# Practising for Core Surgical Training (CT1) with MedMock

Canonical page: https://medmock.com/exams/core-surgical-training-ct1

## What is the Core Surgical Training CT1 interview, and how do you practise for it?

Core Surgical Training national recruitment interview, run online on Qpercom by NHS England: two 15-minute stations, taken in either order. The Management and Clinical station asks one management scenario question and two clinical scenario questions, 5 minutes each, given during the interview with nothing to read first. The Portfolio station opens with your pre-prepared 3-minute presentation and 2 minutes of questions on it, then two 5-minute questions on portfolio domains the panel chooses. Each question is scored from 0 (no evidence) to 6 (outstanding), and the selection score is your MSRA 10%, the Portfolio station 45% and the Management and Clinical station 45%. The presentation topic is not published. Here one examiner voice speaks for each panel, and there is no uploaded portfolio for the panel to review. MedMock lets you practise it out loud against an AI interview panel, with examiner-style feedback on any station you finish.

An illustrative example station, written by MedMock with example feedback, is at https://medmock.com/exams/core-surgical-training-ct1/example

## About Core Surgical Training (CT1) recruitment (official sources, checked 2026-10-13)

- 2025 recruitment round, NHS England figures for Core Surgical Training CT1: 5399 applications for 630 posts, a competition ratio of 8.57.
- Core Surgical Training CT1 interviews for 2027 entry are held online on the Qpercom video platform between 1 and 10 March 2027.
- The interview has two stations of 15 minutes each: a Management and Clinical station, and a Portfolio station.
- The Management and Clinical station has one management scenario question and two clinical scenario questions, with 5 minutes allowed to answer each question.
- The Portfolio station has a pre-prepared 3 minute presentation, 2 minutes of questioning on it, and two portfolio questions of 5 minutes each. The assessor selects the two domains.
- Each part of the Core Surgical Training interview is scored from 0 (no evidence) to 6 (outstanding). The remote panel has 2 members on the Management and Clinical station and 3 or 4 on the Portfolio station.
- For 2027 entry, all applicants sit the MSRA, and approximately the top 1200 candidates are invited to interview and to upload evidence for the portfolio station. A combination of MSRA and interview scores gives the final ranking.
- For 2027 entry, the evidence upload portal for the Core Surgical Training portfolio station opens on Friday 19 February 2027 and closes on Wednesday 24 February 2027.

Sources: https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/competition-ratios/2025-competition-ratios https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/surgery/core-surgery/overview-of-core-surgery-training/interviews https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/surgery/core-surgery/overview-of-core-surgery-training https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/surgery/core-surgery/overview-of-core-surgery-training/recruitment-timelines

## What happens in the real Core Surgical Training (CT1) (checked against the official source on 2026-09-24)

The Core Surgical Training CT1 interview (2026 recruitment round) is held online on the Qpercom video platform and has two 15-minute stations, taken in either order: a Management and Clinical station and a Portfolio station. Each question, and the presentation, is scored from 0 (No Evidence) to 6 (Outstanding) against named criteria. The final selection score out of 100 combines the MSRA (10%), the portfolio station (45%) and the management and clinical station (45%).

- **Management and Clinical station** (15 minutes): One management scenario question and two clinical scenario questions, all given to you during the interview, with 5 minutes to answer each. The panel has 2 members.
- **Portfolio station** (15 minutes): A pre-prepared 3-minute presentation, 2 minutes of questions on it, then two 5-minute questions on two of your portfolio domains chosen by the assessor. The panel has 3 or 4 members.

Marking: Each section is scored on a 0 to 6 scale: 0 No Evidence, 1 Very Poor, 2 Weak, 3 Satisfactory, 4 Good, 5 Excellent, 6 Outstanding. The management question is judged on probity and professional integrity and awareness of safety and ethics, judgement under pressure and prioritisation, and communication; each clinical question on clinical skills and knowledge, judgement under pressure and prioritisation, and communication; each portfolio question on skills and knowledge; and the presentation on content, presentation skills and questioning. The overall selection score out of 100 is MSRA 10%, portfolio station 45% and management and clinical station 45%.

