The Student Room Group

CMT interview - Clinical station query

Doe anyone know if it is just speaking through the scenario or if it is role play?
Just want to be prepared for what sort of thing to expect.
Mine was speaking through the scenario, what would I do, what investigations, what am I thinking etc. - no roleplay. The people interviewing are consultants (or at least mine were) and I don't think many of them are keen on fake acting P:
Reply 2
Original post by seaholme
Mine was speaking through the scenario, what would I do, what investigations, what am I thinking etc. - no roleplay. The people interviewing are consultants (or at least mine were) and I don't think many of them are keen on fake acting P:


Cheers thanks, sounds similar to my CDF interview - one less thing to get anxious about. I haven't been at work for 2 and a bit weeks so hopefully I haven't forgotten medicine!
From what I've heard from senior colleagues, both the clinical and the ethical stations are just talking through the scenarios.
Reply 4
Thanks, I knew there was no patients, but I wasn't sure if it was acting out the role play (because there is a line in there about assessing communication skills in the webpage about the different stations) or just taking the consultants through how I would approach the situation.
Mine had a very small amount of informal role-play at the very end when they asked what i would now tell the patient about their diagnosis. It was very informal and time-pressured and they just wanted me to get to the point of what i would say but i kept doing things like saying i'd take them to a private room, and say that not all test results were back etc. They just wanted a 'I will tell the patient that their prognosis is bad' i think :p:
Reply 6
Original post by seaholme
Mine was speaking through the scenario, what would I do, what investigations, what am I thinking etc. - no roleplay. The people interviewing are consultants (or at least mine were) and I don't think many of them are keen on fake acting P:


Original post by nexttime
Mine had a very small amount of informal role-play at the very end when they asked what i would now tell the patient about their diagnosis. It was very informal and time-pressured and they just wanted me to get to the point of what i would say but i kept doing things like saying i'd take them to a private room, and say that not all test results were back etc. They just wanted a 'I will tell the patient that their prognosis is bad' i think :p:


Sorry to bother you guys again, but in your portfolios did you include SLEs and TABS? I don't know what heading I would put them under if they did, I mean everyone gets good TABs so it seems a bit weird to put it under additional achievements, and although doing an LP and other medical procedures shows interest in medical procedures I don't know I can really put that under commitment to specialty? And people have talked about including CBDs and miniCEX, I have seen interesting patients and been tested clinically but I cannot see what heading these would come under, and can't help but feel that by this point we must have all had similar experiences!

And all my reflections are too bloody honest to use!!
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by TheRabbit
Sorry to bother you guys again, but in your portfolios did you include SLEs and TABS? I don't know what heading I would put them under if they did, I mean everyone gets good TABs so it seems a bit weird to put it under additional achievements, and although doing an LP and other medical procedures shows interest in medical procedures I don't know I can really put that under commitment to specialty? And people have talked about including CBDs and miniCEX, I have seen interesting patients and been tested clinically but I cannot see what heading these would come under, and can't help but feel that by this point we must have all had similar experiences!

And all my reflections are too bloody honest to use!!


Plenty of people did print off all their eportfolio and turned up with 500 page folders yes.

I personally couldn't imagine that anyone would have time to read through that nonsense so didn't print any. At my interview the assessors had 15 mins per candidate to read the whole thing so i feel vinficated, although no one commented one way or another.

What I would say is to make sure everything important is very easy to find because like I say, the time they have to read it is very precious indeed!
Reply 8
Original post by nexttime
Plenty of people did print off all their eportfolio and turned up with 500 page folders yes.

I personally couldn't imagine that anyone would have time to read through that nonsense so didn't print any. At my interview the assessors had 15 mins per candidate to read the whole thing so i feel vinficated, although no one commented one way or another.

What I would say is to make sure everything important is very easy to find because like I say, the time they have to read it is very precious indeed!


Ha, fair enough. I don't have tonnes in my portfolio but have just included what was needed (eg developing the clinical teacher forms) will leave the rest out as don't feel it adds anything. Looking around on the web it looks like some people get a bit ridiculous.

They can ask me about my QI projects or undergraduate rural medicine project and that kind of stuff if they want. I am not sure I even want to include my careers reflection from last year since it says ' after CMT I may wish to do GP training'!!! If asked about future career I will be honest - I am not sure - but don't want to highlight it!!
Reply 9
You must have some evidence of reflective practice in there, as well as some good examples you can describe. It's a popular topic at the moment.
Reply 10
Original post by Helenia
You must have some evidence of reflective practice in there, as well as some good examples you can describe. It's a popular topic at the moment.


Hmm thanks for your input, I have decided to include reflective practice for teaching opportunities and a study on my strengths and weaknesses to show that I do participate in reflective activity on that basis. I can describe some cases I reflected on but have none printed out, do you reckon this sounds okay?

This is the disadvantage of working somewhere tiny with no CMT/CSTs and no one else applying to CMT - can't go to anyone in person for advice.
I have interview on thursday, literally could not be any less prepared... How have others been preparing?
Reply 12
Original post by Anonymous
I have interview on thursday, literally could not be any less prepared... How have others been preparing?


I've been on a trekking holiday for the last 2 weeks and I'm jet lagged... perfect preparation! I think just general interview prep is all you can really do - ie being prepared to answer questions about why you want the job and why they should choose you - as the clinical and ethical scenarios cannot be predicted and we should be familiar with good medical practice and normal clinical practice anyway from working.
How does the application form station work exactly? Do they literally just look through your folder to check that you have extra qualifications, prizes etc. and verify that the shortlisting score is correct, or do they ask questions and you have to give examples and they mark you on the answers you give?
Original post by Anonymous
How does the application form station work exactly? Do they literally just look through your folder to check that you have extra qualifications, prizes etc. and verify that the shortlisting score is correct, or do they ask questions and you have to give examples and they mark you on the answers you give?


If it's similar to the anaesthetics ones, then it's both. You go through your portfolio to verify all the different things like degrees, prizes, audits etc. Then you get asked questions which may be about the portfolio or may be more generic, commitment to specialty, describe an example of x etc. Obviously CMT may be different though.
Original post by Helenia
If it's similar to the anaesthetics ones, then it's both. You go through your portfolio to verify all the different things like degrees, prizes, audits etc. Then you get asked questions which may be about the portfolio or may be more generic, commitment to specialty, describe an example of x etc. Obviously CMT may be different though.


Cool, thank you :smile:
Reply 16
Original post by Anonymous
How does the application form station work exactly? Do they literally just look through your folder to check that you have extra qualifications, prizes etc. and verify that the shortlisting score is correct, or do they ask questions and you have to give examples and they mark you on the answers you give?


As Helenia says its a mix of both. I think they had already gone through my folder before I came in - they flicked through but mostly just asked questions. I guess it probably depends on how well organised and clear your folder is. I had written on each bit of evidence what it was, and if I felt it was unclear I also added why I was including it.
Original post by TheRabbit
As Helenia says its a mix of both. I think they had already gone through my folder before I came in - they flicked through but mostly just asked questions. I guess it probably depends on how well organised and clear your folder is. I had written on each bit of evidence what it was, and if I felt it was unclear I also added why I was including it.


Thanks :smile:. Hope your interview went well! I'm really freaking out about mine, haven't done one since applying for med school
Usually there will be one person not asking questions but flicking through the portfolio for the next candidate.

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