Urology 17th April 2024

ST3 Urology Interview Overview 2024

The Urology ST3 interview is a national selection process that will last up to 60 minutes in total. You will be assessed and scored by two Consultants.

The recruitment process for National Urology ST3 2024 will follow the timeline below as per HEE:

The 2024 Urology ST3 interview follows the same format as 2023, and is broken into 4 main questions.

The 4 main questions were:

1. Outpatient – 2-minute reading time and 13-minute interview
2. Emergency – 2-minute reading time and 13-minute interview
3. Communication – 2-minute reading time and 13-minute interview
4. Skills – 2-minute reading time and 13-minute interview

Stations are generally very fair, and the same questions often come up time and time again. The more you practice, the more likely you are to secure your top choice ST3 job. In addition to this blog post, to help you prepare we have compiled over 200 past questions and model answers in our Urology ST3 Interview question bank. We have set the question bank out like the interview, to ensure you are practicing using a format as close to the real thing as possible.

Portfolio/Self Assessment

Your portfolio will have already been assessed prior to your interview. Once you have completed your application via Oriel, you will be asked to upload evidence and so it is vital that you have all your evidence prior to starting your application. Start early. Send e-mails, make phone calls and get every piece of evidence you need. The more the merrier. If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail! Portfolio marks are your guaranteed marks. Ensure you have gone through the portfolio checklist and ensure you can tick every box possible. You can find the checklist for 2024 here. You can also refer to the 2024 person specification here. 1 mark could be the difference between a job and having to reapply the following year. Complete your audits, attended courses, participate in teaching and get your PBA’s signed off – it’s never too late. These are the bits that almost every ST3 applicant has. Examiners are defiantly fair and, in my experience, they will try to give you points where you have shown adequate evidence, they want you to do well.

Boost your Urology ST3 Application by Training in Teaching

You can score up to 4 points by being involved in medical teaching. To score maximum points in this area of teaching, you must have been the principal organiser of a relevant course. You can also score Urology ST3 Application points by ‘training in teaching’, with 3 points available for an MSc or equivalent in clinical education. All you have to do for 1 extra point is attend a course like the Medibuddy Teach the Teacher course.

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

The Urology ST3 Interview

Outpatient

In this scenario at an outpatient clinic, prioritise a patient-centred approach, emphasising symptom presentation over diseases. Clearly describe your patient assessment process, including common tests, while staying focused on answering specific questions. We recommend knowledge-specific revision, focusing on symptom presentations like raised PSA or lump in scrotum. Be prepared for closed questions in the station, so provide concise initial answers and wait for cues to elaborate. We have included an example from our Urology ST3 question bank below.

Emergency

In this question, your ability to manage emergency urological situations will be put to the test; you can draw on your knowledge gained whilst revising for the MRCS exams. Anticipate encountering various emergency scenarios that will evaluate your teamwork, delegation, and prioritisation skills, and ensure you are demonstrating these within your answer.

Communication

In this question, you’ll be assessed on your communication skills in situations such as breaking bad news and a missed diagnosis. If you can, see if you can sit in with some of your consultants when they are having difficult conversations, or ask them for advice on how to approach these situations. We also provide a list of scenarios within our question bank including tips and examples of how to approach different situations you may be asked about.

Skills

The skills scenario was reintroduced in 2023, having previously been a component of the interview prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. You will be presented with a scenario and asked multiple questions in regards to your approach. Here is an example of a Urology interview skills scenario from our question bank, to give you an idea of what to expect.

Two assessors will independently score during your interview, and there may also be a Lay Representative too.

Remember, some questions will not have a strict correct answer but as long as you can provide a thought process and sensible plan you can score maximum points. The outpatient scenarios are probably the easiest to prepare for. Learn each scenario, know exactly what you will ask in your history, how you will examine and how you will investigate. But don’t be caught out! I say this because it’s not uncommon to have to discuss stone treatment when given a scenario relating to recurrent UTI’s for example. Our detailed question bank will ensure you are adequately prepared and help you think outside the box.

Overall, the key to success at the Urology ST3 interview is to prepare for each station individually and to have a good understanding of what happens on the day. If you have any questions about the interview process, please get in touch. Good luck!

Resources:

Medibuddy Urology ST3 Interview Question Bank 

Urology ST3 Person Specification

MRCS Part A Question Bank