Application and scoring
How does 2027 Anaesthetics CT1 selection work?
Submit one application for Core and ACCS Anaesthetics and select one cluster: England and Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland. Eligible applicants sit the MSRA; interview invitations require the new minimum score and depend on capacity. The combined selection score is 15% MSRA and 85% interview.
Check the 2027 person specification, including recent Foundation competence, required support forms and no more than 24 months WTE anaesthetic experience by post start.
Apply through Oriel between 10am on 22 October and 4pm on 19 November 2026, choosing one cluster that cannot be changed after submission.
If eligible, sit the MSRA between 5 and 20 January 2027; results are released from 10 February. Both CPS and PD contribute to shortlisting and final selection.
Interview invitations and the applicant declaration are sent on 16 February 2027; book the interview and complete the declaration by 5pm UK time on 18 February, following Oriel instructions.
Reach the published minimum in each required component and rank within interview capacity; otherwise you may be unsuccessful or placed on shortlist reserve.
Attend one Qpercom interview with Clinical Judgement and General Interview stations during 23 February–19 March 2027.
Achieve at least 60/100 at interview and avoid serious safety or probity concerns; the scaled interview and MSRA components determine rank.
Rank detailed Core and ACCS subpreferences in Oriel from 17 February; offers are made in rank order from 6 April with recycling and upgrades through the published deadlines.
MSRA
Clinical Problem Solving and Professional Dilemmas contribute 7.5% each. The assessment is also the capacity-based shortlist route. The new 2027 numerical cut-off remains pending.
Clinical Judgement
Five minutes to read, then a 15-minute evolving clinical scenario. Two assessors independently score judgement and decision making, reflection and working under pressure, plus global ratings.
General Interview
A 15-minute station with two assessors scoring communication, commitment to specialty and teamwork, plus global ratings. Training to date and NHS context may be explored.
Interview appointability
The threshold applies to the raw interview. Serious patient-safety, probity or behaviour concerns and very low station performance can trigger clinical-lead review and possible veto.
Portfolio and evidence
Evidence matters, but there is no CT1 points grid
No scored portfolio or self-assessment station is published for Anaesthetics CT1. Build a small evidence library to support honest examples for the person specification and General Interview rather than paying for certificates or inventing points.
Commitment grounded in real exposure
Understand pre-assessment, theatre, recovery, acute work, Core and ACCS pathways, examinations and service pressures.
What to do: Arrange focused exposure and record what decisions the anaesthetist made, what surprised you and which trade-offs suit or concern you.
Communication, teamwork and leadership
Prepare examples with a clear problem, your individual contribution, use of other professionals, outcome and learning.
What to do: Select two or three different examples and practise follow-up questions rather than memorising one generic story.
Acute judgement and reflection
The specification expects safe initial management, prioritisation, risk reduction and decisions under uncertainty; reflection is directly scored.
What to do: Debrief real cases, identify how feedback changed later practice and rehearse evolving scenarios at an FY2 level.
QI, teaching and research
These are desirable experiences in the person specification, without published CT1 point values.
What to do: Finish a proportionate piece of work you can explain accurately; keep factual supervisor confirmation and avoid passive or purchased credentials.
Interview process
What happens in the 2027 Anaesthetics CT1 interview?
The whole online process should take about 50 minutes including identity checks, Clinical Judgement reading time and a short wait. Each 15-minute station has two independent assessors. Paper notes are allowed under the current rules, but reading scripts can damage flow and engagement.
- Platform
- Qpercom · online
- Clinical Judgement
- 5 min reading + 15 min interview
- General Interview
- 15 min
- Assessors
- 2 per station · independent scoring
- Interview window
- 23 February–19 March 2027
- Paper notes
- Permitted under current guidance
What is assessed?
- Clinical judgement and decision making
- Reflective practice
- Working under pressure
- Communication
- Commitment to specialty
- Teamwork and leadership
- Professional overall performance through a global rating in each station
Anaesthetics CT1 guide library
Go deeper without losing the overview
The main hub keeps the application and interview picture together. These dedicated guides hold the longer career, portfolio and training material so you can jump straight to the question you are trying to answer.
Application roadmap
Work backwards from the confirmed 2027 dates and put effort where it can still change eligibility, MSRA performance or interview evidence.
Evidence & examples
Map real work to the published person specification and interview domains without turning certificates into imaginary points.
