Rheumatology (ST4)
Walk into your Rheumatology ST4 interview already knowing how you will answer
Rehearse for your Rheumatology ST4 interview against an AI interviewer who challenges your answers. Get feedback on any session you finish, in seconds.
What is the Rheumatology ST4 interview, and how do you practise for it?
Rheumatology ST4 national recruitment interview, run online by Physician Higher Specialty Training: three separate 10-minute stations with five scored areas. Station 1 is a brief written clinical scenario, with communication marked separately. Station 2 is medical registrar suitability, opened by a one-minute presentation on managing the acute unselected medical take. Station 3 is a written ethical scenario, then your suitability for and commitment to rheumatology. Rheumatology trains alongside General Internal Medicine and recruits after Internal Medicine Training stage 1. MedMock lets you practise it out loud against an AI interview panel, with examiner-style feedback on any station you finish.
Last updated 29 October 2026
About Rheumatology (ST4) recruitment
Rheumatology ST4, 2025 recruitment round (Round 2). NHS England competition ratios
- All rheumatology trainees now undertake a four-year programme to dual accredit with general internal medicine (GIM), and it is no longer possible to train in pure rheumatology over four years.
- The London Recruitment Office is the lead region for rheumatology.
- The rheumatology interview has three stations of 10 minutes each, with a separate pair of interviewers scoring each station. It takes approximately 40-45 minutes including the time between stations.
- Station 3 includes a question of approximately 5 minutes on suitability for and commitment to training in the specialty, giving applicants the opportunity to expand on their application form.
- Rheumatology assesses commitment to specialty as part of shortlisting.
- Interview areas are weighted 2.0 for the clinical scenario and for suitability and commitment, 1.5 for medical registrar suitability and the ethical scenario, and 1 for communication.
Checked on 13 October 2026 against Rheumatology. Recruitment changes each year: confirm on the official pages before you apply.
Rheumatology ST4 interview practice, on demand
MedMock gives you an AI interviewer who challenges your answers, available 24/7. Pick a station, have a spoken conversation, and ask for examiner-style feedback when you finish, scored against what genuinely matters in the Rheumatology ST4.
How it works
Choose a station
Choose the kind of question or scenario you want to rehearse — ethics, motivation, a role-play, and more.
Have the conversation
Speak naturally, out loud. The AI interviewer listens and asks the demanding follow-ups, just as a real interviewer would.
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.
Practise every scenario
MedMock covers the stations you will face in the Rheumatology ST4 interview. Rehearse each one until it feels routine.
Station 1 – Question 1 – Clinical scenario
Pre-read brief 2–3 sentence rheumatology clinical scenario followed by 10 minutes of examiner-led discussion. Scored on (a) clinical management — steps you would take, further information you would gather, treatments, escalation — and (b) communication skills with patients, colleagues and the panel.
Station 2 – Question 1 – Medical registrar suitability
One-minute candidate presentation summarising experience managing the acute unselected medical take as the medical registrar (roles/duration, supervision level, MDT size, patient volume, non-clinical duties), followed by examiner probes on the IMT Stage 1 Capabilities in Practice: managing the acute unselected take and managing the MDT including effective discharge planning. No slides or screen sharing; notes for personal use only.
Station 3 – Question 1 – Ethical scenario
Question 1 (about 5 minutes): a brief written ethical scenario to review, then discussion of its moral, ethical and legal issues. Question 2 (about 5 minutes): your suitability for and commitment to training in rheumatology, expanding on your application form.
Sample Rheumatology (ST4) interview questions
Two questions from the topics that come up most in MedMock's Rheumatology (ST4) bank.
“Walk us through your structured approach to taking handover at the start of a take, and how you run a board round to catch deterioration during the take. Name the frameworks you use.”
“A consultant surgeon stops you in the corridor and asks you to prescribe colchicine for his wife's gout attack 'since you're the expert', without seeing her. What are the issues here and how would you approach this?”
Example scenarios
A sample of the Rheumatology ST4 scenarios you can practise, each as a spoken conversation.
“A 68-year-old presents with new bitemporal headache, jaw claudication and transient monocular visual loss. Walk us through your immediate management, the further information you would gather, and how you would communicate the plan to the patient and the on-call ophthalmology registrar.”
“Give us your one-minute summary of your experience leading the acute unselected medical take — roles, supervision, MDT size, patient volume, and non-clinical duties — then describe a specific take where you had to escalate a deteriorating patient while running a complex discharge in parallel.”
“A 27-year-old woman with lupus nephritis needs mycophenolate but says she will not use contraception. What are the issues here and how would you approach this? Then: what have you done to test your commitment to rheumatology?”
Rheumatology (ST4) recruitment dates 2026–27
The next Rheumatology (ST4) recruitment date we hold is: Applications 19 November 2026 to 10 December 2026 (national Round 2). Checked against Physician Higher Specialty Training Recruitment (PHST) on 24 September 2026.
Time until Applications 19 November 2026 to 10 December 2026 (national Round 2)
— d — h — m — sRheumatology (ST4) is recruited through NHS England’s national recruitment round 2, which the national timeline says is for ST3/ST4 posts. Applications are made on Oriel.
Recruitment dates change. MedMock is not affiliated with Physician Higher Specialty Training Recruitment (PHST); confirm every date, application window and venue on the official site before you apply. Physician Higher Specialty Training Recruitment (PHST)
Rheumatology (ST4) practice — your questions answered
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 Rheumatology ST4 stations?
Yes. You can pick any of the 3 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.
Formats change from year to year: check the official candidate guidance or applicant handbook from the body that runs your exam or interview (the Royal Colleges, NHS England, the GMC and others) for your sitting.
Ready for your Rheumatology ST4 interview?
Rehearse real Rheumatology ST4 scenarios out loud and get instant, examiner-style feedback.
- Instant, personalised feedback
- Real voice-to-voice conversation
- Repeatable attempts, a different run every time
Related exams to practise
Be ready for your Rheumatology ST4 interview before you walk in
Start with the £5 taster, a one-off payment for 30 credits: practise Rheumatology ST4 interview scenarios out loud and get any of them marked when you are ready.
Practise your Rheumatology ST4 interview