The ST3 Plastics "Call the Boss" Communication Station
How the ST3 Plastic Surgery communication ("call the boss") station works: phoning the on-call consultant, the structured handover you are marked on, and how to prepare.
On this page
It’s 2am, you’re the plastics registrar on call, and you need the consultant to come in. That is the whole station. Five minutes of the ST3 Plastic Surgery interview in which you phone the boss about an acute case and are marked on whether your handover would actually get a consultant out of bed.
What actually happens
The assessor answers the phone as the consultant. “Hello, this is the plastics consultant on call.” From there, they listen to your handover and probe it. Expect deliberate push-back: can this really not wait until morning? Why that plan? They are not being difficult for fun. They want to see whether you can justify the urgency and the management, defend a safe plan with reasoning, and still adapt if they add something new.
What you are marked on
- Introduction: who you are, where you are, and why you are calling.
- History: a concise, relevant summary of the case.
- Examination: the key findings.
- Investigations planned: what you have done or will do.
- Management plan: your proposed plan, ending in a specific ask.
Where candidates lose marks
The vague update. A handover that wanders through the history, never states a plan, and ends without asking for anything leaves the consultant, and the examiner, wondering why you called. The other classic is folding at the first push-back and abandoning a safe plan you were right about.
How to prepare
Pick a structured handover tool (SBAR works well) and drill it until it survives interruptions. Always finish with a clear, specific ask. Then rehearse the acute scenarios that come up here out loud, with someone pushing back on your plan. Major burn, replantation, necrotising fasciitis, open fracture, compartment syndrome and free-flap compromise are the usual suspects. You can rehearse the communication station with an AI consultant on Reviva, and it will push back like a real one.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the "call the boss" station in the ST3 plastics interview?
- You play the on-call registrar phoning the on-call consultant about an acute case; an assessor plays the consultant receiving your call. It is a five-minute communication station within the OSCE block, testing a clear, structured handover that ends in a specific ask.
- What are you marked on in the communication station?
- A structured handover: your introduction, the history, the examination findings, the investigations planned, and your management plan, finishing with a clear ask ("I would like you to come in", or "can this wait until morning?").
- How do I handle the consultant’s push-back?
- Expect it. The consultant will question your plan or the urgency to see whether you can justify it. Stand behind a safe plan with your reasoning rather than backing down, but be willing to adapt if they add new information.
Sources. Based on the ST3 Plastic Surgery selection format modelled by Reviva and the national selection marking scheme. Educational only. Confirm the current format against the official national recruitment portal.