Evidence pack
Keep accurate records that help supervisors verify completed work and help you answer follow-up questions precisely.
Anaesthetic taster
Follow patient decisions through the whole perioperative pathway instead of collecting a certificate or watching airway procedures in isolation.
Working life
See the preparation, monitoring, handover and non-theatre work hidden by the phrase 'putting patients to sleep'.
On-call
Follow how anaesthetic teams prioritise concurrent emergencies, call for help and manage vigilance, fatigue and uncertainty overnight.
Core vs ACCS
Choose between earlier sustained anaesthetic immersion and a broader four-year acute-care route using the official curricula.
Training & FRCA
See how capability-based training develops from the novice period to independent practice, and where changing FRCA formats fit.
Subspecialties
Compare patient groups, procedures, teams and working patterns across the main anaesthetic career branches.
Perioperative workflows
Explain where anaesthetists change risk and decisions across a pathway rather than reducing the job to technical procedures.
Training programmes
Replace unsupported rankings with questions about the programme features that affect learning and daily life.
Societies & networks
Find organisations for current rules, education, representation, research, QI and specialty development without collecting passive memberships.
Is Anaesthetics for me?
Use real work preferences and trade-offs to test career fit instead of a personality checklist.
Current issues
Move from dated evidence to patient consequences and a sensible candidate-level response without generic NHS buzzwords.
2027 Round 1 · checked 30 October 2026
Before you submit: deadline, competence and priority status
Complete these national checks alongside the specialty's eligibility, evidence and selection requirements.
Application deadline and limit
Round 1 applications close at 4pm UK time on 19 November 2026. The national limit is five applications per recruitment round. Some specialties also require you to choose a single regional vacancy, so check the application route before submitting.
Foundation competence and CREST
If CREST is required, national guidance accepts valid 2024 or 2027 forms for 2027 recruitment. Required competence evidence must accompany the application; there is no later upload opportunity. Check validity against the specialty person specification and resolve any conflicting specialty instructions before relying on an older form.
Check your priority status in Oriel
For standard 2027 specialty recruitment, prioritisation applies to interview invitations and training offers. Check the status displayed in Oriel after applications close. Round 1 requests to review an incorrect status are due by 5pm UK time on 24 November 2026. Priority status does not replace eligibility or appointability requirements.
Recruitment · verified 30 October 2026
The 2027 Anaesthetics CT1 process is now substantially published
NHS England has published the 2027 person specification, pathway, dates, MSRA weighting, interview format, scoring domains and offer rules. A few operational details remain pending, including the numerical MSRA cut-off and individual regional interview dates.
Eligibility is current and confirmed
Applicants need a medical degree, full GMC registration at application, a licence at post start and recent Foundation competence through one of the listed routes. By the advertised start date, anaesthetic experience must be 24 months whole-time equivalent or less, excluding Foundation modules. Overseas anaesthetic posts count. Check the exceptions and supporting forms rather than relying on a summary.
One application, one cluster
The same application covers Core Anaesthetics and ACCS Anaesthetics. At submission you choose England and Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland; this cluster choice cannot be changed later. England and Wales uses a single transferable score, so the region hosting the interview does not restrict the posts available within that cluster.
MSRA is 15% of the final selection score
Every eligible August 2027 applicant is invited to sit the MSRA. Clinical Problem Solving contributes 7.5% and Professional Dilemmas 7.5%. MSRA also controls interview access where demand exceeds capacity. A new minimum cut-off applies from Round 1 2027, but the number is still to be published; meeting it does not guarantee an interview if capacity is full.
Interview is 85% of the combined score
The official interview produces 100 raw marks across two stations. NHS England combines the scaled interview component with the 15% MSRA component. Clinical Judgement and General Interview are each worth 50 raw interview marks, and the appointability threshold is 60/100 at interview.
2027 dates are published
Oriel opens at 10am on 22 October and closes at 4pm on 19 November 2026. The MSRA runs 5–20 January 2027, with results from 10 February. Interview invitations and the applicant declaration are sent on 16 February; interview booking and declaration are due by 5pm on 18 February. Subpreferences open on 17 February. Online interviews run 23 February–19 March; first offers are due by 5pm on 6 April; hold and upgrade deadlines are 9 and 14 April. All times are UK local time.
Prioritisation applies in 2027
The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 applies to this person specification. National guidance says prioritisation operates at interview-offer and training-offer stages while performance rank remains based on selection scores. Check the status recorded in Oriel and use the published review route if it is wrong.
