General Interview Mocks
Instructions for the Mock General Interview
You will be allocated 15 minutes for your General Interview
Candidate Instructions
This is your General Interview, which will follow straight on from your Clinical Interivew
Examiner Instructions
Examiner instructions:
This mock contains more questions than you will be able to go through in a 15-minute interview. This is reflective of the real interview where interviewers are given an option of a few questions they can ask the candidates in the 15-minute time frame. Questions in red are mandatory.
You should choose a range of questions over the course of the 15 minutes that will enable you to assess the candidate on the following four domains: decision-making, team-working, working under pressure, and reflective practice.
It is your duty to keep track of time so that you are able to ask a reasonable spread of questions that allow the candidate the opportunity to score points in all four domains. Aim to spend about 3.5 minutes on each of the four assessed domains.
You can only ask the questions verbatim, as they are written. You may repeat the question if the candidate seeks clarification. For the ABCDE assessments, you may confirm findings with the candidate (for example: yes, the airway is patent. Or ‘there are no added breath sounds to auscultation).
Mandatory question at start of interview:
“Have you read and do you understand the clinical vignette?”
Proceed to interview once candidate has confirmed this.
Qualifications and Experience
☝️
Click the tab above to reveal questions.
- What challenges do you anticipate you will encounter in this case?
- How would you assess this patient?
- [If candidate mentions measuring amylase] The patient’s amylase comes back as raised. What would you do next?
- The patient continues to scream in excruciating pain. How would you address this?
- When would you call for help from your registrar?
Answer Frameworks
Click each tab to reveal the answer frameworks.
👈
What challenges do you anticipate you will encounter in this case?
– Patient safety: true surgical abdomen vs drug-seeking behaviour
– Who: ED Registrar is pushing his own agenda for quick discharge of the patient. May be difficult interaction if you do not agree with his assessment of the patient
– Where: ED can be busy, so communication with nurses and the wider teams involved may be impacted. Be mindful of communicating plans to all relevant people and patient, and document clearly in the patient’s notes.
How would you assess this patient?
History and examination/ investigations, Escalation + Case-specific
Case specific: Do not come with assumptions! May need escort or witness if there are concerns about patient’s behaviour towards staff.
History: read notes before seeing patient. Find out what, if any, investigations have been carried out so far. Speak to patient to take full history about his abdominal pain. This is his third presentation in three days and you must be able to rule out causes of an acute abdomen before putting this down to drug-seeking behaviour. Some differentials you are concerned about include: pancreatitis, gastric or duodenal ulcer perforation, acute liver failure.
Examination: ABCDE. Follow the ‘Look-Feel-Listen-Measure-Treat’ structure to each element of the A to E.
Click the ABCDE framework below for a full answer.
Investigations: ABG (for lactate, PaO2, PaCO2, blood glucose), CXR, ECG, Bloods + IV Access, CT scan. For this patient, serum Amylase and CT-abdomen should be mentioned.
Escalation: Discuss case with surgical registrar to ensure you have not missed any important investigations. Agree to call them back if patient deteriorates or requires further reviews from a senior.
Commitment to Specialty
☝️
Click the tab above to reveal questions.
- What challenges do you anticipate you will encounter in this case?
- How would you assess this patient?
- [If candidate mentions measuring amylase] The patient’s amylase comes back as raised. What would you do next?
- The patient continues to scream in excruciating pain. How would you address this?
- When would you call for help from your registrar?
Answer Frameworks
Click each tab to reveal the answer frameworks.
👈
What challenges do you anticipate you will encounter in this case?
– Patient safety: true surgical abdomen vs drug-seeking behaviour
– Who: ED Registrar is pushing his own agenda for quick discharge of the patient. May be difficult interaction if you do not agree with his assessment of the patient
– Where: ED can be busy, so communication with nurses and the wider teams involved may be impacted. Be mindful of communicating plans to all relevant people and patient, and document clearly in the patient’s notes.
How would you assess this patient?
History and examination/ investigations, Escalation + Case-specific
Case specific: Do not come with assumptions! May need escort or witness if there are concerns about patient’s behaviour towards staff.
History: read notes before seeing patient. Find out what, if any, investigations have been carried out so far. Speak to patient to take full history about his abdominal pain. This is his third presentation in three days and you must be able to rule out causes of an acute abdomen before putting this down to drug-seeking behaviour. Some differentials you are concerned about include: pancreatitis, gastric or duodenal ulcer perforation, acute liver failure.
Examination: ABCDE. Follow the ‘Look-Feel-Listen-Measure-Treat’ structure to each element of the A to E.
Click the ABCDE framework below for a full answer.
Investigations: ABG (for lactate, PaO2, PaCO2, blood glucose), CXR, ECG, Bloods + IV Access, CT scan. For this patient, serum Amylase and CT-abdomen should be mentioned.
