# Practising for Medical Ophthalmology (ST3) with MedMock

Canonical page: https://medmock.com/exams/medical-ophthalmology-st3

## What is the Medical Ophthalmology ST3 interview, and how do you practise for it?

Medical Ophthalmology ST3 national recruitment interview, run by Physician Higher Specialty Training: two 15-minute online stations with four scored questions. Station 1 is a written clinical scenario, then an ethical, professionalism and governance question given verbally. Station 2 is a written ethical scenario, then suitability and commitment to medical ophthalmology. There is no role-player or communication station. The real panel has two interviewers per station; here one examiner asks the questions. MedMock lets you practise it out loud against an AI interview panel, with examiner-style feedback on any station you finish.

## About Medical Ophthalmology (ST3) recruitment (official sources, checked 2026-10-13)

- 2025 recruitment round, NHS England figures for Medical Ophthalmology ST3: 14 applications for 3 posts, a competition ratio of 4.67.
- The lead recruiter for medical ophthalmology is South West Severn Recruitment.
- Entry to medical ophthalmology training is from either internal medicine or core medical training, or from ophthalmology specialty training.
- The interview has two stations of 15 minutes each, with a separate pair of interviewers in each, and four scored questions of between 5 and 10 minutes.
- The four scored areas are a clinical scenario, an ethical, professionalism and governance question, an ethical scenario, and suitability and commitment.
- In the previous round's person specification, one route for physician applicants was MRCP(UK) Part 1 at the time of application and the full MRCP(UK) diploma by the offer date; ophthalmology applicants needed FRCOphth Part 1 by the offer date.
- Shortlisting for medical ophthalmology includes an assessment of commitment to specialty.

Sources: https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/competition-ratios/2025-competition-ratios https://www.phstrecruitment.org.uk/specialties/medical-ophthalmology https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/person-specifications/person-specifications-2026/medical-ophthalmology-st3-2026

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 Medical Ophthalmology (ST3) dates: https://medmock.com/exams/medical-ophthalmology-st3#dates

## Stations you can practise

- **Station 1 — Clinical Scenario, Professionalism & Governance** — Station 1. Question 1 (about 10 minutes): a brief written clinical scenario, given a short while to review, then questions on it. Question 2 (about 5 minutes): an ethical, professionalism and governance situation given verbally with no advance sight, underpinned by GMC Good Medical Practice.
- **Station 2 — Ethical Scenario, Suitability & Commitment** — Station 2. Question 1 (about 5 minutes): a brief written ethical scenario, given a short while to review, then your suggested responses and the moral, ethical and legal considerations. Question 2 (about 10 minutes): your suitability for and commitment to medical ophthalmology, expanding on your application form.

## Sample Medical Ophthalmology (ST3) questions

- *Station 1 — Clinical Scenario, Professionalism & Governance:* A 33-year-old woman with known multiple sclerosis presents with internuclear ophthalmoplegia. Describe the eye movement abnormality you would expect to find on clinical examination.
- *Station 2 — Ethical Scenario, Suitability & Commitment:* A patient with a written advance decision refusing blood products is admitted for urgent surgery for a bleeding orbital haematoma, and the on-call team wants to proceed rapidly. What are the issues here and how would you approach this?

## Example scenarios

- *Station 1 — Clinical Scenario, Professionalism & Governance:* Acute visual loss in a 65-year-old: outline history, differentials (GCA, CRAO, optic neuritis), investigations and initial management.
- *Station 2 — Ethical Scenario, Suitability & Commitment:* A 55-year-old taxi driver has double vision from a sixth nerve palsy and says he closes one eye when driving so he can keep working. What are the issues here, and how would you approach them? Then: what has confirmed that medical ophthalmology is the right specialty for you?

## 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 Medical Ophthalmology 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