ST4 Medical Specialty

Respiratory Medicine ST4 Interview Masterclass

NIV, asthma, oncology MDT and SBAR under pressure.

October–November 1969 · 32 minutes + reading time · Qpercom (virtual) · 2 interviewers per station

Competition

3.97:1

Scenarios

RIS

10–50

Competition: 413 applications for 104 posts (2025). Source: NHS England specialty recruitment competition ratios.

2026 Respiratory Medicine interview-day briefing

What the recruitment office has told candidates for the 2026 round. Always follow your own invitation email if it differs.

Format and scoring

Two stations of 16 minutes each; all candidates rotate through both, with 5 minutes between stations.
Station 1: Clinical Scenario (10 min) then Application & Training (6 min).
Station 2: Medical Registrar Suitability (10 min) then Suitability & Commitment (6 min).
Communication is a third scored area in each station, assessed throughout rather than asked as a question.
5 minutes' reading time before Station 1 (the clinical scenario, with a 1-minute warning). Before Station 2 you still wait 5 minutes in the reading room, with nothing to read.
Panels are respiratory consultants from around the country: two interview, others observe with cameras off; a lay representative may be present.
There is no separate ethics station this round.

Presentation brief

“A summary of your experience managing the acute unselected medical take as the medical registrar”

One minute maximum — you will be stopped at one minute. It opens Station 2, Question 1.
Cover: the roles and duration; your level of responsibility and supervision; the size and profile of the MDTs you managed; patients directly and indirectly responsible for; your non-clinical duties.
Give headlines and brief descriptions; keep it clear and well structured.
No visual aids — no PowerPoint, and you must not share your screen. Notes are for your own use only.
Interviewers may then ask you to clarify or expand, before examples on the two CiPs: managing an acute unselected take, and managing an MDT including effective discharge planning.

Before interview day

Register on Qpercom Recruit even if you have used it before: enter your username (your Oriel email) and use 'Initial log in / Forgotten password'.
Log in on the device and connection you will use on the day and complete the diagnostics test — it is mandatory.
Use Google Chrome, with a headset, microphone and camera, in a quiet area.
Set up a second device (smartphone or tablet) as a second camera by scanning the QR code in the diagnostics tool; place it behind you showing your workstation, devices and screens.
Fully charge the second device and disable sleep mode — if its feed drops you will be asked to rescan.
Print any preparation notes; you will not be allowed to view them on a device during the interview.
Have valid photo ID ready (passport or driving licence). Raise any problems with england.specialtyrec.yh@nhs.net — in 2026 by 3pm on Friday 3 October.

On the day

Log in to Qpercom; you are called for ID checks 30 minutes before your interview and may wait in a queue.
Show photographic ID to the camera; you will get a short briefing and video, and can ask final questions. You cannot blur your background.
Stay in the system after the administrator disconnects — you move automatically into Station 1 reading time.
Use the Help button (bottom right) if you need the administrator. Keep your mobile on silent and nearby.
If you cannot hear, ask the panel to repeat; for any technical disruption the timer is paused until it is resolved. If an interviewer drops out, keep going.

Applicant Declaration — rules that end an interview

No AI of any kind — responses, virtual assistants or automated scripts. Use leads to disqualification and referral to the professional body.
No access to notes on your device during the interview; printed notes only.
The interview must not be recorded by you, the panel or the NHSE team.
The second camera must show your workstation, devices and screens for the whole interview.

Source: NHS England (Yorkshire & Humber) ST4 Respiratory Medicine interview invitation and 2026 Candidate Briefing Document for Qpercom interviews.

38 written topics and 41 scored practice questions for Respiratory Medicine, organised the way the interview is.

Members only