# Practising for General Surgery (FRCS General Surgery oral) with MedMock

Canonical page: https://medmock.com/exams/general-surgery-frcs-general-surgery-oral

## What is the FRCS General Surgery viva, and how do you practise for it?

JCIE Intercollegiate exit exam (FRCS General Surgery Section 2). The full exam is six stations: four examiner-led orals plus two clinical sessions, each with two short cases based on clinical scenarios and a long case with a volunteer patient. MedMock covers the four orals — emergency / trauma / critical care, general-surgical principles and clinical practice, and both stations set in your declared sub-specialty interest, including Academic Foundation critical appraisal. The two clinical sessions require physically examining a patient, so they are not simulated here. MedMock lets you practise it out loud against an AI examiner, with examiner-style feedback on any question you finish.

An illustrative example station, written by MedMock with example feedback, is at https://medmock.com/exams/general-surgery-frcs-general-surgery-oral/example

## What happens in the real FRCS General Surgery (checked against the official source on 2026-09-26)

Section 2 of the FRCS (General Surgery) is the clinical part of the exam, taken after passing the written Section 1. It has two clinical sessions, one in general surgery and one in the candidate's declared special interest, each with two 10-minute short cases based on clinical scenarios and a 20-minute long case with a volunteer patient, and four 30-minute orals. Examiners mark against the JCIE's marking descriptors on a scale of 4 to 8, and the pass standard is set at the level of a day one consultant in the generality of the specialty.

- **Clinical: General Surgery**: Two 10-minute short cases based on clinical scenarios and one 20-minute long case with a volunteer, a past or present patient relevant to the specialty recruited by the host examiner.
- **Clinical: Special Interest**: Two 10-minute short cases based on clinical scenarios and one 20-minute long case with a volunteer, in the candidate's declared special interest.
- **Oral: Emergency Surgery/Trauma/Critical Care** (30 minutes): A 30-minute oral on clinical topics, with discussion of the published evidence supporting practice.
- **Oral: General Surgery Principles and Clinical Practice** (30 minutes): A 30-minute oral on the principles and clinical practice of general surgery, including applied anatomy, physiology and pathology.
- **Oral: Special Interest Surgery – Clinical Practice** (30 minutes): A 30-minute oral on clinical topics in the declared special interest, with discussion of the published evidence supporting practice.
- **Oral: Special Interest Surgery – Basic Principles and Academic Foundation** (30 minutes): 15 minutes on basic principles (applied anatomy, physiology and pathology), then 15 minutes of Academic Foundation on one generic paper relevant to the wider field of General Surgery, which candidates are given 30 minutes to read.

Marking: Examiners use the JCIE marking descriptors, a rating scale from 4 to 8 covering basic knowledge, higher order processing, clinical skills and professionalism. A 4 describes poor basic knowledge and a lack of understanding to a level of concern; a 6 describes competent knowledge, no major errors and safe practice; an 8 describes excellent basic knowledge and knowing the breadth and depth of the topic.

Passing: The JCIE states that the pass mark is set at the level of a day one consultant in the generality of the specialty. It does not publish a numerical pass mark for Section 2 or how the marks are combined.

Sources: https://www.jcie.org.uk/Utils/DocumentGenerator.aspx?Type=CMS&docID=66c3a057-bd0f-46fa-81d1-2195cb20328f https://www.jcie.org.uk/content/content.aspx?ID=14 https://www.jcie.org.uk/Utils/DocumentGenerator.aspx?Type=CMS&docID=386bbc69-2612-4727-8ed5-a0d8808ba9e7 https://www.jcie.org.uk/Utils/DocumentGenerator.aspx?Type=CMS&docID=58EA3EC7-DE60-4160-9D15-D8757F511D14 https://www.jcie.org.uk/content/content.aspx?ID=8 https://www.jcie.org.uk/Utils/DocumentGenerator.aspx?Type=CMS&docID=52bb7306-cbbd-4bd9-ba1e-f3d597feeb03
Full format page: https://medmock.com/exams/general-surgery-frcs-general-surgery-oral/format

## How to prepare for the FRCS General Surgery (facts checked against official sources on 2026-09-27)

Section 2 of the FRCS (General Surgery) tests you at the level of a day one consultant through two clinical sessions and four 30-minute orals, so prepare for structured conversations that move from a scenario to consultant-level decisions you can justify with published evidence. The format page lists every session. Revise to the level the JCIE regulations set for each area, practise appraising a paper for the Academic Foundation, and rehearse the clinical sessions with real patients, because the long cases use volunteers.