Passing: NHS England does not publish a pass mark or appointability threshold for the interview. After interview each candidate receives a total score and a unique ranking and is told whether they have been successful.

Sources: https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/surgery/core-surgery/overview-of-core-surgery-training/interviews https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/surgery/core-surgery/overview-of-core-surgery-training/applying-for-core-training
Full format page: https://medmock.com/exams/core-surgical-training-ct1/format

## How to prepare for the Core Surgical Training (CT1) interview (facts checked against official sources on 2026-09-27)

The Core Surgical Training interview, as NHS England last published it for the 2026 round, is two 15-minute online stations: prepare a timed 3-minute presentation and evidence you can defend in every portfolio domain for the Portfolio station, and practise one management and two clinical scenarios out loud, 5 minutes each, for the Management and Clinical station. Prepare for the MSRA too: in 2026 it decided who was shortlisted and counted for 10% of the final score.

1. **Check the 2027 person specification** — Read the Core Surgical Training CT1 2027 person specification before you apply: for example, you must have 18 months or less of surgical experience, not counting foundation placements, at the advertised start date. The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 applies, and in 2027 you can make at most five applications per recruitment round.
2. **Prepare for the MSRA alongside the interview** — In the 2026 round the MSRA was the basis of shortlisting, only the top-scoring 1,200 applicants were invited to interview, and it counted for 10% of the final score. Use NHS England's MSRA practice paper, with its answer key and rationales, for both papers.
3. **Build your portfolio to the scoring guide** — The guidance scores commitment to specialty (verified logbook cases and a surgical taster or elective), quality improvement or audit, presentations and publications, and teaching. You enter a letter from A to E for each domain on an index page and upload only your best achievement in each. NHS England says the domains are likely to change for 2027, so re-read the guidance before applying.
4. **Be ready to discuss any domain** — The assessors review your evidence, then ask about two domains they choose, for 5 minutes each. They may ask about any area, even one with no evidence uploaded, and may test over-claiming, so for every entry be able to explain your own role, what changed and what you learnt.
5. **Write and time the 3-minute presentation** — The Portfolio station opens with your pre-prepared 3-minute presentation and 2 minutes of questions, scored on content, presentation skills and questioning. The topic is not given on NHS England's Core Surgery pages, which say further information comes nearer the interviews; once you have it, rehearse to the clock.
6. **Practise management scenarios against the marking criteria** — The management question is given to you during the interview and you have 5 minutes. It is scored on probity and professional integrity with awareness of safety and ethics, judgement under pressure and prioritisation, and communication. Practise stating the immediate safety step, who you would inform and how you would follow up, and check your reasoning against GMC Good Medical Practice.
7. **Practise clinical scenarios on the acutely ill surgical patient** — Each of the two clinical scenarios is given during the interview, answered in 5 minutes and scored on clinical skills and knowledge, judgement under pressure and prioritisation, and communication. The essential clinical criterion is the initial management of an acutely ill patient, so rehearse assessment, first steps and escalation out loud. NHS England suggests asking local consultants in the specialty which areas interviewers may address.
8. **Rehearse on video, to time** — The 2026 interviews ran on the Qpercom video platform. Test it on the device you will use, have photo ID ready and expect to show the room on camera; interviews are terminated if the panel cannot see you. Paper notes you prepared yourself are allowed, but AI tools and recording are not.

Official resources:

- Core Surgery Training: Interviews (https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/surgery/core-surgery/overview-of-core-surgery-training/interviews): NHS England's page on the online interview, the two stations and how each part is scored.
- Core Surgical Training Portfolio Guidance for Candidates (https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/surgery/core-surgery/core-surgical-training-portfolio-guidance-for-candidates): The scoring guide for each domain, the mandatory evidence and a hints, tips and pitfalls section.
- Core Surgical Training CT1 2027 person specification (https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/person-specifications/person-specifications-2027/core-surgical-training-ct1-2027): The eligibility and selection criteria for the 2027 round.
- Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment (MSRA) practice paper (https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/publications/multi-specialty-recruitment-assessment-%28msra%29-practice-paper): NHS England's practice paper with answer key and rationales for both MSRA papers.
- Core Surgical Training curriculum (ISCP) (https://www.iscp.ac.uk/iscp/curriculum/core-surgical-training-curriculum/1-introduction/): The approved UK framework for core surgical training; use it to check the clinical ground scenarios can cover.
- GMC Good medical practice (https://www.gmc-uk.org/professional-standards/the-professional-standards/good-medical-practice): The professional standards expected of all doctors; test your management and probity answers against it.

