90-minute individual coaching · Live on Zoom
For specialty doctors, associate specialists and specialist doctors preparing for their next appointment, and doctors entering SAS roles. Your coaching is tailored to your experience, the person specification and the contribution you can make to the service.
Practise relevant questions, receive detailed individual feedback and present your skills, professional judgement and achievements with greater clarity and confidence. Develop your own answers, not a script to memorise.
Choose an appointment suitable for your SAS post on our separate one-to-one booking page.
Use your appointment for a focused non-clinical mock interview, work on selected questions, or a combination of both. The priorities are agreed around your experience and the post you are applying for.
Before the session, we contact you about your priorities and ask for relevant documents. Your CV or application, the job description, person specification and interview instructions help your coach focus on the responsibilities and evidence that matter for your appointment.
Discuss the role, your concerns and any previous interview feedback. Identify where the session will be most useful, whether that is explaining your experience, answering professional questions or improving your delivery.
Work through realistic non-clinical questions individually or under timed mock-interview conditions. Practise explaining your own contribution and responding when the interviewer asks for more detail.
Review the evidence you choose, the structure of your answers and the level of responsibility they demonstrate. Work on pace, clarity and body language as well as the substance of your responses.
Try again, answer a follow-up question or complete a short mock interview to apply the feedback. Finish with practical priorities for the rest of your preparation.
Preparation for the actual post, not a generic training interview. We help you explain what you can contribute, the responsibilities you are ready to undertake and where you would seek support, using the job description and person specification as the reference point.
Select the areas most relevant to your SAS application and the responsibilities of the advertised post. These are possible coaching priorities, not a fixed syllabus to cover in every 90-minute session.
What is not included: clinical knowledge teaching, diagnosis and treatment scenarios, or assessment of your clinical competence. You can practise describing your clinical experience and professional responsibilities, but clinical questions require separate preparation.
For doctors entering an SAS career and for specialty doctors, associate specialists and specialist doctors preparing for their next appointment. Focus on presenting your experience, professional approach and suitability for the role you are seeking.
Prepare to explain why you want the appointment, how your experience matches its requirements and the contribution you can make to the department.
Bring out the value of your established experience, achievements and service contribution. Prepare for your next appointment by explaining how your responsibilities and skills match the post you are seeking.
Prepare for a specialist grade interview or a move between specialist posts. Focus on evidence of responsibility, autonomy, leadership and development, matching your preparation to the advertised person specification.
Present relevant experience gained in training, clinical fellow, trust-grade or overseas posts. Explain how it prepares you for the SAS role you are applying for, without assuming that a previous job title establishes eligibility.
SAS includes specialty doctors, associate specialists and specialist doctors. These roles are not interchangeable. The national associate specialist grade is closed to new entrants, but existing associate specialists remain part of the SAS workforce. We tailor your coaching to the appointment you are seeking and its person specification.
Read the BMA explanation of SAS roles or the NHS Employers guide for background. Coaching is not a formal eligibility assessment.
Work with an experienced interview coach to make your own evidence clearer, more relevant and easier for the panel to follow.
Your application, target post and concerns shape the session. Spend time on the answers or habits that need attention rather than following a fixed programme intended for another grade.
Understand why an answer sounds vague, misses the question or understates your contribution. Practise a different approach while keeping your examples accurate and personal.
Present the judgement, experience and responsibilities relevant to your intended appointment. Avoid both underselling your experience and making claims that your examples cannot support.
After the appointment, email us with specific questions arising from the session. Further mock interviews or more sustained coaching can be arranged through another appointment.
Your one-to-one coaching is provided by Olivier Picard, Ram Matsa or George Crowther. Work with a coach on the questions, evidence and preparation priorities that matter for your next appointment.
Business and management consultant, experienced trainer and lay member on interview panels.
View Olivier Picard's profile
Consultant Acute Medicine and Intensive Care
View Ram Matsa's profile
Consultant Psychiatrist
View George Crowther's profileIf you have a preference for a particular trainer, contact us with the dates you are considering so we can advise on availability. Your session is with one coach, not all three.
Appointments are booked through our shared one-to-one booking page. Check the date, time and trainer, and choose an appointment suitable for the post you are applying for.
Read the trainer and session-type information before booking. If your SAS post is not clearly covered by the options, contact us so we can advise which appointment to select.
Provide the job title, specialty, employer and interview date, together with the job description and person specification. Tell us your current grade and the exact grade of the appointment you are seeking.
Email enquiries@iscmedical.co.uk or call 0203 507 0001 if you need help choosing a slot. Leave time after the appointment to act on the feedback before your interview.
