How to Succeed at the Medical Interview

Chris Smith, Darryl Meeking

• Publisher: BMJ Books
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781118393833
• eBook ISBN: 9781118393826
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Medical Education

How to Succeed at the Medical Interview provides candidates with a competitive edge. It reduces the likelihood of unexpected questions or situations and helps improve confidence before and during the medical interview.

This new second edition includes updated content on changes to the structure of healthcare and how this affects both the application and interview process. It details the types of questions that will be asked at medical interviews and also provides improved guidance for overseas doctors and healthcare professionals and for those seeking to practice abroad.

How to Succeed at the Medical Interview is the ideal guide for Foundation Programme trainees, Specialist Registrars and General Practitioner trainees. It is also valuable for healthcare professionals facing competitive medical interviews at any stage of their career.

Chapter 1

The medical interview

Introduction

The aims of this chapter are to give an overview of the application process prior to the interview, the aims of the medical interview and the different types of medical interview. The chapter also discusses the make-up and role of the different members of the interview panel, the types of questions asked at the medical interview and how candidates are selected.

The application process

Although the main focus of this book is on the interview stage, it is important to cover the process that precedes the interview. This will vary according to the post for which you are applying.

The Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) process led to the development of Foundation (F1 and F2), Core Training (CT, CT1 and CT2) and Specialist Training (ST) programmes for each specialty (ST1, ST2, ST3, etc.). For the majority of Foundation posts, candidates are matched and interviews are not carried out. However, for Foundation posts that remain vacant, a shortlisting and interview process is still used to select candidates.

For those who are applying for ST, the shortlisting is mostly undertaken by Deanery-based selection panels. For General Practice (GP) and some other specialty training programmes, there is a national selection process. You are advised to check the MMC website for updated information that relates to your chosen specialty (www.mmc.nhs.uk).

Structured application forms may be preferred as the basis for shortlisting and interviewing candidates rather than the traditional curriculum vitae (CV). However, there are many situations in which CVs are likely to be requested. The most likely posts that CVs will be required for are:

• vacant Foundation posts
• trust doctor or locum posts
• senior medical posts.

For GP training, there are three stages that candidates need to undergo in order to get selected.

• Stage 1: an electronic application form, the purpose of which is to check the eligibility of the candidate.
• Stage 2: national ‘Clinical Problem-solving’ and ‘Situational Judgement’ tests.
• Stage 3: a written exercise and three simulation exercises carried out by individual deaneries.

Full details of the GP application and selection process are available at the National Recruitment Office (NRO) at www.gprecruitment.org.uk.

How are candidates shortlisted for ST and GP training posts?

Each post comes with a Person Specification and consists of entry criteria (minimum standards) and selection criteria. The entry criteria allow non-medical staff to screen candidates prior to shortlisting. Those who are shortlisting decide who should be interviewed according to the selection criteria. There will usually be an agreed subset of main selection criteria:

Entry criteria

• Qualifications
• Eligibility
• Career progression
• Fitness to practise
• Competency
• Language skills

Selection criteria

• Clinical skills
• Personal skills
• Commitment to specialty
• Probity
• Academic and research achievements

It is vital that you read through the Person Specification criteria for the post that you are applying for in detail.

Box 1.1 shows an example of requirements for a CT1 post in General Medicine (Acute Care Common Stem).

---

Box 1.1: Example of a CT1 Post Specification General Medicine (Acute Care Common Stem)

Entry criteria (mostly obtained from the application form)

Qualifications

• Appropriate medical qualification, for example, MBBS

Eligibility

• Eligible for General Medical Council (GMC) registration
• Evidence of achievement of Foundation competencies in line with GMC standards/good medical practice

Good clinical care

• Maintaining good medical practice
• Good relationships/communication with patients
• Good working relationships with colleagues
• Good teaching and training
• Professionalism/probity
• Delivery of good acute clinical care
• Eligibility to work in the UK

Fitness to practise

• Up to date and fit to practise safely

Language skills

• Capable of effective communication with patients/colleagues (medical training in English or appropriate International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scores)

Health

• Meets professional health requirements

Career progression

Can provide complete employment history details

No more than 18 months' experience of medical specialties (post-foundation)

Selection criteria (from application form and subsequently from interview and references)

Clinical skills

• Appropriate knowledge base and ability to apply clinical judgement

Personal skills

• Communication: adapting language appropriate to situation
• Problem solving/decision making: using logic and thought to solve and decide
• Managing others/teamwork: working effectively with others
• Sensitivity/empathy: taking in others' perspectives and treating others with understanding
• Organisation/planning: managing and prioritising time and situations effectively
• Vigilance/situational awareness monitoring and anticipating issues
• Coping with pressure operating under pressure, initiative and resilience

Probity

• Professional integrity: takes responsibility and respects all others

Commitment to specialty

• Other activities and achievements relevant to medicine

Academic/research skills

• Demonstrates understanding of audit and research
• Evidence of academic/research achievements (desirable)
• Participation in audit (desirable)
• Experience and interest in teaching (desirable)

---

---

Useful websites

• National GP recruitment: www.gprecruitment.org
• MMCs: www.mmc.nhs.uk
• www.ct1recruitment.org.uk
• www.ct3recruitment.org.uk

---

The aims of the medical interview

Why does the medical interview exist?

Historically, across all spectra of business and industry, the interview has been used to select applicants for posts, with candidates usually having been shortlisted on the basis of an application form or CV.

The interview gives employers the opportunity to meet potential employees face to face and decide if they wish to employ that person. It provides an opportunity to test applicants' competencies and motivation in a structured environment, thereby attempting to provide a level playing field on which the best applicants can shine.

Medical interviews are no different in this respect, and the aim is to select the best candidate for the vacant post.

Does everything hinge on the medical interview?

There may be factors other than performance at interview that impact on whether a candidate is successful. Some candidates will have an advantage based on their past experience and performance, including their responses to questions on the application form. As part of some selection processes (such as GP), there is a written assessment under exam conditions. A good performance, or additional qualifications or experience, may add to the overall strength of a candidate's application.

It is also possible that candidates will have gained an advantage prior to interview through previous contact with members of the panel. Occasionally, an interviewer has witnessed a candidate's performance first-hand in the workplace. In other instances, a trusted colleague may have recommended a candidate to a panel member. Sometimes, candidates have made the effort to meet with panel members for the first time prior to interview, but this is frequently not possible.

However, do not fall into the trap of thinking that the outcome of an interview is predetermined. This is rarely the case, and is frequently used by unsuccessful applicants as an easy excuse to explain their failure.

There can be no doubt that interview is the most crucial component of candidate selection. The interview process, in whatever shape or form it takes, is labour-intensive for those who are organising and running it. Applicants who have made it to that stage will be of similar calibre, and performance at interview may be the only way to distinguish between them.

What does the interviewer expect?

Much is made of the personal biases of people who sit on interview panels, and naturally there may be individual preferences according to personalities and styles. You may be surprised to know that there is usually broad agreement among...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: The medical interview
• Chapter 2: Preparing for the interview
• Chapter 3: Performing at the interview
• Chapter 4: Common interview questions
• Chapter 5: Interview questions that test your knowledge
• Chapter 6: Interview questions that test your generic skills
• Chapter 7: Competency-based tasks
• Index