# Practising for Renal Medicine (ST4) with MedMock

Canonical page: https://medmock.com/exams/renal-medicine-st4

## What is the Renal Medicine ST4 interview, and how do you practise for it?

Renal Medicine ST4 national recruitment interview, run by Physician Higher Specialty Training: two 15-minute online stations with four scored questions and a communication mark. Station 1 is a brief written clinical scenario, then an ethical scenario given verbally with no advance preparation, with communication marked across both. Station 2 is medical registrar suitability, opened by a one-minute presentation on managing the acute unselected take, then suitability for and commitment to renal medicine. 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 Renal Medicine (ST4) recruitment (official sources, checked 2026-10-13)

- 2025 recruitment round, NHS England figures for Renal Medicine ST4: 206 applications for 58 posts, a competition ratio of 3.55.
- All renal medicine programmes are dual accredited with general internal medicine (GIM), leading to a dual CCT in renal medicine and GIM.
- The North West is the lead recruiter for renal medicine.
- The renal medicine interview has four questions of 5 to 10 minutes each, marked together with communication skills to give five scored areas. Each station lasts 15 minutes, and the interview takes approximately 40 minutes.
- Station 1 opens with a clinical scenario that applicants are given a short while to review, and a hypothetical scenario is then given on completion of the clinical scenario.
- Renal medicine assesses commitment to specialty as part of shortlisting.
- Current intensive care medicine trainees who intend to dual train in renal medicine can be considered as an exception, including a requirement to have successfully completed ST3 in ICM by the advertised post start date.

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

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 Renal Medicine (ST4) dates: https://medmock.com/exams/renal-medicine-st4#dates

## Stations you can practise

- **Station 1 — Clinical and Ethical Scenarios** — Question 1 (about 8 minutes): a brief written clinical scenario of two or three sentences, given a short while to review, then the steps you would take, possible treatments, further information you would gather and how you would communicate with those involved. Question 2 (about 7 minutes): an ethical scenario given verbally with no advance preparation, on its moral, ethical and legal considerations. Communication is marked across both questions.
- **Station 2 — Registrar Suitability and Commitment** — Question 1 (about 10 minutes): medical registrar suitability, opened by your one-minute presentation on managing the acute unselected medical take, then examples of managing a team caring for acute medical admissions, including discharge planning. Question 2 (about 5 minutes): your suitability for and commitment to renal medicine, expanding on your application form.

## Sample Renal Medicine (ST4) questions

- *Ethical Scenario:* A medical student asks to perform a renal biopsy under your supervision because she needs a procedure signed off. The patient is anxious and has not been told a student would be involved. How do you handle it?
- *Station 2 — Registrar Suitability and Commitment:* Tell us about supporting a junior doctor who was overwhelmed during an acute take, using a specific example from your own practice.

## Example scenarios

- *Station 1 — Clinical and Ethical Scenarios:* A 72-year-old man two weeks after a deceased-donor kidney transplant has a fever, a tender graft and a creatinine that has risen from 130 to 280 µmol/L. How would you approach this?
- *Station 1 — Clinical and Ethical Scenarios:* A frail 84-year-old woman with stage 5 chronic kidney disease tells you she wants to be left in peace at home, while her son is pushing for haemodialysis. What are the ethical and legal considerations, and how would you respond?
- *Station 2 — Registrar Suitability and Commitment:* Give us your one-minute summary of managing the acute unselected medical take as the medical registrar. Then tell us about a take on which two patients deteriorated at the same time.
- *Station 2 — Registrar Suitability and Commitment:* Expanding on your application form, tell us what has confirmed that renal medicine 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 Renal Medicine ST4 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