Escalation: Discuss case with surgical registrar to ensure you have not missed any important investigations. Agree to call them back if patient deteriorates or requires further reviews from a senior.
Involvement in: Teaching, Audit, QI, Research
☝️
Click the tab above to reveal questions.
- What challenges do you anticipate you will encounter in this case?
- How would you assess this patient?
- [If candidate mentions measuring amylase] The patient’s amylase comes back as raised. What would you do next?
- The patient continues to scream in excruciating pain. How would you address this?
- When would you call for help from your registrar?
Answer Frameworks
Click each tab to reveal the answer frameworks.
👈
What challenges do you anticipate you will encounter in this case?
– Patient safety: true surgical abdomen vs drug-seeking behaviour
– Who: ED Registrar is pushing his own agenda for quick discharge of the patient. May be difficult interaction if you do not agree with his assessment of the patient
– Where: ED can be busy, so communication with nurses and the wider teams involved may be impacted. Be mindful of communicating plans to all relevant people and patient, and document clearly in the patient’s notes.
How would you assess this patient?
History and examination/ investigations, Escalation + Case-specific
Case specific: Do not come with assumptions! May need escort or witness if there are concerns about patient’s behaviour towards staff.
History: read notes before seeing patient. Find out what, if any, investigations have been carried out so far. Speak to patient to take full history about his abdominal pain. This is his third presentation in three days and you must be able to rule out causes of an acute abdomen before putting this down to drug-seeking behaviour. Some differentials you are concerned about include: pancreatitis, gastric or duodenal ulcer perforation, acute liver failure.
Examination: ABCDE. Follow the ‘Look-Feel-Listen-Measure-Treat’ structure to each element of the A to E.
Click the ABCDE framework below for a full answer.
Investigations: ABG (for lactate, PaO2, PaCO2, blood glucose), CXR, ECG, Bloods + IV Access, CT scan. For this patient, serum Amylase and CT-abdomen should be mentioned.
Escalation: Discuss case with surgical registrar to ensure you have not missed any important investigations. Agree to call them back if patient deteriorates or requires further reviews from a senior.
Reflective Practice
☝️
Click the tab above to reveal questions.
- What challenges do you anticipate you will encounter in this case?
- How would you assess this patient?
- [If candidate mentions measuring amylase] The patient’s amylase comes back as raised. What would you do next?
- The patient continues to scream in excruciating pain. How would you address this?
- When would you call for help from your registrar?
Answer Frameworks
Click each tab to reveal the answer frameworks.
👈
What challenges do you anticipate you will encounter in this case?
– Patient safety: true surgical abdomen vs drug-seeking behaviour
– Who: ED Registrar is pushing his own agenda for quick discharge of the patient. May be difficult interaction if you do not agree with his assessment of the patient
– Where: ED can be busy, so communication with nurses and the wider teams involved may be impacted. Be mindful of communicating plans to all relevant people and patient, and document clearly in the patient’s notes.
How would you assess this patient?
History and examination/ investigations, Escalation + Case-specific
Case specific: Do not come with assumptions! May need escort or witness if there are concerns about patient’s behaviour towards staff.
History: read notes before seeing patient. Find out what, if any, investigations have been carried out so far. Speak to patient to take full history about his abdominal pain. This is his third presentation in three days and you must be able to rule out causes of an acute abdomen before putting this down to drug-seeking behaviour. Some differentials you are concerned about include: pancreatitis, gastric or duodenal ulcer perforation, acute liver failure.
Examination: ABCDE. Follow the ‘Look-Feel-Listen-Measure-Treat’ structure to each element of the A to E.
Click the ABCDE framework below for a full answer.
Investigations: ABG (for lactate, PaO2, PaCO2, blood glucose), CXR, ECG, Bloods + IV Access, CT scan. For this patient, serum Amylase and CT-abdomen should be mentioned.
Escalation: Discuss case with surgical registrar to ensure you have not missed any important investigations. Agree to call them back if patient deteriorates or requires further reviews from a senior.
Examiner Feedback
| Qualifications and Experience | Commitment to Specialty | Teaching, Audit, QI, Research | Reflective practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| |
|
|
|
Scoring system:
1 = unsatisfactory
2 = weak
3 = typical
4 = very good
5 = outstanding
See a guide to the scoring matrix section of this question bank.
Feedback Prompts
1. What domains did the candidate give very good or outstanding answers for?
2. What domains do you think the candidate could work on?
3. Please provide feedback on the candidate’s style of interview. Consider their eye contact, body language, pace and clarity of speech. Do they have any tics, habits, or quirks that do not come across well in their interview?
Don’t be too English!! – give honest and fair feedback. Generic feedback such as ‘that was really good’ you’ll be fine’ is not helpful. Honest feedback helps you both identify what makes the ideal candidate.