What is the structured interview in the ST3 plastics interview?

A 10-minute section in which a panel member asks two or three structured questions on non-clinical themes — audit, research, teaching, leadership, ethics, and your commitment to the specialty. There is no single right answer; you are assessed on structure, examples, and depth.

What themes come up in the structured interview?

Audit, research, teaching, risk and safety, leadership and management, consent, ethics, and career / commitment to plastic surgery.

How do I prepare for the structured interview?

Prepare real, specific examples for each theme and a framework to structure them (STAR works well). Practise saying them out loud, concisely, and be ready to reflect on what you learned rather than just describing what you did.

The ST3 Plastics Structured Interview

The structured interview is the final 10-minute section of the ST3 Plastic Surgery interview. A panel member asks two or three questions on non-clinical themes and probes your answers for structure, examples, and depth. Unlike the clinical stations, there is no single correct answer here — this is about how you think, evidence, and reflect.

How the station runs

The panellist selects a small number of questions from a pool of themes and asks them in turn, probing for detail: a specific example, your personal contribution, and what you took from it. They are assessing the structure of your answer and the depth of your understanding, not testing recall.

The themes

Audit and quality improvement — a project you ran, and its impact.
Research and publications — your involvement and understanding.
Teaching — what you have taught and how you improved it.
Risk and safety — a time you improved patient safety.
Leadership and management — leading a team or a change.
Ethics and consent — reasoning through a dilemma.
Commitment to the specialty — why plastic surgery, evidenced.

How to prepare

Build a bank of two or three concrete examples per theme, structured with STAR (situation, task, action, result) and finished with reflection. Rehearse them aloud so they are concise and natural under time pressure, and be ready to be probed on the detail. You can rehearse the structured interview with an AI panel on Reviva.

Frequently asked questions

What is the structured interview in the ST3 plastics interview?: A 10-minute section in which a panel member asks two or three structured questions on non-clinical themes — audit, research, teaching, leadership, ethics, and your commitment to the specialty. There is no single right answer; you are assessed on structure, examples, and depth.
What themes come up in the structured interview?: Audit, research, teaching, risk and safety, leadership and management, consent, ethics, and career / commitment to plastic surgery.
How do I prepare for the structured interview?: Prepare real, specific examples for each theme and a framework to structure them (STAR works well). Practise saying them out loud, concisely, and be ready to reflect on what you learned rather than just describing what you did.

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.