1. **Revise to the level set for each area** — The regulations say the examination reflects the curriculum levels: in the general surgery components, elective and emergency general surgery are examined to ST8, upper GI and colorectal to ST6, and transplant, breast, endocrine and vascular to ST4. Your declared special interest is examined to day one consultant (ST8) level. Plan revision from the ISCP curriculum and the JCIE syllabus blueprint.
2. **Practise orals that escalate** — The JCIE's guidelines for question writers say oral questions should progress logically, increasing in complexity towards the tasks of a day one consultant, and use open questions that ask you to apply knowledge and justify decisions, with 'what if?' and 'and why?' follow-ups. Practise with a consultant who will keep pushing past your first answer.
3. **Aim for answers that need little prompting** — In the JCIE marking descriptors a 6 describes competent knowledge, no major errors and safe practice, with adequate responses needing no or minimal prompting, while a 7 or 8 adds supporting evidence. Record your mock orals and check whether you reached decisions without being led.
4. **Know the evidence behind your practice** — The Emergency Surgery/Trauma/Critical Care oral and the Special Interest Clinical Practice oral include discussion of published evidence supporting practice, and question writers are prompted to ask how a recent study would change your management. For each common scenario, know the key trials and national guidance, such as NICE's, and their limits.
5. **Prepare for the Academic Foundation** — The fourth oral is 15 minutes of basic principles in your special interest, then 15 minutes of Academic Foundation on one generic paper relevant to general surgery, which you get 30 minutes to read. Practise appraising unfamiliar papers in that time: the question, design, results, weaknesses and whether it should change practice.
6. **Talk through images and data out loud** — Radiographs may be included in any oral, and scenarios can include findings, results and images; short video clips can be viewed up to three times. Practise describing images systematically and saying how they change your management.
7. **Rehearse the clinical sessions with patients** — Each clinical session has two 10-minute short cases based on clinical scenarios and a 20-minute long case with a volunteer, a past or present patient. The descriptors cover history taking, examination, diagnostic skills and your behaviour towards volunteers, so ask consultants in clinic to watch you assess and present patients against the clock.
8. **Plan your attempts and booking** — You must pass Section 1 first, and you then have at most four attempts at Section 2 within the 7 years allowed for the whole examination. Section 2 places may be restricted and are allocated in order of your Section 1 application date.

Official resources:

- JCIE: General Surgery (https://www.jcie.org.uk/content/content.aspx?ID=14): The specialty page linking the current regulations and the syllabus blueprint.
- JCIE Regulations: Intercollegiate Specialty Examination in General Surgery (SR5) (https://www.jcie.org.uk/Utils/DocumentGenerator.aspx?Type=CMS&docID=66c3a057-bd0f-46fa-81d1-2195cb20328f): The Section 2 format, the special interest options, the level examined in each area and the attempt limits.
- JCIE Marking Descriptors (G38) (https://www.jcie.org.uk/Utils/DocumentGenerator.aspx?Type=CMS&docID=58EA3EC7-DE60-4160-9D15-D8757F511D14): The 4 to 8 rating scale examiners use for knowledge, higher order processing, clinical skills and professionalism.
- JCIE Structured oral question writing guidelines (G35) (https://www.jcie.org.uk/Utils/DocumentGenerator.aspx?Type=CMS&docID=52bb7306-cbbd-4bd9-ba1e-f3d597feeb03): How oral questions are built, with example higher order questions.
- General Surgery Syllabus Blueprint 2023 (https://www.jcie.org.uk/Utils/DocumentGenerator.aspx?Type=CMS&docID=d2e29dca-8166-45ad-a4ad-27460f532e9a): Maps each syllabus item to the assessments, including Section 2.
- General Surgery curriculum (ISCP) (https://www.iscp.ac.uk/iscp/curriculum/general-surgery-curriculum/1-introduction/): The approved UK curriculum the examination scope is drawn from.
- JCIE Guidance Notes for Applicants (G1) (https://www.jcie.org.uk/Utils/DocumentGenerator.aspx?Type=CMS&docID=386bbc69-2612-4727-8ed5-a0d8808ba9e7): Attempts, time limits, withdrawal and illness rules for both sections.
- NICE: Digestive tract conditions (https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/conditions-and-diseases/digestive-tract-conditions): NICE guidance grouped by condition, including colorectal, oesophageal, stomach and pancreatic cancer.

