ST3 application & interview overview
Self assesment
Self-assessment is the starting point for your application. Scoring highly on this will mean you are more likely to find yourself being invited to interview. Score poorly and this may be the end of your application. Whilst the portfolio points scoring system differs slightly from year to year, in general, it remains consistent. There will be things you will be unable to change, for example, your time in any job 2 years after your primary medical qualification.
Things you can effect, are time spent in any Orthopaedic job and any associated speciality, how many fixations of extracapsular neck of femur fractures you have performed. What will clearly get you the most points, are first author papers with a PubMed identifier (2 points each), a PhD or MD (2), national or international leadership/management (2) and a formal qualification in teaching (2).
Following these, are papers in which you are not the first author (1), national/international presentations (1), quality improvement projects (1), Masters (1), local/regional leadership (1) and regular engagement in teaching in the last 2 years (1). A thorough read through of the previous years’ points system, will allow you to be able direct your attention to where you can maximise your points.
Work smart and work hard and focus on what will get you the most points in exchange for your time.
The Interview
The COVID pandemic first disrupted the Trauma & Orthopaedic ST3 selection in 2020 where interviews were scrapped, and jobs were offered on portfolio alone. Since then, for recruitment to jobs in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 the previously face to face interview has been traded for the MS Teams virtual interview.
The number of stations was initially moved from 5 to 3: Portfolio, Clinical and Prioritisation and was 30 minutes in length. For 2024 the format has changed again and there was then 4 stations: Commitment to Specialty (previously Portfolio), Clinical, Prioritisation and Communication. The total interview time was 60 minutes.
There currently is some guidance for 2025 recruitment, however the timelines are still to be published – sign up to our alerts to learn more about the interview as it happen
Commitment to Specialty:
This station aims to find out more about you, what you have achieved to date, what your understanding of the rules and governance at work are, what your aspirations for the future are and how you plan to achieve them. You will be assessed independently by two interviewers scoring in each of the following domains: Career Motivation, Learning and Development; Leadership and Team Involvement; Organisation and Planning; Communication – Information Giving; Academic.
Clinical:
This station asks you to describe your initial management, investigations, surgical plan and basic science knowledge surrounding different clinical scenarios. These can be emergent or elective cases and can ask you to describe anything from ATLS management to anatomy to medical management of orthopaedic patients. You will be assessed independently by two interviewers scoring in each of the following domains: Technical Knowledge; Problem Solving and Decision Making; Situational Awareness; Communication – Information Gathering; Communication – Information Giving.
Prioritisation:
This station asks you to order the priority of patients either typically for a trauma list, or after a handover, and for you to prioritise which patient needs to be seen first and by whom. You will be assessed independently by two interviewers scoring in the following domains: Organisation and Planning; Communication – Information Gathering; Communication – Information Giving; Judgement Under Pressure; Situational Awareness.
Communication:
2024 recruitment was the first year that this station was added. This station didn’t have role play, but instead you are provided with a scenario and asked to speak through how you would approach it. You will be assessed independently by two interviewers scoring in each of the following domains: Technical Knowledge; Situational Awareness; Judgement Under Pressure; Communication – Information Gathering; Communication – Information Giving.
How best to prepare?
In the most succinct of answers – try and emulate interview conditions. Like the MRCS, the best preparation you can do is practicing with colleagues (especially senior colleagues who can put you under pressure).
Revise over MS Teams. This will take out an element of the ‘unknown’ on the day of interview and get you familiar with the set up. In this vein – practice not only what you will answer in the interview, but your ‘set-up’ at home. This includes looking at the quality of your camera, the quality of your microphone and the reliability of your internet connection.
These are factors which can make you appear either more polished and professional, or like an amateur. A podcast microphone or similar may be better than your current laptop or computer microphone. Similarly, your computer webcam, if outdated, could be improved with a little investment into a new camera or in borrowing from a friend. If you already own a DLSR camera or similar, this can be used as a webcam with downloading the appropriate software.
In our experience, courses can be of varying benefit. Paying more and more money for courses does not guarantee you a job offer, and you may not get much more out of a course than you would by asking your friendly local Consultants and Registrars to help you prepare. There are also several quality free courses on offer each year.
Recommended Reading for Interview Overview
- The “White Book”, now in it’s new edition has a blue front cover, but you might hear this still described as ‘the White Book’!
- ATLS, CRRISP protocols: if you haven’t been on these courses then you will be able to borrow these from colleagues who have. Whilst it’s not important to fully know these inside out, knowing the general protocols is essential.
- The British Orthopaedic Association Standards for Trauma (BOAST) guidelines:. It IS important to commit these to memory.
- Orthobullets and their Podcasts
- Best Practice Tariff, can be quoted in questions about hip fracture care in your clinical station or on timing to surgery, as part of your prioritisation station to justify when a hip fracture patient should be prioritised
- NICE guidelines, can be used to justify your reasoning in your clinical stations, e.g. the management of scaphoid fractures:
- Gold Guide, a reference guide for Postgraduate Training in the UK, an important read if you are not familiar with postgraduate training:
- JCST CCT requirements for Trauma and Orthopaedics, essential to know if you want to appear prepared for the job you are applying for! Being able to quote these in your portfolio questions about your aspirations for the future will show forward planning:
- Recommendations for covid recovery plans both national and local
- McRae’s textbook, helpful when studying for your clinical station in fracture management:
- Teachmeanatomy.info, a good basic level knowledge of anatomy
Interview Overview Timeline
National recruitment into English and Scottish Orthopaedic Registrar
training is facilitated by Health Education England Yorkshire and the Humber.
Wales and Northern Ireland have separate local recruitment offices. All are applied to through Oriel.
Applications open on Thursday 14th November 2024 and close Thursday 5th December 2024. Interviews will be held from Tuesday 1st – Friday 4th April 2025
Make yourself aware of the Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery ST3 Person Specification, as the interview is likely to ask you to demonstrate
these competencies through questions and scenarios.
In 2024 522 people applied for 164 Trauma and Orthopaedics ST3 posts. This means that 3.18 people competing for each post.