# Practising for Paediatric Surgery (ST3) with MedMock

Canonical page: https://medmock.com/exams/paediatric-surgery-st3

## What is the Paediatric Surgery ST3 interview, and how do you practise for it?

Paediatric Surgery ST3 national recruitment interview, run online by NHS England North East and Yorkshire: four 10-minute stations for 2026 — Career Progression, Academic, Clinical and CARE Communication, a communication station piloted in 2026. Before each station there are 5 minutes of reading time when a document is shared, and two panel members score each station independently. The published interview maximum is 264 (Career Progression 64, Academic 100, Clinical 100); the CARE Communication pilot is not counted. Here one examiner voice speaks for the panel, and the parent in the CARE station is simulated by voice. MedMock lets you practise it out loud against an AI interview panel, with examiner-style feedback on any station you finish.

## About Paediatric Surgery (ST3) recruitment (official sources, checked 2026-10-13)

- 2025 recruitment round, NHS England figures for Paediatric Surgery ST3: 109 applications for 16 posts, a competition ratio of 6.81.
- The National Recruitment Office for ST3 Paediatric Surgery is NHS England North East and Yorkshire, recruiting to ST3 posts across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
- In the 2026 round, the Paediatric Surgery interview was split into four 10-minute stations: Career Progression, Academic, Clinical and CARE (Communication).
- In the 2026 Academic station, a presentation topic was sent to applicants one week before the interview. Each station was assessed independently by two panel members.
- The CARE (Communication) station was introduced as a pilot in the 2026 round. Candidates were scored for it, but the scores did not count towards the final interview score.
- For 2027 entry, the Paediatric Surgery interview stays at four stations, and the Career Progression station now includes a Non-Technical Skills element.
- In the 2026 round, Paediatric Surgery applicants were shortlisted using their validated self-assessment score; applicants under the Disability Confident Scheme or seeking ACF clinical benchmarking needed a minimum self-assessment score of 12 to be invited to interview.

Sources: https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/competition-ratios/2025-competition-ratios https://www.yorksandhumberdeanery.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/2026_applicant_handbook_paediatric_surgery_final_v2.pdf https://www.yorksandhumberdeanery.nhs.uk/recruitment/national-recruitment/national-paediatric-surgery-st3-recruitment

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: NHS England Medical Specialty Recruitment, checked 2026-09-24).
All Paediatric Surgery (ST3) dates: https://medmock.com/exams/paediatric-surgery-st3#dates

## Stations you can practise

- **Career Progression** — Questions on elements of your career and experience to date, after 5 minutes' reading. Scored out of 64.
- **Academic Station** — Questions on your academic experience, after 5 minutes' reading. Scored out of 100. In the real interview a presentation topic is sent a week beforehand; no topic is published, so none is set here.
- **Clinical** — A paediatric surgical clinical scenario, read during 5 minutes of reading time and then discussed with the panel: assessment, investigation, management and escalation, including safeguarding where relevant. Scored out of 100.
- **CARE Communication** — A communication station piloted in 2026 and not counted in the score, with a role-player playing a parent: explaining a diagnosis, consenting for surgery, or a difficult conversation. The child is not in the room.

## Sample Paediatric Surgery (ST3) questions

- *Academic Station:* Tell me about your strongest completed clinical audit. Walk me through how you identified the standard, how you collected the data, the specific change you personally implemented, and what the re-audit showed.
- *CARE Communication:* Speak to the mother of a 10-year-old girl admitted with right iliac fossa pain and a working diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Obtain consent for a laparoscopic appendicectomy.

## Example scenarios

- *Career Progression:* Talk us through your career to date and what has prepared you for ST3 training in paediatric surgery.
- *Academic Station:* Tell us about a piece of research you have contributed to — your own role, the methods and what you would do differently.
- *Clinical:* A 5-week-old boy has a three-week history of projectile non-bilious vomiting. Talk us through your assessment and management.
- *CARE Communication:* Speak to the father of a 6-week-old boy with pyloric stenosis about the diagnosis and the operation his son needs.

## 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 Paediatric Surgery ST3 stations?

Yes. You can pick any of the 4 stations 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