Still pending
The numerical MSRA minimum, regional interview dates and downloadable scoring documents remain pending. The interview page now gives an expected booking window of 16–18 February 2027, closing at 5pm. The timetable gives 17 February for subpreferences to open. Check Oriel for your invitation, booking instructions and any changes.
What not to buy or build
Avoid portfolio theatre
The official interview page says ANRO and the RCoA do not recommend commercial interview courses, websites or specialist advice books. Spend only where a resource solves a real learning need.
Passive memberships
Membership does not create CT1 points. Join an organisation for access to teaching, representation, a project or a community you will use; do not collect logos for the application.
Generic certificates
Unrequired online certificates rarely show judgement, teamwork or understanding. Mandatory employment training should be done because it is mandatory; interview value comes from applying learning.
Expensive interview courses
No commercial course is required or endorsed. The official domains, RCoA material and repeated spoken practice provide a defensible preparation route. Pay only if you have assessed the teaching and need it.
Unfinishable projects
Starting a multicentre study or major QI project weeks before application can leave you unable to explain an outcome. Choose a defined local task or contribute honestly to an existing network.
Premature technical performance
CT1 selection tests safe entry-level clinical judgement, not whether an FY2 can recite a consultant anaesthetic. Unsupported drug doses, airway plans or invasive techniques can expose unsafe overconfidence.
Memorised policy speeches
The General Interview may ask about the NHS and anaesthesia. A current statistic is useful only if you connect it to a patient, team or service decision and can discuss limitations.
Candidate-reported · not official guidance
Recurring reports from recent applicants
Public discussions cannot confirm scoring rules or future questions. They can reveal preparation problems that recur. Never reproduce or rely on recalled proprietary questions.
The scenario develops
Applicants repeatedly describe the Clinical Judgement station as requiring them to respond to added information rather than deliver one uninterrupted answer. This matches the official description. Practise pausing, updating risk and changing the plan explicitly.
Breadth can feel unexpected
Some candidates report preparing narrow anaesthetic emergencies and then finding the station tested general acute judgement, human factors or reflection. The official person specification supports broad entry-level acute preparation.
Time disappears in descriptive answers
Reports commonly mention spending too long reciting ABCDE or background detail. Rehearse concise initial priorities, then leave space for the assessor's new information and reflective probes.
Scripts are obvious
Candidates report that polished motivation answers can unravel when the panel asks for a specific example or trade-off. Build an evidence map and answer the question asked rather than forcing a memorised paragraph.
Technical setup matters
Public reports mention the disruption caused by connection, audio and room problems. Follow the Qpercom compatibility process, use a quiet space, keep identification ready and know the same-day route for reporting a process concern.
Resource map
Useful resources by stage
Use the smallest set that answers your current question. Official sources establish rules; focused guides and practice help you apply them.
Exploring the specialty
Start with RCoA's careers material and NovPod, then arrange real departmental exposure and compare Core with ACCS.
Applying
Use the NHS England Anaesthetics CT1 hub, 2027 person specification, timeline and Oriel. This Interview Bank hub keeps the application, career and interview context linked.
MSRA
Read the official candidate guidance and sample material first. Question-based preparation and a complete format guide are available in The Interview Bank's MSRA hub.
Interview
Use the official domains and RCoA free preparation material, then move from the focused Clinical Judgement and General Interview guides into timed spoken practice.
Starting training
The RCoA Novice Guide and NovPod explain the first months, the IAC, drugs, equipment, on-call and learning culture more realistically than interview summaries.
Examinations
Use current RCoA regulations, syllabuses, e-Learning Anaesthesia and the 2027 transition hub. Check which format applies to your planned sitting.
Research and QI
Start locally through the RCoA QI Compendium, a regional trainee research network, RAFT or NIAA. Choose a defined contribution you can complete and explain.
Focused preparation
Go deeper on the interview tasks that need practice
These focused guides break the broader interview into specific question types, decision structures and original practice scenarios.
Clinical Judgement station
Use five minutes to find the immediate risks, then make your decisions, limits and reassessment visible as the assessors add information.
General Interview station
Turn your training, exposure and team experiences into concise evidence while showing that you understand the work, the training route and the NHS context.
