ABSTRACT
Core surgical training (CST) is a two-year programme formalizing and providing a foundation within the general principles of surgery that also allows for themed subspecialty content, thus suiting the needs and aspirations of successful candidates. Although the structure and process of CST national interviews have been constantly reviewed since 2013, there have been three scoring stations: Clinical scenario, management and portfolio themed stations However, there are also important 'horizontal domains' that are present and tested across all three stations, for example verbal and non-verbal communication skills. Many candidates do not fully appreciate or understand the new role they are applying for and therefore structure their approach for the interviews inadequately by concentrating on vertical domains only. The importance of appearing immaculate and professional is obvious, however, the people must simultaneously be comfortable during the interview in order to perform optimally. In most stations, there will be a table in between the people and the interviewers.
