PrepSurgExcel in Surgery

ST1

Cardiothoracic Surgery ST1 Interview Question Bank & Course

Cardiothoracic Surgery ST1 Interview Preparation | From tamponade to breaking bad news: prepare for every part of your cardiothoracic ST1 Interview…

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Included with enrolment

More than a question bank

Everything your enrolment includes.

Premium learning tools

Ask the tutor

Ask about any lesson and get a clear explanation with a short clinical example.

Live mock interviews

Get matched with another candidate and practise stations on a video call.

National study groups

Join candidates across the country to share tips and plan practice sessions.

Personal lesson notes

Write notes on each lesson and find them all again in your dashboard.

How your practice works

  1. Step 1

    Learn the stations

    Work through worked scenarios with model answers and previous interviewer tips.

  2. Step 2

    Practise live

    Join a national mock night or get matched on demand, with a built-in station timer.

  3. Step 3

    Get scored

    Your partner marks you on a five-area examiner sheet so you know exactly what to fix.

About this course

Cardiothoracic Surgery ST1 national selection

From tamponade to breaking bad news: prepare for every part of your cardiothoracic ST1 interview

60 interview sets across the Structured Questions and Communication Skills stations, from cardiac and thoracic emergencies to consent, bad news and your own portfolio. Each has expert advice, model answers, high-yield knowledge and follow-up questions. Then practise them out loud with candidates from across the country.

Try a sample set
Your interview, two stations Online

Station 1: Structured Questions

5 questionsabout 25 min

Station 2: Communication Skills

3 questionsabout 25 min

Every set in the bank is written to the same format as the station it belongs to.

What's in the question bank

36 Structured Questions sets and 24 Communication Skills sets, covering the clinical emergencies you'll be expected to know cold and the conversations that catch people out.

20 sets

Cardiac, thoracic and perioperative

Tamponade, low cardiac output, aortic dissection, bleeding, arrest after cardiac surgery, pneumothorax, empyema, chest trauma, lung nodules, lung cancer, haemoptysis, ECMO and LVADs, each with the observations and results you'd be given.

6 sets

Ethics and professionalism

Consent and capacity, duty of candour, refusal of blood, sexual misconduct in theatre, fatigue, and confidentiality on social media.

10 sets

Portfolio and motivation

Audit, research, operative experience, teaching, leadership, commitment, the training pathway, resilience and your career plans, with guidance on building strong answers from your own experience.

12 sets

Consent and explaining

Lobectomy, CABG, valve choice, chest drains, urgent return to theatre, interpreters, stopping smoking and going home after surgery.

6 sets

Difficult conversations

Unexpected results, surgery that can no longer go ahead, a death after surgery, disclosing a complication, an angry relative, and resuscitation decisions.

6 sets

Team conversations

A colleague who is late or unwell, disagreeing with a senior, escalating at night, being challenged by a nurse, and handing over a sick patient.

Throughout

High-yield knowledge

The guidelines, trials and law each set relies on are explained inside it, so you don't need a separate knowledge course.

Throughout

Scoring that mirrors the panel

Each set ends with examiner-style scoring across four domains, so you can see how a panel would mark your answer.

How every set is built

Each one follows the same structure, so you learn what a complete answer looks like and how it sounds out loud.

  1. A realistic scenario

    The setting, the patient and the observations, results and imaging you'd be given.

  2. Expert advice

    What the panel is testing, and where candidates usually lose marks.

  3. The panel's questions, then follow-ups

    Five questions for a Structured Questions set and three for a Communication Skills set, then harder follow-ups for when the panel wants to see how far you can go.

  4. Model answers

    A model opening, then a full answer to every question, written to be spoken in the time allowed.

  5. Answer framework, high-yield knowledge, tips, scoring and references

    A structure to rehearse, the key facts, interviewer tips, examiner-style scoring and the guidance behind each answer.

Knowing the answer isn't enough. You have to say it well.

The question bank sits inside a platform built for practising out loud, getting help when you're stuck, and keeping track of what you've learned.

Live mocks

Practise with another cardiothoracic ST1 candidate and run real sets under interview timing. Take turns as candidate and examiner, so you learn from both sides of the table.

  • Practise with a different partner each time
  • Your partner asks the panel's questions and follow-ups
  • Each set's scoring guide helps the examiner give useful feedback

National study groups

Join a group of candidates preparing for the same interview, from units across the UK. Compare approaches, share how you'd tackle a set, and work through difficult ones together.

