MEDICAL INTERVIEWS

A comprehensive guide to
CT, ST & Registrar interview skills
Over 120 medical interview questions,
techniques and NHS topics explained

Fourth Edition

Written by:

Olivier Picard BSc (Hons) MSc

With contributions from:

Dan Wood PhD FRCS(Urol)

Consultant Urological Surgeon

Sebastian Yuen MBBS DCH MRCPCH FHEA

Consultant Paediatrician

Rachael Harlow MChD, BChD, BSc, MFDS RCS(Ed)

Specialist Trainee in Maxillofacial Surgery

Evelyn Mensah, MBBS, FRCOphth, MD, FGCS

Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon
Published by ISC Medical
Tel: 0203 507 0001 – Email: enquiries@[Link]

Fourth Edition
ISBN13: 978-1-905812-31-8

Printed: August 2022

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Printed in the United Kingdom by:

Optichrome, Maybury Road, Woking, Surrey GU21 5HX

© Interview Skills Consulting Limited 2009 - 2022. All rights reserved.

The right of Olivier Picard to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with Sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior
permission of the publishers.

The author and the editors have, as far as possible, taken care to ensure that the information given in
this text is accurate and up to date at time of publication. The information within this text is intended
as a revision aid for the purpose of the medical interviews. It is not intended, nor should it be used, as
a medical reference for the management of patients or their conditions. Readers are strongly advised
to confirm that the information with regards to specific patient management complies with current
legislation, guidelines, and local protocols.

2
Content

1. Preface
2. How to use this book / Health warning

WhatSELECTION
3. THE makes a good learner?
PROCESS 1

1. Structure of the interview 2

2. Selection criteria 7

Kolb’s learning
6. FORMAL cycle
INTERVIEW STATIONS 16

3. Marking scheme 17
4. Key interview techniques 20
5. Key interview structures and frameworks 26
6. Portfolio station 35
7. Background & motivation questions 36
8. Skills-based questions 66
9. Academic & clinical governance questions 140
10. Difficult colleagues 196
11. Confidentiality, consent and other ethical principles 219
12. Difficult scenarios 241
13. Communication station 262
14. Presentation station 267
15. Group discussion station 271
16. Body language and dress code at interviews 274

17. USEFUL RESOURCES Difficult people

276

17. Reading list 277

18. Action and power words 279

3
Preface
Over the past few years, medical interviews have become increasingly competitive. In addition, the
interview process itself has become more arduous, with the traditional “sophisticated chat” in front
of a panel being replaced by a rotation between a wide range of stations, with often strict marking
schedules and limited time to answer. With systematic preparation, everyone can do very well.
However, achieving the success you seek will require a number of conditions to be fulfilled:

KNOW YOURSELF WELL

Before you can convince a stranger that you are the candidate they are looking for, it makes sense to
convince yourself. An interview is as much about making bold claims such as “I am a good doctor” as
it is about proving it with facts. The truth is that most candidates have not really thought about what
they can offer; as a result, they often come unstuck when asked for evidence to support their claims.

One student once asked me how she should answer “Why do you want to train in chemical pathology?”
I asked her why she was interested in chemical pathology, to which she replied that she did not know.
Somehow, she felt that there was a “miracle answer” which would guarantee her the job and that, if
she mentioned three reasons fed to her, she could make it. An interview is your personal story, your
experience, strengths and weaknesses; it is not about regurgitating a ready-made answer. So, you
must give yourself time to brainstorm your skills and experience. Throughout this book, I will show you
how you can achieve this.

LEARN, UNDERSTAND AND APPLY KEY COMMUNICATION FRAMEWORKS

A relatively small part of the interview process is about knowledge – in some interviews, clinical or
factual knowledge is not tested at all. Interviews are mostly a communication exercise where you
are expected to demonstrate your suitability in a mature, enthusiastic and confident manner. To
achieve this painlessly, you must acquire a good understanding of some of the fundamental pillars of
communication. Like the mental or paper-based frameworks and checklists that you use when you
take a history from a patient or perform a procedure, there are techniques you acquire and can use
and adapt to your circumstances in order to build confident interview answers.

Throughout this book I will show you how to apply a wide range of techniques to structure your answers
and illustrate them with personal examples. By applying these techniques to your personal skills,
experience and opinions, you will be able to present powerful and confident answers, whilst at the
same time remaining (or appearing) spontaneous.

