Obstetrics & Gynaecology ST1
The national O&G ST1 interview is described in the NHS England (HEE) applicant guidance as a clinical prioritisation station with five minutes of reading time, followed by an ethics and governance question and a structured interview covering commitment to specialty, quality improvement, research and teaching, and leadership and teamwork. Published scoring totals 100: clinical prioritisation 40, structured interview 40, ethics and governance 20. Formats can change between rounds — always confirm the current scoring overview for your recruitment year.
Format based on published 2026 recruitment guidance. Last checked: September 2026. This is general information, not advice about your application — always confirm details with the official source for your round.
Structure
The stations, reproduced with real timings.
The simulator keeps to these durations and moves you on when the clock runs out.
Clinical prioritisation
Five minutes of reading time, then present your order of priority for a set of patients and jobs, with reasoning and immediate management at F2 level. Scenarios may be medical or surgical, not only O&G.
Ethics and governance
A short professional dilemma drawn from the clinical prioritisation material: confidentiality, consent, candour or safe delegation, answered with a clear ethical framework.
Structured interview
Concise one-to-two-minute answers on commitment to specialty, quality improvement and audit, research and teaching, and leadership and teamwork — including transferable experience from outside medicine.
Weighting
Where the marks sit.
Practice is weighted the same way, so your time goes where it counts.
What candidates work on here
- A consistent prioritisation framework you can verbalise under time pressure: sickest first, A-E, delegate, escalate, and say your reasoning out loud
- The O&G training pathway: ST1-7 structure, when each MRCOG part is taken, SITMs and the RCOG training matrix
- Key reading: the latest MBRRACE-UK reports and the themes of the Ockenden review, linked to quality improvement and patient safety
Example questions
Original scenarios, written with clinicians.
Each question is mapped to the domains it assesses, so the summary you receive is specific rather than generic.
Clinical prioritisation
“You are the F2 on call overnight. You are handed four patients — a post-operative patient mid-transfusion who is hypotensive and tachycardic, a febrile patient five days after a termination, an elderly patient in pain after a fall, and a CT report suggesting malignancy. Give your order of priority and reasoning.”
A panel would listen for
A systematic approach, safe prioritisation and knowing when to escalate
Structured interview
“How have you demonstrated a sustained commitment to a career in obstetrics and gynaecology?”
A panel would listen for
Specific, honest reasons backed by your own evidence
Ethics & governance
“A patient's family phones the ward overnight asking for her results. How do you respond?”
A panel would listen for
Patient safety first, a clear structure and the right escalation route
Practise this interview until it feels routine.
One free mock interview, no card required. Scores describe your practice performance only.
Start a free mock interview