PrepSurgExcel in Surgery

ST3

General Surgery ST3 Interview Question Bank & Course

General Surgery ST3 Interview Preparation Platform | Prepare for every minute of your ST3 general surgery interview: 80+ interview scenarios across all three…

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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

General Surgery ST3 national selection

Prepare for every minute of your ST3 general surgery interview

80+ interview scenarios across all three stations, each with expert advice, model answers, high-yield knowledge and stretch questions. Then practise them out loud with candidates from across the country.

Try a sample scenario
Your interview, about 40 minutes Three stations

Station 1

Read5 min
Clinical10 min

Station 2

Read5 min
Management10 min

Station 3

Professional development10 min

Every station has its own set of scenarios in the bank, timed the same way.

What's in the question bank

80+ scenarios across all three stations, from the emergencies you'll be expected to know cold to the topics that catch people out.

Station 1

Clinical scenarios

Emergency and elective general surgery, from the acute abdomen to cancer pathways, with the diagnosis, priorities and management panels look for.

Station 2

Management scenarios

Consent, capacity, patient safety, governance, service pressure and difficult colleagues in realistic workplace situations.

Station 3

Professional development

Prompts on your own experience, teaching, audit and reflection, with guidance on building strong answers from your portfolio.

Throughout

High-yield knowledge

The guidelines, classifications and evidence each scenario needs are explained inside it, so you don't need a separate knowledge course.

How every scenario 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

    Written and timed like the real station, with the observations and results you'd be given on the day.

  2. Expert advice

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

  3. Standard and stretch questions

    The questions a panel is likely to ask, then harder follow-ups for when they want to see how far you can go.

  4. Model answers

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

  5. High-yield knowledge, tips, scoring and references

    The key facts, interviewer tips, scoring mapped to the person specification, 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 ST3 general surgery candidate and run real scenarios 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
  • Professional development prompts help your partner question you on your own portfolio
  • Each scenario's scoring guide helps the examiner give useful feedback

National study groups

Join a group of candidates preparing for the same interview, from deaneries across the UK. Compare approaches, share what you've been asked, and work through difficult scenarios 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 scenario, or unsure whether your answer would score well? Send a question to a PrepSurg tutor from any scenario, 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 scenario it came from
  • Useful when you need a definitive answer rather than another opinion

Notes

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

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

Try a sample scenario

These are the first three questions from one of the clinical scenarios. Read the stem, answer each question out loud, then open the key points and model answer.

Station 1: clinical

You are the ST3 on call. A 58-year-old woman had a laparoscopic cholecystectomy four days ago and went home on day one. She now has fever, rigors, jaundice and right upper quadrant pain. A drain left at the operation is producing 150 mL a day of bile-stained fluid. Ultrasound shows dilated intrahepatic ducts and a collection in the gallbladder bed. The operating consultant wants to start antibiotics and arrange an outpatient ERCP.

Temperature38.6°C
Bilirubin124 µmol/L
CRP210 mg/L

What is your immediate management of this patient?

Key points

This is suspected bile duct injury with biliary sepsis. She needs treatment now, not an outpatient plan.

  • ABCDE assessment, and the sepsis pathway: fluids, blood cultures, then IV antibiotics covering biliary organisms
  • Bloods including clotting and lactate; urine output monitoring
  • Analgesia, and nil by mouth if there are signs of peritonitis
  • Senior surgical review within the hour; critical care outreach if she deteriorates
Model answer

"This woman has a suspected bile duct injury with biliary sepsis four days after a cholecystectomy, and she needs treatment now rather than an outpatient plan."

"I'd assess her with an ABCDE approach and start the sepsis pathway: fluids, blood cultures, then intravenous antibiotics that cover biliary organisms. I'd check her clotting and lactate, monitor her urine output, give her analgesia, and keep her nil by mouth if she has peritonitis. I'd ask for a senior review within the hour and involve critical care outreach if she deteriorates."

What is the differential diagnosis, and what imaging do you request?

Key points
  • Bile duct injury, a cystic duct stump leak or a missed accessory duct, retained stones with cholangitis, and a collection or abscess
  • Jaundice, dilated ducts and bile in the drain mean bile duct injury must be excluded first
  • MRCP defines the level and anatomy of the injury
  • CT for collections and peritonitis; a contrast study through the drain if the picture is unclear
Model answer

"The differential includes a bile duct injury, a leak from the cystic duct stump or a missed accessory duct, retained stones causing cholangitis, and an infected collection. With jaundice, dilated intrahepatic ducts and bile in the drain, I need to exclude a bile duct injury first."

"I'd request an MRCP, because it shows the level and the anatomy of the injury, and that decides how it's repaired. A CT helps with collections and peritonitis. I'd agree the imaging plan with the hepatobiliary team."

Who should manage this patient, and why not the outpatient ERCP plan?

Key points
  • A septic patient with a suspected bile duct injury should not wait for an outpatient ERCP
  • She may need reconstruction by a hepatobiliary surgeon
  • A stent placed without specialist input can make the anatomy worse
  • Manage in a unit with hepatobiliary surgery, interventional radiology and endoscopy; transfer if needed
Model answer

"She's septic with a suspected bile duct injury, so she shouldn't wait for an outpatient ERCP. She may need a reconstruction by a hepatobiliary surgeon, and a stent placed without specialist input can make the anatomy worse."