PRACTISE, PRACTISE, PRACTISE

I often compare the preparation for an interview to the preparation that comedians or politicians must
go through for a new routine or speech. Although everything they say sounds off-the-cuff, it has been
carefully thought through and practised. Good interview candidates sound genuine, unrehearsed and
enthusiastic; but, although for some lucky individuals this comes naturally, many will have spent time
practising and refining their content and technique. This book will show you how to prepare effectively,
whether you are one day, one month or further away from your interview date.

4
By reading this book, you will quickly come to the realisation that, although you could be asked
hundreds of questions, you will always get back to the same handful of themes and communication
techniques. It is therefore crucial that you do not try to learn answers to each individual question but,
instead, that you concentrate on developing good overall personal knowledge of the topics that are
being addressed and of the techniques needed to organise and illustrate your answer. This will give you
greater flexibility and a definite ability to cope with pretty much any question.

Good luck with your preparation.

Olivier Picard

5
How to use this book
This book has been written in a modular fashion so that you can read it in many different ways:

IF YOU HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO PREPARE

If you have time, you may wish to read the book once from cover to cover to get a general feel for the
techniques used, before going over each section systematically. Interview preparation can be quite
intense, particularly if you have a long way to go. Brainstorming, structuring and delivering answers can
be tiring if you do too much in one go; so ideally you should take on one section at a time so that you
have time to assimilate the information, work on it, practise and refine your approach.

IF YOU ARE PRESSED FOR TIME OR IF YOUR INTERVIEW IS IMMINENT

If you are under pressure, or simply too busy to spend much time preparing, you may wish to read the
section on key interview techniques first and then select ten to twenty key questions to work on before
the interview, spanning a range of topics. It is best to spend quality time (i.e. 5-10 minutes each)
preparing a limited number of questions than to prepare hundreds of questions at a rate of 5 seconds
per question. At the interview, you will have to make 2 minutes out of your 5 seconds of preparation
and the result could prove quite painful (i.e. you will either freeze or start waffling to buy time). It is
all about technique and quality rather than quantity. This modular approach enables you to prepare
effectively whether you have an interview tomorrow, next week or in a few months’ time.

Health warning
In this book, I have provided examples of good and bad answers. Their purpose is to give you an
appreciation of what sounds good and bad and how answers can be improved so that you can apply
a similar thinking process to your own answers. There are many types of bad answers but there are
also many types of good answers. The examples in this book should be taken as illustrations of the
techniques discussed and not as a blanket template for all your answers. Instead of trying to replicate
each answer faithfully, try to use it to understand each of the principles outlined and to determine how
you can then apply these principles to your own situation.

Every candidate is unique and it is pretty much impossible to provide examples that are suitable for all
candidates in every specialty. Whenever possible, I have explained how the content can be adapted to
the various specialties. What is important is that you understand the techniques and mode of thinking
behind the answer so that you can adapt them to your own specialty and circumstances.

6
 THE
SELECTION
PROCESS

1 1
1 | Structure of the interview
The structure of the interview varies with each deanery and specialty. Interviews typically consist of a
succession of 10-minute sessions at three or four stations, each dealing with different topics. There
are variations: some interviews have fewer stations, with more time spent at each; other deaneries
have more (up to six). A few have kept the old interview format, i.e. a 30- to 45-minute interview with
only one panel. In addition, some specialties/deaneries are very strict on time whilst others are less
rigid.

Before attending your interview, make sure that you know the format adopted for your specialty in that
deanery – this will influence the way in which you will need to respond. If the interviewers are allowing
10 minutes for five questions, including the time that it takes to ask the question, then you know that
you must provide answers that fit within a 90-second timeframe. This means that you must be more
regimented and concise in order not to exceed your time.

The stations used at interview can be split between:

• Formal stations (i.e. those designed as a traditional, formal question and answer session); and

• Practical stations (i.e. those which require a more hands-on approach from the candidate –
including role play or clinical skills)

On the next few pages, we have set out the different types of stations that you can expect to meet
at your interview.

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1.1 Formal interview stations

Formal interview stations comprise two or three interviewers asking pre-determined questions of a
candidate and scoring the responses. The stations below are those that are commonly found at CT and
ST/ Registrar levels.

PORTFOLIO STATION

The portfolio station can be formal or informal. In some deaneries it is strictly marked, as part of the
interview process, whilst in others it is just a chat to ensure that you have matched the required entry
criteria. In formal portfolio stations, you may be asked to summarise your experience in 30 seconds, 2
minutes or 5 minutes, to talk about yourself or go through your CV.

The interviewers may also pick on specific areas of your training, asking you to describe in more detail
what you did. They may use this opportunity to verify your achievements, i.e. courses, publications or
research – bring evidence to support the claims made in your application form.