Common mistakes examiners report:

- Carrying an unauthorised recording device: breaking the examination rules means you are automatically deemed to have failed. (source: https://www.jcie.org.uk/content/content.aspx?ID=10)
- Arriving late or misreading the timetable: no allowance is made and you normally lose the fee, though it does not count as an attempt. (source: https://www.jcie.org.uk/Utils/DocumentGenerator.aspx?Type=CMS&docID=386bbc69-2612-4727-8ed5-a0d8808ba9e7)
- Withdrawing part-way through: it counts as an attempt and is normally treated as a fail unless you are taken ill and provide a medical certificate dated that day. (source: https://www.jcie.org.uk/Utils/DocumentGenerator.aspx?Type=CMS&docID=386bbc69-2612-4727-8ed5-a0d8808ba9e7)
- Needing a lot of prompting: the descriptors place 'poor responses which required significant prompting' at 5 on the 4 to 8 scale. (source: https://www.jcie.org.uk/Utils/DocumentGenerator.aspx?Type=CMS&docID=58EA3EC7-DE60-4160-9D15-D8757F511D14)

Sources: https://www.jcie.org.uk/content/content.aspx?ID=14 https://www.jcie.org.uk/Utils/DocumentGenerator.aspx?Type=CMS&docID=66c3a057-bd0f-46fa-81d1-2195cb20328f https://www.jcie.org.uk/Utils/DocumentGenerator.aspx?Type=CMS&docID=386bbc69-2612-4727-8ed5-a0d8808ba9e7 https://www.jcie.org.uk/Utils/DocumentGenerator.aspx?Type=CMS&docID=58EA3EC7-DE60-4160-9D15-D8757F511D14 https://www.jcie.org.uk/Utils/DocumentGenerator.aspx?Type=CMS&docID=52bb7306-cbbd-4bd9-ba1e-f3d597feeb03 https://www.jcie.org.uk/Utils/DocumentGenerator.aspx?Type=CMS&docID=d2e29dca-8166-45ad-a4ad-27460f532e9a https://www.jcie.org.uk/content/content.aspx?ID=10 https://www.iscp.ac.uk/iscp/curriculum/general-surgery-curriculum/1-introduction/ https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/conditions-and-diseases/digestive-tract-conditions
Full guide: https://medmock.com/exams/general-surgery-frcs-general-surgery-oral/prepare

Upcoming sittings: from 3 February 2027 (Birmingham); from 2 June 2027 (Coventry); from 1 September 2027 (venue to be confirmed) (source: JCIE (the four surgical Royal Colleges), checked 2026-09-23).
All FRCS General Surgery dates: https://medmock.com/exams/general-surgery-frcs-general-surgery-oral#dates

## Stations you can practise

- **Emergency Surgery/Trauma/Critical Care Oral** — 30-minute examiner-led viva on acute general-surgical emergencies, polytrauma, and critically ill surgical patients. Discussion of evidence supporting practice; radiograph interpretation may be included.
- **General Surgery Principles and Clinical Practice Oral** — 30-minute examiner-led viva covering applied anatomy, physiology and pathology relevant to general-surgical clinical practice. Radiograph interpretation may be included.
- **Special Interest Surgery – Clinical Practice Oral** — 30-minute examiner-led viva set in the sub-specialty interest you declare on your profile — colorectal, oesophagogastric, hepatobiliary and pancreatic, breast, endocrine or transplantation. Clinical topics with discussion of published evidence.
- **Special Interest Surgery – Basic Principles and Academic Foundation Oral** — 30-minute viva split in two, as the JCIE regulations set it: 15 minutes of applied anatomy, physiology and pathology in your declared sub-specialty, then 15 minutes of Academic Foundation. You are given a real published paper to read first (the real exam allows 30 minutes with it) and the examiners discuss your appraisal of it. There is no prepared presentation.

## Sample FRCS General Surgery questions

- *Special Interest Surgery – Basic Principles and Academic Foundation Oral:* How do aromatase inhibitors work? Why are they ineffective as monotherapy in premenopausal women, and what are the implications for bone health?
- *Special Interest Surgery – Basic Principles and Academic Foundation Oral:* Explain the ANDI concept of benign breast disease and describe the pathology of fibroadenoma, cysts and phyllodes tumour, including their relationship to cancer risk.

## Example scenarios

- *Emergency Surgery/Trauma/Critical Care Oral:* A 55-year-old presents with perforated peptic ulcer and septic shock. Talk me through your management.
- *General Surgery Principles and Clinical Practice Oral:* A 62-year-old has newly diagnosed colorectal cancer. Discuss staging and surgical management.
- *Special Interest Surgery – Clinical Practice Oral:* A 55-year-old with locally advanced rectal cancer is being considered for laparoscopic TME. Discuss your approach.
- *Special Interest Surgery – Basic Principles and Academic Foundation Oral:* Describe the surgical anatomy of the rectum and pelvic floor relevant to TME, and discuss the principles of critically appraising a randomised controlled trial in surgical oncology.

## How a practice session works

1. **Choose a question** — Pick from the FRCS General Surgery questions — all 4 that MedMock runs, or let MedMock surprise you the way exam day will.
2. **Have the conversation** — Speak naturally, out loud. The AI examiner listens, follows up and probes further, exactly like the viva.
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, £119 per month for 600 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 question 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 FRCS General Surgery questions?

Yes. You can pick any of the 4 questions to drill a weak area, or run a mixed set to simulate the real exam.

### 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