Choose the coaching for the appointment you are seeking, rather than your current job title. This page focuses on SAS appointments.
Applying for CT, ST, IMT, a registrar or a clinical fellow post? Our resident-doctor coaching page explains the preparation available for those interviews.
Explore resident doctor coaching →Applying for a consultant post? Use the consultant coaching service to prepare for the responsibilities and contribution expected of that appointment.
Explore consultant coaching →Comments from doctors who have used our wider medical interview-coaching service.
“A brilliant service totally tailored to what I was looking for. Many thanks.”
“Thank you very much for all your care and attention. It was great to practise all the techniques I had learnt on the course.”
SAS includes specialty doctors, associate specialists and specialist doctors. These are different roles within the SAS workforce, so your preparation should reflect the responsibilities and person specification of the appointment you are seeking. The BMA explains the three SAS roles.
Doctors applying for SAS posts, including those entering the specialty doctor or specialist grades, and existing specialty doctors, associate specialists and specialist doctors preparing for their next appointment. The coaching focuses on the non-clinical parts of your interview and on explaining your experience, suitability and professional contribution at the level of the advertised role.
Yes. We can work on why you want the post, how your previous experience meets its requirements and what you would contribute to the service. Send the job description and person specification so the practice reflects the role you are applying for.
Yes. Tell us the exact grade and send the relevant person specification. We can help you present evidence of the responsibilities, autonomy, leadership, teaching and improvement work relevant to that role. We do not assume that specialty doctor and specialist grade interviews require identical preparation.
Yes. We can help you explain your established experience, responsibilities and contribution in relation to the role you are applying for. The national associate specialist grade is closed to new entrants; this does not exclude existing associate specialists from our coaching. Send the details of your intended appointment so the session reflects that role.
Each appointment lasts 90 minutes and takes place live online via Zoom. The coaching can help you prepare for either an online or an in-person interview.
Your CV or submitted application, the job description, person specification and any interview instructions. Include previous feedback and questions you particularly want to practise. Remove patient-identifying information from any examples you share.
Your coach uses the documents you provide to understand your background and prepare for the appointment. This supports interview practice; it is not a separate application-writing service, formal eligibility assessment or review of evidence for specialist registration.
Your session can include a timed mock interview covering relevant non-clinical questions, followed by feedback and further practice. Alternatively, we can spend more time on selected questions. The approach is agreed around your priorities.
No. It does not provide clinical knowledge teaching or practice in diagnosis and treatment scenarios. We can help you describe your clinical experience, responsibilities and professional approach, but this does not replace preparation for any clinical component of the selection process.
Yes. We can help you explain your responsibilities, achievements, learning and contribution clearly, relating your examples to the SAS vacancy. Your employer determines whether your qualifications and experience meet the appointment requirements.
Yes. We can practise presenting your strengths with evidence, discussing areas for development and explaining career decisions, gaps or previous difficulties honestly and constructively. Bring any feedback from previous interviews.
Where your interview requires a non-clinical presentation or prepared statement, part of the session can focus on its structure and delivery. Send the brief beforehand. Specialist clinical content is outside the scope of this service.
No. We help you select appropriate evidence, structure your responses and understand what the interviewer is asking. Your answers should remain accurate, personal and adaptable when the panel asks follow-up questions.
A 90-minute session costs £259 on weekdays or £299 at weekends, including VAT. Save 10% when you book two one-to-one sessions, or book coaching with an interview or personal development course. Add each item separately to the same basket and check the discount before paying.
Your session is with one of our three coaches: Olivier Picard, Ram Matsa or George Crowther. Check the trainer listed against the available appointment. Contact us if you have a preference or need help choosing a suitable slot.
Visit the shared one-to-one booking page and check the appointment, trainer and session-type information. If the options do not clearly cover your SAS post, contact us before booking rather than selecting an unrelated category.
Yes. You can use a first appointment to identify areas to develop and a further appointment to practise after working on the feedback. A 10% discount is available when you book two one-to-one sessions.
Your coaching includes free email follow-up for specific questions arising from the session. For another mock interview or more sustained practice, book a further one-to-one appointment.
Explore relevant professional topics alongside preparing evidence from your own experience.
Review clinical governance and consider how your experience contributes to quality, safety and improvement.
Read the clinical governance guide →Reflect on professional ways of handling disagreement and challenging interactions with colleagues.
Read about difficult colleagues →Consider how you can contribute to decisions and improvement without relying on a formal management title.
Explore influence in healthcare →Present your experience with confidence, practise relevant non-clinical questions and leave with clearer priorities for your interview preparation.
View coaching availability & book →90 minutes live on Zoom · £259 weekdays / £299 weekends including VAT