MOTIVATION, INTERPERSONAL SKILLS AND NHS ISSUES STATION

This station deals with your reasons for choosing a specialty or this particular deanery, as well as your
communication, team playing and leadership skills. Questions may be general or may ask for specific
examples. You may also be asked questions on NHS hot topics relevant to the specialty for which you
are being interviewed. In some interviews, NHS issues are addressed at the academic station.

ACADEMIC STATION

The academic station is designed to test your understanding and experience of teaching, research and
audit. Questions can be:

• Factual (e.g. “Describe your experience of the audit process”, “How do you critically appraise a
paper?”)

• Reflective (e.g. “What did you gain from your research experience?”)

• Probing (e.g. “Do you think that all trainees should do research?”)

You may also be asked to critically appraise a paper for which you will have been given anything between
20 and 45 minutes to prepare. Alternatively, you may be asked to discuss a paper you have read recently
(make sure you have one you are able to summarise).

If you have undertaken your own research, be prepared to discuss the details and everyday relevance of
your publications and thesis.

CLINICAL GOVERNANCE STATION

Questions usually revolve around one or more of the following topics:

• Your own understanding of clinical governance and how it affects your practice (e.g. “What do you

3 3
 understand by the term clinical governance?”, “How does clinical governance impact on your daily
practice?”)

• Evidence-based medicine and guidelines (e.g. “What is evidence-based medicine?”, “Tell us about
a recent paper that you have read”, “Tell us about a recent guideline published for this specialty”)

• Risk management (e.g. “Tell us about a recent mistake that you have made”, “What happens to
critical incident forms once you have submitted them?”)

• Audit, teaching, research, (if not already addressed in a separate academic section)

DILEMMAS/DIFFICULT SCENARIOS STATION

This station is designed to test your ability to handle difficult problems and dilemmas in the workplace.
Questions can take different forms and past interviews have included the following:

• Dealing with two or more important matters at the same time (common in medical interviews, e.g.
“you are dealing with an emergency on the ward and you are then called to review another patient
urgently on a different ward. How do you prioritise and handle the situation?”)

• Dealing with a task for which you are not fully qualified (common in surgical interviews, e.g. “You are in
the middle of a surgical procedure and a complication develops. You need to do another procedure,
which you have only observed once. What do you do?”)

• Dealing with a lack of integrity (for all specialties, e.g. “Your consultant turns up drunk on the ward
one morning. What do you do?”)

Different specialties and deaneries may structure the stations differently. For example, in 2012, some
specialties had only one formal station but it dealt with questions relating to motivation, skills and
experience, teamwork, audit and integrity. In many medical specialties, academic and clinical governance
questions are often grouped together in one station. The actual structure of the interview matters little.
You need to prepare for every type of question regardless of the order in which they are asked.

4 4
1.2 Practical interview stations

Practical stations require a much more physical or hands-on involvement from the candidate. In the past
they were fairly common in Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Psychiatry and Paediatrics, but nowadays they
can be found in almost every specialty.

Communication station
This is more commonly referred to as “role play” or “simulated patient consultation”. You are given a
small amount of time (5 to 10 minutes) to read a brief, followed by a 10-minute consultation with a
patient. The patient is normally played by an actor, though in some cases it has been known to be played
by one of the interviewers.

Communication stations deal very specifically with your approach to the patient and the problem rather
than your clinical skills, which account only for a small portion of the mark. We address communication
stations in Chapter 15.

Presentation station
This station consists of a short presentation (5-10 minutes), often followed in some cases by a question-
and-answer session (also usually 5-10 minutes). In some cases, the topic is given to the candidate on
the day (candidates would typically have 45 minutes to prepare). In other cases, candidates are given
the topic a few days in advance.

Past presentation topics have included:

• Generic (“Why would you make a good specialist?”)

• Political (“How are current changes affecting the specialty?”)
• Personal (“What interests you outside of medicine?”).

Chapter 16 details how to handle the presentation station.

GROUP DISCUSSIONS

Candidates are placed in groups of three or four and are given a topic that they need to debate as a
group for usually 20 minutes. There are different types of group discussions, including:

• Simple group discussion around a topic such as a hot topic, how to organise a specific event, etc. In
some cases, the discussion can revolve around a document that candidates will have been asked to
read before the assessment (e.g. a letter of complaint, a fact sheet relating to a new drug, or even
an academic paper)

• Role-based group discussion, where each candidate is playing a different role (e.g. SHO, nurse,
manager, patient representative) and must argue their case in relation to a common problem

We deal with group discussions in Chapter 17.

