ST3 Mock Interview Courses — 6 & 7 February and 6 & 7 March 2027, book now
Ortho InterviewST3 Orthopaedic Interview
Login

ST3 Trauma and Orthopaedic Interview Presentation, Case Prioritisation and Handover Station

Applying For ST3 Orthopaedics? Want Your First Choice ST3 Orthopaedic Job? Attend The Largest and Most Popular Courses and Try Our Award-Winning Question Bank for Trauma and Orthopaedic Interviews. Let Us Help You Get Your Top Job.

Try Our Sample Questions Totally FREE

Prioritisation

This station will be a prioritisation exercise. The time allocated for this station is ten minutes.

You will be assessed independently by two interviewers scoring in the following domains: Organisation and Planning; Communication – Information Gathering; Problem Solving and Decision Making; Judgement Under Pressure; Situational Awareness.

Preparation

The prioritisation station tests your ability to prioritise patients and order a theatre list. Time is often tight and it is important to talk through your reasoning as you go, rather than presenting an order without justifying it.

Attending regular trauma meetings and practising as many prioritisation questions as possible ahead of the real interview is the best way to prepare.

Scoring

This station is scored out of 50. Interviewers score you out of 10 across five domains:

  • Organisation and Planning
  • Communication – Information Gathering
  • Problem Solving and Decision Making
  • Judgement Under Pressure
  • Situational Awareness

The self-assessment you completed at application adds a further 34 marks, and the four stations plus the self-assessment give a total of 234. See the interview overview for the full scoring matrix.

Top Tips

  • Go over your MRCS list planning notes and ensure you are actively involved in ordering your own lists at work.
  • Our Question Bank features a comprehensive guide to structuring and presenting in a way that will score you maximum points.
  • The handover section allows you to ask key questions of an SHO or colleague, and it is important to consider the most pertinent questions to ask that will most quickly allow you to organise a list or prioritise patients to see.

More interview info

Application OverviewSelf-AssessmentInterview OverviewPortfolio StationClinical StationInteractive Station

Practise this station

The question bank covers every station with model answers and AI-marked spoken practice.

Register for the question bank

Frequently asked questions

What is the prioritisation station?

A ten-minute exercise in which you are given several competing clinical and non-clinical tasks — typically a trauma list or a set of ward and theatre demands — and asked to order and delegate them, justifying your reasoning.

How is the prioritisation station marked?

Out of 50, across Organisation and Planning; Communication – Information Gathering; Problem Solving and Decision Making; Judgement Under Pressure; and Situational Awareness.

Is there a single correct order of tasks?

No. The panel is assessing your reasoning, not one model answer. State your priorities, explain what makes a task urgent versus important, say what you would delegate and to whom, and be explicit about when you would escalate.

Do I get reading time before the prioritisation exercise?

Yes — candidates are given reading time before the station to review the scenario, and paper notes are permitted.