Free practice questions
Original Anaesthetics CT1 practice questions
These prompts are written from the official functions and domains. They are not recalled questions and do not predict the live interview.
Clinical Judgement
- You are the first doctor to review a patient in recovery who is drowsy, hypotensive and increasingly tachycardic. Talk through your priorities and escalation.
- An acutely unwell patient needs urgent surgery, but new information suggests greater perioperative risk. How would you approach the next ten minutes?
- Two deteriorating patients require review at the same time. Explain how you would triage, delegate and keep both safe.
- Your initial treatment has not improved the patient's physiology. What would make you change the working diagnosis and plan?
- After a stressful event, a colleague says your communication was unclear. How would you reflect and change your practice?
- A senior asks you to proceed with a task you believe is beyond your competence. What would you do?
General Interview
- Why Anaesthetics, and which observed experience most changed your understanding of the specialty?
- Why would you choose Core Anaesthetics or ACCS Anaesthetics, and what is the main trade-off?
- Tell us about a time your communication changed a patient's or team's outcome.
- Describe a team under pressure in which you had a defined role. What did you do and what would you now change?
- Which part of anaesthetic training do you expect to find hardest, and how would you seek support?
- Discuss one current issue affecting anaesthesia and one practical response at department level.
- Tell us about a QI, teaching or research activity. What was your exact contribution and what limitation did you identify?
- What did you learn from an experience that initially made you question whether Anaesthetics was right for you?
Preparation plan
A focused preparation sequence
- Verify eligibility, cluster choice, forms and the 24-month experience limit against the 2027 person specification.
- Protect MSRA time: it controls interview access and contributes 15% of final selection.
- Observe the complete perioperative pathway and compare Core with ACCS using official curricula and current trainees.
- Create a one-page example index mapped to communication, commitment, teamwork, judgement, reflection and pressure.
- Practise five-minute scenario reading followed by spoken reassessment as new information arrives.
- Make escalation specific: who, why, urgency, immediate actions and what you will do if help is delayed.
- Practise motivation and NHS-context answers as conversations with examples, not speeches.
- Use the official RCoA preparation material; no commercial course is required or endorsed.
- Test Qpercom compatibility, identification, lighting, audio and a paper-note layout before interview day.
- Rank every programme you would truly accept and leave unacceptable posts in 'Not Wanted' only after understanding the consequence.
Common questions
Anaesthetics CT1 recruitment FAQs
What is confirmed for Anaesthetics CT1 recruitment in 2027?
The person specification, dates, 15% MSRA weighting, two online interview stations, 60/100 interview appointability threshold, cluster model and offer rules are published. The exact new MSRA cut-off and some operational dates remain pending.
Can I apply to both Core and ACCS Anaesthetics?
They are recruited through one Anaesthetics CT1 application. You later rank available Core and ACCS programmes within the cluster you chose at submission.
Can I apply to England and Scotland in the same application?
Choose one cluster at submission: England and Wales, Northern Ireland, or Scotland. That initial choice cannot be amended. If posts remain after offer recycling, the published clearing rule allows England/Wales and Northern Ireland applicants to rank posts outside their initial cluster; it does not offer the same route to Scotland applicants.
How much anaesthetic experience is allowed?
The 2027 person specification allows no more than 24 months whole-time-equivalent anaesthetic experience by the advertised post start date, excluding Foundation modules. Experience at any level and in any country counts.
Do I need a CREST form?
Only if you are using the route based on 12 months' post-registration experience rather than one of the listed UK Foundation or current training routes. Use the exact current form and signatory rules.
How is the MSRA used?
It shortlists where demand exceeds capacity and contributes 15% of final selection: 7.5% CPS and 7.5% PD. A minimum cut-off starts in 2027 and an interview still depends on capacity.
Can I transfer an old MSRA score?
No for this round. NHS England explicitly says 2026 Round 1 or Round 3 scores cannot transfer to August 2027 Anaesthetics recruitment.
Is there a scored portfolio station?
No separate scored CT1 portfolio station is published. The General Interview explores training to date and commitment, and the person specification includes desirable experience, but there is no CT1 self-assessment points grid.
Do I need publications, QI or teaching?
They are desirable experience in the person specification, not eligibility requirements or published point scores. A completed activity you understand can support examples; collecting certificates is unnecessary.
Do I need an anaesthetic taster?
No mandatory taster certificate is published. Exposure is useful because it helps you understand the job and explain informed commitment. Include the perioperative pathway, not only airway procedures.