Common mistakes examiners report:

- Uploading portfolio evidence without the index page: it is scored 0 in the domains and not reviewed. (source: https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/surgery/core-surgery/core-surgical-training-portfolio-guidance-for-candidates)
- Uploading several items in one domain: assessors only assess the first item for each domain. (source: https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/surgery/core-surgery/core-surgical-training-portfolio-guidance-for-candidates)
- Leaving patient-identifiable data in evidence, such as hospital numbers or thank-you letters from families: it scores zero and you may be reported to the GMC. (source: https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/surgery/core-surgery/core-surgical-training-portfolio-guidance-for-candidates)
- Using an electronic signature that can be edited after upload: the document cannot be accepted and scores 0 points. (source: https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/surgery/core-surgery/core-surgical-training-portfolio-guidance-for-candidates)

Sources: https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/surgery/core-surgery/overview-of-core-surgery-training/interviews https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/surgery/core-surgery/overview-of-core-surgery-training/applying-for-core-training https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/surgery/core-surgery/overview-of-core-surgery-training/overview-of-core-training https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/surgery/core-surgery/core-surgical-training-portfolio-guidance-for-candidates https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/person-specifications/person-specifications-2027/core-surgical-training-ct1-2027 https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/overview-of-specialty-training/recruitment-timelines https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/overview-of-specialty-training/interviews-and-selection-process https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/position-statement-on-the-use-of-artificial-intelligence-%28ai%29-during-interviews https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/prioritisation-for-specialty-recruitment https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/publications/multi-specialty-recruitment-assessment-%28msra%29-practice-paper https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/multi-specialty-recruitment-assessment-msra/whats-in-the-msra/structure-of-the-msra https://www.iscp.ac.uk/iscp/curriculum/core-surgical-training-curriculum/1-introduction/ https://www.gmc-uk.org/professional-standards/the-professional-standards/good-medical-practice
Full guide: https://medmock.com/exams/core-surgical-training-ct1/prepare

Recruitment dates: Applications 22 October 2026 to 19 November 2026 (national Round 1); Interviews within the national Round 1 window, 11 January 2027 to 2 April 2027 (source: NHS England Medical Specialty Recruitment, checked 2026-09-24).
All Core Surgical Training (CT1) dates: https://medmock.com/exams/core-surgical-training-ct1#dates

## Stations you can practise

- **Portfolio Station** — Your pre-prepared 3-minute presentation and 2 minutes of questions on it, then two 5-minute questions on domains of your portfolio chosen by the panel. The presentation is scored on content, presentation skills and questioning, and each portfolio answer on skills and knowledge.
- **Management and Clinical station** — One management scenario question and two clinical scenario questions, 5 minutes each, put to you during the interview so you think on your feet. Scored on probity, professional integrity and awareness of safety and ethics; judgement under pressure and prioritisation; communication; and clinical skills and knowledge.

## Sample Core Surgical Training (CT1) questions

- *Portfolio Station:* What was your personal contribution to your use of data to change clinical practice?
- *Clinical station:* A patient has acute urinary retention. How would you approach them?

## Example scenarios

- *Management and Clinical station:* You catch your surgical SpR falsifying a consent form prior to an emergency laparotomy. Describe your exact immediate actions.
- *Management and Clinical station:* A post-operative thyroidectomy patient calls for help because they are struggling to breathe and you notice a tense neck swelling. Talk me through your immediate actions.
- *Portfolio Station:* Tell us about the strongest evidence in your portfolio for your formal teaching experience.

## 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, £45 per month for 300 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 Core Surgical Training CT1 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