  • Hear how trainees in other units manage the same problems
  • Organise mocks with people from your group
  • Keep each other on track in the weeks before the interview

Ask the tutor

Stuck on a set, or unsure whether your answer would score well? Send a question to a PrepSurg tutor from any set, and get a reply you can come back to.

  • Ask about the clinical content, the structure of your answer, or the evidence
  • Your question stays linked to the set it came from
  • Useful when you need a definitive answer rather than another opinion

Notes

Write your own notes against any set as you revise: the phrases that work for you, the points you keep forgetting, and what your mock partners told you.

  • Your notes sit alongside the set they belong to
  • Build a personal revision sheet for the night before
  • Private to you

Try a sample set

These are three of the five questions from one of the Structured Questions sets. Read the scenario, answer each question out loud, then open the key points and model answer.

Structured Questions

You are the cardiothoracic core trainee on call overnight. A 72-year-old man returned from coronary artery bypass grafting six hours ago. His mediastinal drains lost 410 mL in the first two hours, but only 20 mL in the last hour. His central venous pressure has risen from 8 to 18 mmHg, his noradrenaline has been increased four-fold, his urine output has fallen to 10 mL an hour and his lactate is 4.6 mmol/L.

BP78/50
Heart rate122
CVP18

What is your differential diagnosis, and which diagnosis is most likely?

Key points

Cardiac tamponade is most likely.

  • Rising venous pressure with falling output, after heavy drainage that suddenly stopped
  • Hypovolaemia from bleeding would usually lower the venous pressure
  • Also consider ventricular dysfunction, graft failure, arrhythmia, tension pneumothorax and vasoplegia
Model answer

"I think about low output after cardiac surgery in terms of rate and rhythm, preload, contractility and afterload, plus tamponade. Here, tamponade is most likely: his venous pressure is rising while his blood pressure and urine output fall, and his drains have suddenly stopped after heavy bleeding, which suggests they have clotted and blood is collecting around the heart."

"I'd also consider ongoing bleeding, ventricular dysfunction or graft failure, an arrhythmia, a tension pneumothorax and vasoplegia, but the drop in drain output is a warning sign, not reassurance."

What is your immediate management?

Key points
  • Call the registrar, consultant, anaesthetist and theatre now
  • Maintain filling with fluid and blood; correct clotting, temperature and calcium
  • Echo, transoesophageal if needed, without delaying theatre
  • Definitive treatment is re-exploration; pericardiocentesis is not first-line
Model answer

"I'd call my registrar and the consultant surgeon straight away, and alert the anaesthetist and theatre. While they come, I'd keep him filled with fluid and blood, because a patient with tamponade depends on preload, and correct his clotting with platelets, fibrinogen and further protamine if needed, keeping him warm."

"I'd arrange an urgent echo, ideally transoesophageal, but I wouldn't let it delay treatment. The definitive treatment is re-exploration to evacuate the clot and stop the bleeding. Needle pericardiocentesis usually doesn't work this early, because the collection is clotted."

Before he reaches theatre, he loses his output and the monitor shows pulseless electrical activity. What do you do?

Key points
  • Declare a cardiac arrest after cardiac surgery and follow that protocol
  • Compressions; turn off pacing to look for underlying fibrillation
  • Emergency resternotomy on the unit within about five minutes
  • No routine full-dose adrenaline
Model answer

"I'd call for help and declare a cardiac arrest after cardiac surgery, because the protocol is different from standard life support. For pulseless electrical activity, we'd start compressions, turn off any pacing to check for hidden fibrillation, and look for reversible causes."

"Given the likely tamponade, the treatment is emergency resternotomy on the unit, ideally within five minutes. Full-dose adrenaline isn't given routinely, because rebound hypertension can cause bleeding. My role would be whatever the team leader gives me, such as compressions or setting up the resternotomy pack."

The full set also asks how you'd assess him at the bedside and how you'd confirm the diagnosis, with follow-up questions on why the classic signs are often absent after cardiac surgery, why patients bleed after bypass, when to return to theatre, and how late tamponade differs.

What the interview involves

The interview is held online and has two stations, each lasting about 25 minutes.

Structured Questions

Five questions from the panelAbout 25 min

Communication Skills

Three questions from the panelAbout 25 min

Based on the 2026 applicant guide. Your self-assessment score is added to your interview score. Always check the current applicant guide and person specification for your recruitment round.

How to prepare with PrepSurg

Learn the sets

Work through the bank by theme. Read the expert advice, answer out loud, then compare with the model answer.

