Overview

To obtain a UK CCT in anaesthetics, a trainee has to follow a training programme with an indicative duration of 7 years. There are two entry routes:

 directly into the anaesthesia programme and

 via Acute Care Common Stem (ACCS) training, which will usually take 1 year longer.

One of the interviewers usually asks about your CV in detail. So, be prepared to explain anything different (including a different scheme of training, different procedures, etc.) Be prepared with an explanation for gaps in your CV. If it is more than 3 months, try to offer an explanation. Highlight any awards, prizes, scholarships etc., and be prepared to explain about them in detail.
If you have quoted any publications, presentations, audit, research, etc., be prepared to explain, fluently, what you did.
 
 How to get started in anaesthesia

 A compendium of audit recipes

 Making the shortlist-BMJ

Interview questions

• Why do you want to be an anaesthetist?
• What do you think of the new European Working Time Directive (EWTD)?
• What effect has the EWTD had on medicine and on anaesthesia?
• How this will it affect training? Do you have any suggestions regarding working within the EWTD without significantly changing or prolonging the current training structure?
• What is it about medicine that attracts you the most?
• Don't you think that anaesthetics is a very boring speciality?
• Why did you choose this hospital for anaesthetics?
• What is the best thing about being an anaesthetist (and the worst)?
• Can you describe the details of SHO training?
• What are your career plans?
• Briefly explain your career after internship.
• Who is the president of the GMC?
• How are you planning to pass the Primary FRCA?
• What is your favourite medical textbook?
• What books on anaesthetics have you read?
• Have you read any journals recently?
• What are your  outside interests?
• What are your views regarding revalidation by the GMC?
• How do you relax if you are feeling stressed?
• How would you react to a problematic colleague, e.g. with a drinking problem?
• How do you feel your A/E and medical jobs will help you in your career in anaesthetics?
• Tell me the two most important achievements in your CV.
• What are the qualities of a leader? Tell me about any one of those qualities which you feel you possess. Are you a leader?
• You see your registrar injecting fentanyl into himself just before an emergency case during the night. What will you do?
• What do you know about Modernisation of Medical Careers? What is your suggestion to compensate the training which is lost due to reduction in working hours and the period of training?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• What are the requirements to apply for a registrar post?
• Suppose you have been an SHO and we were to assess you at a later date; what do you think we should be assessing?
• Out of the many applications we receive, why do you think we have shortlisted you? What in your CV do you think has caught our attention?
• From whom do you think most of your learning is going to be gained in this training?
• Who do you think comprises the ICU team? What is your role going to be?
• What do you think a consultant or a senior nurse is looking for in an SHO?
• Give us an example of when you worked in a team; were you successful in achieving your target? Describe a situation in which your team failed - what do you think might have led to the failure?
• In what ways do you think your CV is going to look diferent 10 years from now?
• What are your career plans?
• How do you see yourself 5 years from now?
• What do you know about competency-based training?
• What resuscitations courses have you attended?
• What do you see as "a good job"?
• What are the importance and limitations of logbooks?
• What do you understand by evidence-based medicine?
• What are the levels of evidence?
• How would you evaluate a journal based on levels of evidence?
• What do you understand about guidelines and how would you utilise them?
• Describe your clinical experience from your previous jobs and during clinical attachment; what cases did you see and skills did you acquire in A&E medicine and intensive care?
• Discuss your experience of clinical audit.
• Describe the steps of an audit.
• What is an audit cycle, and what is meant by closing the loop?
• What is hospital by night?
• What do you know about the training structure in anaesthetics?
• Why should we give you the job?
• What is a professional?
• What is the role of an anaesthetist?
• What would you do if you had an argument with one of the consultant anaesthetists?
• Have you ever filed in an incident report form? Explain how these forms are dealt with and where do they go after you've filled them in. Mention the roles of the NPSA

Clinical scenarios
1. How would you assess a patient posted for anterior resection?
2. Explain how you would assess and anaesthetise a diabetic patient for herniorrhaphy.
3. How will you explain the procedure and complication of epidural for anterior resection.
4. You are called to A&E for airway management of a patient with head injury who is unconscious. How would you manage this?
5. How would you conduct a rapid sequence induction?
6. A 45-year-old male presents for umblical hernia ASA 1; after induction and muscle paralysis, on laryngoscopy, the patient has a grade 4 Cormack view. How will you manage this?
7. When would you call the consultant during oncall?



The last component of the interview:

This usually comprises one of  the "latest" or "hot"  topics; for example:

• SHO banding
• Shift systems
• Working Time Directive
• Clinical governance
• Competency-based assessment
• Appraisals/assessments
• Changes in GMC licensing
• Foundation years 1 & 2 (replacing basic SHO training)
• Intensive care medicine CCST (many candidates quote ICM as their aim) and training requirements
• Be aware of your career structure (How many years of training as SHO,  SpR etc. and the criteria for progression)

We would like to thank Dr CG Nandu  for providing some of these questions. Please continue to send us your SHO interview questions to help this bank grow.

Click here for more StR interview questions

Please send us your interview questions via our feedback page - thank you for helping us help you.

Good Luck from !