CSTEM Interview structure and tips
CSTEM applications open in October each year and interview time comes around only once a year which is usually in late February.
It consists of three sections, each lasting 10 minutes and rotating through all stations you will meet two consultants in each of them.
Three sections are as follows, in no particular order:
CV - where you will be asked about your experience, relevant achievements, exams, courses and how they all benefit your application. A question about CSTEM training pathway also comes up in this section.
Suitability to emergency medicine - where you will be asked about challenges and their solutions in emergency medicine, general questions about the field and some regular interview questions such as what are your strengths and weaknesses
Clinical section - medical knowledge station, most time pressured section as they expect a lot of answers in just 10 minutes, you are expected to answer questions from a long case they present you with, where they expect to go through the whole case including history, clinical exam, investigations, treatment, disposition and two short cases which are usually data interpretation questions such as ECG, Xray with associated management. Must talk fast in this station!
Tips:
You are expected to bring a printed copy of your CV
Wear interview appropriate clothes, it really does matter!
Start preparing your answers the second you are offered an interview so in the last month they are ready to learn off!
Structure your clinical answer in ABCDE primary survey approach!
Prepare a 2-minute summary of your CV highlights
Emergencies section in the oxford handbook of clinical medicine is helpful to prepare for the clinical section
Make eye contact with the consultants
Arrive 15 minutes before your time slot, if you are late they will not interview you no matter how good your excuse is
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact info@jems.ie or join the JEMS society below.