Talk them through

Bring the hard ones to your study group, and ask a tutor when you need a clear answer.

Practise out loud

Run live mocks under interview timing, swapping between candidate and examiner.

Refine before the day

Use your notes and mock feedback to build a revision sheet, and finish with the follow-up questions.

Frequently asked questions

Which parts of the interview does the course cover?

Both stations: Structured Questions, with clinical, ethics, portfolio and motivation sets, and Communication Skills, with consent, difficult conversations, team and explaining sets.

Do I need a separate knowledge course?

No. Each set explains the high-yield knowledge it relies on, including the relevant guidelines, trials and law, so the bank works on its own.

How are the model answers written?

Each set has a model opening and a full answer to every question, written to be spoken within the time allowed. Each one ends with a list of references.

How do the Communication Skills sets work?

Each one gives you a scenario and the panel's three questions, such as opening the conversation, explaining, and covering risks or next steps. Model answers are written as you'd say them to the patient, relative or colleague.

How does the course help with portfolio and motivation questions?

These ask about your own experience, so there's no single right answer. Each set explains what the panel is looking for, then shows how a strong answer is built, with space to add your own examples.

What are follow-up questions?

Harder questions that panels often use with stronger candidates, such as complications, ethical twists or a change in the patient's condition. They're marked separately, so you can master the core questions first.

Does the content reflect recent changes?

Yes. It reflects guidance current in October 2026, including the August 2026 cardiothoracic curriculum update, the end of recruitment to ST4 thoracic posts, the 2025 European valve guidelines, the 2023 British Thoracic Society pleural guideline and the 2024 Good medical practice.

How do live mocks work?

You practise with another candidate and take turns as candidate and examiner on a set from the bank, under interview timing.

Who answers my questions in Ask the tutor?

A PrepSurg tutor replies to your question, which stays linked to the set you asked it from.

Are my notes private?

Yes. Your notes are visible only to you.

How long do I have access?

You have full access to the question bank and all platform features for 356 days from the date you enrol.

Course curriculum

3 topics · 60 lessons

01

Structured Questions

20 lessons

Cardiac tamponade after cardiac surgery
Low cardiac output syndrome on the CICU
Aortic stenosis: SAVR versus TAVI
Acute type A aortic dissection
Acute type B aortic dissection and malperfusion
Bleeding after cardiac surgery and return to theatre
Sternal wound infection and mediastinitis
Atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery
CABG versus PCI for multivessel coronary disease
Recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax
Empyema and pleural infection
Chest trauma and multiple rib fractures in an older patient
Incidental lung nodule
Lung cancer: staging and treatment options
Massive haemoptysis
Persistent air leak and bronchopleural fistula after lung resection
Malignant pleural effusion
The deteriorating patient after lung resection
Cardiac arrest after cardiac surgery
Mechanical circulatory support: LVAD and ECMO basics
02

Structured Questions Advanced

16 lessons

Duty of candour after a retained surgical swab
Consent and capacity in an older patient
A Jehovah’s Witness patient needing cardiac surgery
Witnessing sexual misconduct in theatre
Working hours, fatigue and patient safety
Confidentiality and social media
Your audit and quality improvement
Research, publications and evidence
Operative experience, logbook and technical skills
Teaching and leadership
Commitment to cardiothoracic surgery
Why cardiothoracic surgery?
The training pathway and choosing cardiac or thoracic
Resilience, pressure and wellbeing
Mistakes, failure and feedback
Strengths, weaknesses, diversity and your future
03

Communication

24 lessons

Consent for VATS lobectomy
Consent for coronary artery bypass grafting
Choosing a mechanical or tissue valve
Consent for a chest drain
Explaining an urgent return to theatre
Consent with an interpreter
A patient who does not want to know the risks
A patient declining recommended surgery
Breaking bad news: cancer found in the lymph nodes
Telling a patient that surgery is no longer possible
Telling a family about a death after cardiac surgery
Disclosing a complication: hoarse voice after lobectomy
An angry relative on the intensive care unit
Discussing resuscitation and ceilings of care
A colleague who is persistently late
Disagreeing with a senior colleague about a plan
Escalating to a reluctant senior at night
A nurse raises a safety concern about your prescription
A colleague who may be impaired
Handing over a sick patient at night
Explaining a leaking heart valve
Talking about stopping smoking before surgery
Going home after cardiac surgery
Explaining a delayed discharge to a relative