’t cover. Here’s how we recommend you approach it.

Understand the format before you start practising

The 2026 interview is virtual, held on 2 February 2026, with candidates invited via Oriel. It runs as four stations: Training Pathway in OMFS; QIP, Audit and Research; Clinical Scenario and Situational Judgement; and Communication with an actor. NHS England and BAOMS have not published station timings, per-station marks or the interview-versus-portfolio weighting, so treat any specific numbers you see online with caution and confirm the running order from your Oriel invitation. What you can rely on is that each station has a distinct assessment focus, so preparing them as one blob of "interview prep" will leave gaps.

Focus on knowledge and delivery equally

OMFS candidates typically have strong content knowledge from dual training but underestimate delivery. The Communication station is run with an actor, which changes how you’re marked: the panel is watching you handle a live human response, not recite a framework. Equally, the Clinical Scenario station tests structured decision-making under time pressure, not just whether you know the emergency. Practise saying your answers out loud, on camera, until the phrasing is natural.

Build preparation around each station

For Training Pathway in OMFS, be ready to articulate why you’re pursuing the dual-qualification route, how run-through training is structured, the operative domains in the curriculum, and MFDS/MRCS expectations. Evidence of sustained OMFS engagement (taster weeks, logbook, courses) should sit at your fingertips.

For QIP, Audit and Research, know your best individual QIP inside out: methodology, the full audit cycle, what you’d change next time. Expect probing on research governance, presentations, publications, teaching and any leadership roles.

For Clinical Scenario and Situational Judgement, drill OMFS emergency and on-call presentations alongside prioritisation, consent, capacity and duty of candour. The panel is looking for a safe, structured approach as much as the right answer.

For Communication, practise with a partner playing the actor role. Angry relative, breaking bad news, escalating a concern, handling a colleague in difficulty: rehearse until you’re comfortable with silence and pushback.

Practise under timed conditions

Because timings aren’t officially published, we recommend rehearsing in short, sharp blocks and cutting yourself off at a fixed length per station. Virtual delivery adds its own pressure: camera framing, screen fatigue, the awkwardness of pausing before you answer. Do at least some of your practice on the same setup you’ll use on 2 February, and get used to reading the panel through a webcam.

Start earlier than you think

As a general guide, we recommend allowing at least 8-12 weeks of focused interview preparation, though earlier is better given portfolio demands. This is editorial guidance rather than a published figure. Given the small national post count and the documented attrition of appointable ST1 candidates from the pathway, treating this as a rushed final month is a false economy. Early prep also frees you to keep gathering portfolio evidence in parallel without the two colliding.

Use the question bank to drill each station in turn

Every principle above lives or dies on repetition. Our Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery ST1 question bank is organised by the four stations, so you can work through Training Pathway questions until the answers are automatic, then move to QIP, then Clinical Scenario, then Communication. Working station by station rather than dipping in at random is what turns preparation into a clear sense of what each one is assessing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the OMFS ST1 interview involve?

The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery ST1 interview is delivered virtually and runs across four stations: Training Pathway in OMFS; QIP, Audit and Research; Clinical Scenario and Situational Judgement; and Communication, which uses a trained actor. The 2026 round is scheduled for 2 February 2026, with self-assessment evidence uploaded via Oriel between 2-9 January and verified by a consultant panel.

How competitive is Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery ST1?

For the 2025 round, NHS England published 77 applications for 22 posts, giving a competition ratio of 3.5:1. Ratios have historically sat in a low single-digit range, reflecting the dual medical and dental qualification requirement rather than low interest. The pool is small but the bar is high, and interview performance materially separates appointable candidates from those who miss out.

What topics come up in the OMFS ST1 interview?

Expect motivation for the dual-qualification pathway and run-through training structure, audit and QI methodology, publications, teaching and leadership, OMFS emergency and on-call presentations, prioritisation, consent, capacity and duty of candour, and an actor-based communication scenario. Content is anchored in the 2026 person specification and the OMFS curriculum.

Is the MSRA required for OMFS ST1?

No. The MSRA is not used for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery ST1 selection. For the 2026 cycle there is also no shortlisting: all candidates meeting the essential person-specification criteria are invited to the virtual interview, where the self-assessment/portfolio and interview stations together determine ranking.

Does the question bank cover every station?

Yes. The question bank is structured around all four OMFS ST1 stations: Training Pathway, QIP/Audit/Research, Clinical Scenario and Situational Judgement, and the actor-led Communication station. Each section contains scenarios and model answers written by high-scoring trainees who have recently sat the interview, so you can rehearse every domain the panel scores rather than only the areas you already feel confident in.

When should I start preparing for the OMFS ST1 interview?

As a general guide, we recommend eight to twelve weeks of focused interview preparation. OMFS ST1 rewards breadth: dual-degree motivation, the operative curriculum, audit and QIP methodology, clinical prioritisation and actor-based communication all need rehearsal. With interviews on 2 February 2026, that points to beginning structured practice in November or early December, alongside preparing your self-assessment evidence for the January upload window.

Start Preparing for the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery ST1 Interview

Most candidates prepare by reading broadly and hoping the right topics come up. Strong candidates prepare differently: they rehearse against the actual station format, timed, out loud, until their delivery matches how the OMFS ST1 panel actually scores them.