NHS Job Interview

Congratulations on finally securing the NHS job interview. This means your application has now stood out from the rest of the other applicants. Well done! Now from here on, odds are, that you will get selected for this job, but don't be complacent, always plan and prepare nicely for it. Here are a few of the tips and experiences from my own interview at 4 different trusts.

First of all, I got an email regarding the appointment for an interview at an email address that was registered on the NHS jobs website. As soon as I saw that email, I logged back into my account and selected an interview slot. There were 5 different slots across two different dates. Though I was available at all of these slots, I didn't want to be the first candidate for this interview and neither the last one. So I booked the one that's more or less in the middle of the list.

After I booked a place, I got an email from HR asking for my skype details, they also provided their skype details and asked me to add them to my contact list. One day before my interview, they sent a "test" message to check the connection of my account. I replied back to that message and they were okay with it.

Then, I started my preparation for an interview. From my overall experience, I found that interviews were categorized into 6 different sections and it hardly lasted between 10-15 mins overall.

1. Overview of CV

2. Reason and justification for applying for this job

3. Clinical Scenario

4. Ethical Scenario

5. Clinical Governance/QIPs/Audits

5. Q&A session

Let me share some of my experiences and tips in each section.

Always be formally dressed, be online at least 15 mins before the interview time, and check if your connections are fine and you don't have any background noise. Don't forget to keep your passports by your side. I have heard in some of the trust that they were asked to show the passport as a part of the id proof.

1. Overview of CV

This will generally be the first section. They will ask to identify yourself, take me through your CV, or sometimes also be prepared for surprise questions like - tell me something that's not in your CV.

In answering these questions, I kept things quite simple by splitting up my explanations into different subheadings. Firstly, a brief introduction about myself - My name is Dr. ...... I am from ...... Secondly, my brief educational background - I graduated from ......... medical college affiliated to ...... University of ...... in the year ...... Thirdly, my work experience - I am working as a ...... in ...... department of the ...... hospital, since ..... years. Besides, I have also worked in ....... as ....... for ...... years and as ....... for ...... years in ...... department. Here, I kept my current job first, followed by the immediate past job, and so on. Next, I talked about the things that make me stand out from others like, I have done ...... courses and ....... membership exams, I am involved in the publications of papers like .......

2. Reason and Justification for applying for this job

Q: So, Dr. ...... this is the ST1/2 level post in the..... department. Why did you apply for this job?

A: Since my graduation, I have worked for ..... years in the..... department which is equivalent to FY1 and FY2 level programs in the UK. Given the years of job experience, I think this level suits me the best and since I am interested in the....... department and thinking it as my only career option, I have catered my whole career till now only in gaining experiences around this specialty. So this is the reason why I applied for this department.

3. Clinical Scenario

This is the section, where the question will be around a clinical case commonly seen in the department you are applying for. Mostly for the junior doctors they will give acute scenarios and try to analyze how tactfully and safely you act on to it. Here, the best tip would be to study all the emergency medicine chapters of the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine 10th edition.

Some of the cases I got were on Diabetic Ketoacidosis, Acute Asthma, and Acute Headache in a young woman. Generally, you will get only 1 case in 1 interview.

Sometimes, a question can also be vague like, what was the last case you saw in your department, at what point of time you escalated the matter to the senior, and what was the overall management done in that case. They just want to see your presentation skills in such questions.

4. Ethical Scenario

In this section, they will give you an ethical scenario and ask what would you do in such a situation. Generally, the scenarios were like in PLAB 2 exam and I answered it exactly like the way I prepared for a PLAB 2 exam itself. Dealing with colleagues, breaking bad news, disclosing an error, managing angry patients, issue of confidentiality, consent, complaints, and mental capacity are the few areas where you might be tested here. Your PLAB 2 notes will be the best companion to tackle these scenarios. Also don't forget the four main underlying principles of medical ethics while answering these questions, namely, Autonomy, Beneficence, Non-maleficence, and Justice along with two further principles of Dignity and Honesty.

5. Clinical Governance/QIPs/Audits

Questions in this section will be revolving around your experience and understanding of these topics. Here, I recommend going through 'Being a doctor' chapter of the Oxford Handbook of Foundation Programme 5th Edition. If you have done audits or quality improvement projects previously, be prepared in explaining it briefly and your clear deductions from it.

6. Q&A session

The last section is the Q&A session, where you will always be given a chance to ask questions. In this section, I have a few recommendations for you in terms of what to ask and what not to ask.

Don't ask:

Salary and Relocation Package - You are offered an interview and not a job, so asking these things will give a bad impression in front of consultants on what are your priorities.

Ask:

Allocation of education and clinical supervisor

Access to the eportfolio

CREST form

What kind of training or studies can I do in the meantime for me to be better adapted over the day to day cases seen there?

In the end, don't forget to smile and say thank you. 

I wish you all the best for your upcoming interviews.