"She should be managed in a unit with hepatobiliary surgery, interventional radiology and endoscopy. I'd discuss her with the hepatobiliary team today and arrange a transfer if we can't provide that here. I'd explain my concerns to the operating consultant directly, and document the plan."

The full scenario continues with the family's questions about the cause, and stretch questions on the Strasberg classification, a disagreement over the operative images, a deterioration with peritonitis, and a question about legal action.

What the interview involves

The interview lasts around 40 minutes and has three stations: clinical, management and professional development.

Station 1: clinical

Read a clinical scenario5 min
Questions on the scenario10 min

Station 2: management

Read a management scenario5 min
Questions on the scenario10 min

Station 3: professional development

Questions on your career, experience and reflections, using your portfolio10 min

Based on the most recent recruitment information available. Always check the current person specification and interview guidance for your recruitment round.

How to prepare with PrepSurg

Learn the scenarios

Work through the bank by station. 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 stretch questions.

Frequently asked questions

Which parts of the interview does the course cover?

All three stations: clinical, management and professional development.

Do I need a separate knowledge course?

No. Each scenario explains the high-yield knowledge it relies on, including the relevant guidelines, classifications and evidence, so the bank works on its own.

How are the model answers written?

Each scenario has a model opening answer and a full answer to every question, written to be spoken within the time allowed. Answers are referenced to current guidance, listed at the end of each scenario.

How does the course help with the professional development station?

This station asks about your own career and 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 from your portfolio.

What are stretch questions?

Harder follow-ups 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.

How do live mocks work?

You practise with another candidate and take turns as candidate and examiner on a scenario 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 scenario 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

4 topics · 80 lessons

01

Clinical

33 lessons

Strangulated femoral hernia
Post-operative small bowel obstruction
Left-sided large bowel obstruction from colorectal cancer
Acute calculous cholecystitis
Acute cholangitis with organ dysfunction
Gallstone pancreatitis
Acute appendicitis with a periappendiceal mass
Perforated peptic ulcer in an anticoagulated patient
Upper GI bleed on anticoagulation
Lower GI bleed with haemodynamic instability
Perforated sigmoid diverticulitis
Acute mesenteric ischaemia after embolic SMA occlusion
Anastomotic leak after low anterior resection
Perineal necrotising soft tissue infection
Penetrating abdominal stab wound
Blunt abdominal trauma
Positive faecal immunochemical test
Breast lump
Progressive dysphagia
Rectal cancer MDT
Incidental pancreatic cyst on CT
Growing deep thigh mass
Complex perianal fistula
Pre-operative assessment of a frail older patient for elective colectomy
Suspected bile duct injury after laparoscopic cholecystectomy
Oesophageal perforation after an episode of vomiting
Infected pancreatic necrosis in a patient who is not improving
Acute gastric volvulus with a large paraoesophageal hernia
Strangulated incisional hernia in a frail, obese patient
Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm
Acute limb ischaemia in an elderly patient with atrial fibrillation
Intussusception in a child
Colorectal liver metastases after chemotherapy
02

Management - Common Topics

24 lessons

Emergency surgery, dementia and capacity
Consent for a high-risk elective operation after Montgomery
Emergency case arrives during a full elective list
Cluster of surgical site infections on a surgical ward
Discharge planning for an older patient with complex needs
Waiting list validation and prioritising a cancer operation
Consent for surgery with a language barrier
Leading a morbidity and mortality review
Raising concerns about a senior colleague's surgical outcomes
Double dose of anticoagulant discovered on the surgical ward
Introducing an enhanced recovery pathway in a unit with resistance
Choosing between competing equipment purchases with a fixed budget
Unexpected death on the ward and coroner referral
Histology showing malignancy not actioned for five weeks
Unsafe on-call cover after a rota gap
Proposal to centralise emergency general surgery to a hub site
Frequent attender with chronic abdominal pain
Child with suspected appendicitis referred to the adult general surgical team
Disputed ICU admission for a post-operative patient
Proposal to delay elective surgery for smokers and people with obesity
Near miss at the sign-in and time-out of the surgical checklist
Family request for records and a complaint after a bowel resection complication
GP referral returned for triage, with a patient who has been waiting months
Device safety alert issued after patients have already been operated on
03

Management - Advanced Topics

11 lessons

Supervising a junior surgeon in theatre
An audit that shows an uncomfortable result
A trainee in difficulty
Leading a quality improvement project
Difficult multisource feedback
A surgeon's own health and fitness to operate
Less-than-full-time training request
Industry relationships and conflicts of interest
Social media and professional conduct
Being named in a clinical negligence claim
Feedback to a student who has failed a clinical examination
04

Professional Development

12 lessons

Teaching in theatre
An audit or QI project
Supporting a colleague through difficulty
A quality improvement project you led
Feedback you received and acted on
Professional Development 06: A time you were under pressure
Balancing training with other commitments
Managing a conflict of interest
Communicating a difficult outcome
Contributing to a patient safety review
Teaching students or assessing
A career setback and what you did next