# Practising for Combined Infection Training (ST3) with MedMock

Canonical page: https://medmock.com/exams/combined-infection-training-st3

## What is the Combined Infection Training ST3 interview, and how do you practise for it?

Combined Infection Training ST3 national recruitment interview, run online by Physician Higher Specialty Training: two 10-minute stations with four scored questions. Station 1 is your prepared three-minute presentation on a recent infection research paper and its discussion, then suitability and commitment. Station 2 is a brief written clinical scenario, then an ethics, professionalism and governance question given verbally. On the day you choose and prepare your own paper, and two interviewers score every question from 1 to 5. Here MedMock gives you the paper, one AI examiner voice asks all four questions, and one AI marker gives each question a practice score. MedMock lets you practise it out loud against an AI interview panel, with examiner-style feedback on any station you finish.

## About Combined Infection Training (ST3) recruitment (official sources, checked 2026-10-13)

- 2025 recruitment round, NHS England figures for Combined Infection Training ST3: 154 applications for 36 posts, a competition ratio of 4.28.
- Scotland (NHS Education for Scotland) is the lead recruiter for combined infection training.
- All four infection specialties share a two-year combined infection training programme. After it, each specialty has its own higher specialty training programme leading to a CCT in that specialty.
- Combined infection training is advertised as two vacancies, one at ST3 and one at ST4, each needing its own application. Those applying to, and eligible for, both undergo a single interview.
- The Group 2 interview has two stations of 10 minutes each and four questions ranging between 4 and 6 minutes in length.
- The interview opens with a presentation of no more than three minutes on a recent research paper relevant to infection specialties, followed by discussion with the interviewers.
- Combined infection training accepts only candidates from physician training routes. Group 2 eligibility requires completion of the first two years of internal medicine training stage 1 or equivalent.
- Shortlisting assesses commitment to infection training, scored on activity and interest across any of the specialties in the combined infection training programme.

Sources: https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/competition-ratios/2025-competition-ratios https://www.phstrecruitment.org.uk/specialties/infection-specialties

Recruitment dates: Applications 19 November 2026 to 10 December 2026 (national Round 2); Interviews within the national Round 2 window, 11 January 2027 to 9 April 2027 (source: Physician Higher Specialty Training Recruitment (PHST), checked 2026-09-24).
All Combined Infection Training (ST3) dates: https://medmock.com/exams/combined-infection-training-st3#dates

## Stations you can practise

- **Station 1** — Question 1 (about 6 minutes): a presentation of no more than three minutes, prepared in advance with no slides, on an interesting research paper relevant to infection specialties, then about three minutes of discussion. Here you have up to 6 minutes to prepare the paper MedMock gives you before the station starts. Question 2 (about 4 minutes): your suitability for and commitment to training in the infection specialties, expanding on your application form.
- **Station 2** — Question 3 (about 6 minutes): a brief written clinical scenario to review, then questions on it. Here you have 3 minutes to read the scenario: PHST says only that you have a short while, so the 3 minutes are MedMock's choice. Question 4 (about 4 minutes): an ethics, professionalism and governance question given verbally, anchored in GMC Good Medical Practice.

## Sample Combined Infection Training (ST3) questions

- *Station 1:* Was the comparator or control group appropriate, or could a different comparison have been more informative?
- *Station 1:* Was there adequate blinding and allocation concealment, and how might their absence have affected results?

## Example scenarios

- *Station 1:* Present a recent research paper on real-world cefiderocol use for carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales — methodology strengths and weaknesses, and implications for your trust. Then: what have you done to test your commitment to infection training?
- *Station 2:* Clinical: a haem-onc patient with neutropenic sepsis after CAR-T therapy isn't responding to first-line antibiotics. Ethics: a junior tells you a consultant prescribed pip-taz against the trust ESBL bacteraemia policy and the patient deteriorated — what do you do?

## How a practice session works

1. **Choose a station** — Choose the kind of question or scenario you want to rehearse — ethics, motivation, a role-play, and more.
2. **Have the conversation** — Speak naturally, out loud. The AI interviewer listens and asks the demanding follow-ups, just as a real interviewer would.
3. **Get instant feedback** — The moment you finish, you get specific, examiner-style feedback and a score — what you did well, what cost you marks, and precisely what to fix before the next attempt.

## Price

Start with a one-off £5 taster: 30 credits (30 minutes of speaking practice), not a subscription. After that, or instead, £69 per month for 350 credits. One credit is one minute of spoken practice, or two typed exchanges, and where the examiner or patient speaks first, that opening line is free. Examiner scorecards, mark schemes and model answers for finished sessions are included at no extra credit cost. Cancel at any time. Full details: https://medmock.com/pricing

## Frequently asked questions

### How does the feedback work?

When you finish a station you can have it marked, and the scorecard comes back in seconds — what you did well, what cost you marks, and exactly what to work on next. Scorecards, mark schemes and model answers are included at no extra credit cost.

### Can I practise specific Combined Infection Training ST3 stations?

Yes. You can pick either station to drill a weak area, or run a mixed set to simulate the real interview.

### How much does it cost?

You can start with a one-off £5 taster: 30 credits, which is 30 minutes of speaking practice, with no subscription. After that, or at any time, you can choose a monthly plan, which includes a monthly credit allowance. Current prices are on the pricing page.

## About MedMock

MedMock is a web app for practising the spoken parts of UK medical and dental exams and interviews out loud. The candidate talks; an AI patient, examiner or interview panel answers in real time by voice; and when the station ends MedMock marks the performance against that exam's assessment domains and shows the model answer.

It covers 104 spoken exams and interviews — OSCEs, vivas, structured oral exams, simulated consultations, and specialty-training and consultant interviews. It does not cover written or multiple-choice papers, and it is not a question bank.

It was founded by Mr Sam Nahas, MBBS BSc MEd FRCS (Tr & Orth), a practising consultant orthopaedic surgeon in the UK, with co-founder and CTO Arjan Jandu. It is operated by VirtualPatients Ltd (company no. 16303492).

Pricing: a one-off £5 taster of 30 credits to try it (not a subscription, one per account), and a monthly subscription from £20 to £129 depending on the exam (student exams cost least, fellowship exit exams and consultant interviews most), or £199 to £275 for the Intensive plans, which carry more credits. One credit is one minute of spoken practice, or two typed exchanges, and where the examiner or patient speaks first, that opening line is free. Examiner scorecards, mark schemes and model answers for finished sessions are included at no extra credit cost. Subscriptions can be cancelled at any time.

It runs in a web browser on a laptop or phone; spoken practice needs a microphone. There is no public demo: practice needs an account with credits, usually from the taster or a monthly plan.

MedMock is for adults aged 18 or over. Sign-up asks every new account to confirm it.

MedMock is a revision tool. The patients, examiners and cases are fictional and AI-generated; it is not clinical guidance and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any Royal College, the GMC, the GDC or any examining body.

Start with the £5 taster: https://medmock.com/auth/signup