What are the two interview stations?
Clinical Judgement has five minutes' reading and a 15-minute evolving scenario. General Interview lasts 15 minutes and covers communication, commitment and teamwork, including training and NHS context.
What is the interview pass mark?
The official 2027 page gives an appointability threshold of 60/100 raw interview marks. Serious safety or probity concerns can still lead to a veto after clinical-lead review.
Can I use notes in the online interview?
Current guidance permits applicant-prepared paper notes, including notes made during Clinical Judgement reading time. Electronic notes and books are not permitted, and reading a script can disrupt engagement.
What should trigger escalation in a clinical answer?
Physiological instability, an airway threat, major bleeding, rapid deterioration, work beyond your competence, conflicting urgent demands or failure of initial measures. Say who you need, why, how urgently and what you will do while they come.
Should I give detailed anaesthetic drug doses?
Only where you are already competent and the question requires it. CT1 entry primarily tests safe general clinical judgement; unsupported specialist detail can distract from assessment, escalation and reassessment.
How long is Core Anaesthetics?
Stage 1 Core training is indicatively three years, CT1–CT3, before competitive ST4 entry. Progression is capability based and may take longer with LTFT, leave or additional needs.
How long is ACCS Anaesthetics?
It is an indicative four-year route: two generic ACCS years with four six-month placements, then two further anaesthetic years to complete the relevant Stage 1 requirements.
What is the Initial Assessment of Competence?
The IAC is the first summative anaesthetic progression point. It shows basic safe capability for specified practice with an appropriate supervision level; it does not mean a novice can manage every case independently.
When do trainees take the Primary FRCA?
It is a Stage 1 requirement. Timing varies with programme and readiness. The GMC-approved new formats launch from July 2027, with transition rules for valid partial passes. Use the RCoA guidance for your intended sitting.
What is anaesthetic on-call actually like?
It can combine emergency theatre, obstetrics, airway and resuscitation calls, deteriorating patients, pain, ICU support and transfer. Workload and resident senior cover vary by hospital and stage.
How much patient contact is there?
Often brief but intense contact around risk and anxiety, with continuous responsibility during anaesthesia. Pain, perioperative medicine, obstetrics and ICM can provide more continuity.
Can anaesthetic training be less than full time?
Yes. LTFT is established, but calendar duration and rotation or on-call arrangements change while curriculum capabilities still need to be achieved. Ask each school for current practical arrangements.
Can an anaesthetist also train in intensive care?
Yes through approved ICM routes and dual or combined training arrangements, subject to recruitment and curriculum rules. Anaesthetics and ICM remain distinct CCT programmes.
How should I compare training regions?
Compare Core and ACCS posts, hospital footprint, novice supervision, on-call, case mix, Primary teaching, LTFT, commute, research networks and trainee voice. Use official programme information and current trainees, not rankings.
Which current issue is useful at interview?
Choose one you understand, such as workforce shortage, perioperative optimisation, training capacity, exam reform or simulation. Explain the patient consequence and a practical response rather than reciting policy phrases.
Should I pay for an Anaesthetics interview course?
No course is required. ANRO and RCoA explicitly do not recommend commercial courses or specialist interview websites/books. Use official domains, free RCoA material and repeated spoken practice; buy only for a clearly assessed need.
What happens if I am shortlist reserve?
You met the cut-off but ranked outside interview capacity. A cancelled slot may be offered with only 24 hours' notice, but an interview is not assured.
Do I need to rank every subpreference?
Rank every post you would accept. Anything placed in 'Not Wanted' cannot be offered, and failing to rank can mean no offer regardless of eligibility.
Official sources
Official recruitment sources
- NHS England — Anaesthetics CT1 recruitment hub (2027)
- NHS England — 2027 person specification
- NHS England — 2027 recruitment timetable
- NHS England — selection process
- NHS England — MSRA rules and 15% weighting
- NHS England — online interview guidance
- NHS England — interview domains, scoring and appointability
- NHS England — preferencing and subpreferences
- NHS England — offers, ranks and tie-breaks
- RCoA — 2021 Anaesthetics Curriculum
- RCoA — Stage 1 training
- ACCS — curriculum overview
- RCoA — 2027 FRCA examination changes
- RCoA — UK State of the Nation report 2026
- RCoA — recruitment into anaesthesia and free preparation