OSCE (OBJECTIVE STRUCTURED CLINICAL EXAMINATION) STATION

This assesses your clinical skills (if not already assessed in a separate scenario station). In such a station,
you may be asked to examine a patient, take a history or demonstrate a procedure. You may also be
asked about the management of specific clinical situations.

5 5
Recent examples have included:

• Orthopaedics: naming specific bones handed out at the interview

• Surgery: suturing orange peel or tomato skin
• Anaesthetics: intubating a dummy

In view of the wide range of specialities, possible clinical scenarios and the practical nature of this station,
it would be impossible to deal with this station in a book on interview skills. If you are competent to an
appropriate level in your job and can think laterally then you should have no problem in demonstrating
your skills in a viva situation and in answering any clinical questions thrown at you. If you have any doubts
about your own clinical skills, you may wish to revise using appropriate clinical books and handbooks.

6 6
2 | Selection criteria
Medical interviews are organised in a “structured” format. Essentially, this means that interviewers
are not simply having a general discussion with you (this would be the “unstructured” format that
characterised some of the old-style medical interviews), but that they have set out a range of questions
designed to test specific skills and competencies. Through the complexity of the interview process,
the interviewers will really be assessing three key areas:

• Are you competent enough to do the job? I.e. do you have the right skills and experience
• Do you have the right attitude? I.e. do you have the enthusiasm, motivation and drive to be
successful in that specialty?
• Will you fit in? I.e. do you have a personality that will help you get on well both with patients and
colleagues in that specialty?

By the time you get to the interview, some of these areas will already have been partially tested
through the application form or your CV. The purpose of the form and CV is to act as a first point of
selection by looking at the defined essential and desirable criteria. These criteria are detailed in the
Person Specifications on the MMC website and are scored according to the scheme in the application
pack – this decides the shortlist of candidates for interview.

The appointment committee will use the interview process to determine whether you have the right
approach towards your work and a suitable personality. To excel at your interview, you will need to
understand the criteria that will be tested so that you can tailor your answers accordingly and ensure
that you hit the mark every time.

To gain that understanding, you will need to read two important documents which set out the behaviours
and competencies that interviewers will be looking for:

• The National Person Specification of the post for which you are applying
• The GMC’s Good Medical Practice

We discuss both documents over the next few pages and demonstrate their importance throughout
the book.

7 7
2.1 National Person Specification

The skills and competencies tested throughout the interview process are set out in a document called
the “National Person Specification”. Each specialty has its own National Person Specification for
each grade. These are freely available online.

The most important part of the National Person Specification for your interview is the section called
“Selection Criteria”, which summarises the criteria used by the interviewers at the interview. Criteria
may vary slightly from grade to grade and from specialty to specialty to reflect the differences in the
nature of the work and type of client contact.

We have summarised below those most commonly found and how they may be tested at your interview.
For a fully accurate picture, you should read in detail the National Person Specification relevant to the
job for which you are applying.

CLINICAL SKILLS

Clinical knowledge & expertise

- Appropriate knowledge base and ability to apply sound clinical judgement to problems
- Recognition of, and ability to undertake the initial management of an acutely ill patient
- Able to prioritise clinical need
- Able to work without direct supervision where appropriate
- Works to maximise safety and minimise risk

Personal attributes

- Shows aptitude for practical skills, e.g. manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination

At the interview, this may be tested by asking you:

• to describe a difficult case that you have managed.

• to describe a situation where you had to prioritise clinical needs.
• to explain how you would resolve a specific clinical situation.
• to prioritise a number of events (e.g. multiple emergencies).
• to analyse test results or images and describe your next steps .
• to demonstrate a given practical skill (e.g. suturing, intubation).
• to demonstrate your understanding of risk management.
• to give an example of a time when you worked without direct supervision.

8 8
 ACADEMIC & QUALITY IMPROVEMENT SKILLS

Research and quality improvement skills

- Demonstrates understanding of the basic principles of audit, clinical risk management,

evidence-based practice, patient safety, and clinical quality improvement initiatives
- Understanding of basic research principles, methodology and ethics.
- Evidence of active participation in audit
- Evidence of relevant academic and research achievements

Teaching

- Evidence of interest and experience in teaching

At the interview, this may be tested by asking you:

• to explain the difference between audit and research.

• to demonstrate your understanding of the audit cycle.
• to debate the role of research in medical training.
• to summarise and analyse a paper that you have read recently.
• to explain the principles underlying evidence-based medicine.
• to describe your understanding and experience of clinical governance.
• to explain research governance or statistical concepts.
• to summarise the extent of your teaching experience.
• to debate the efficacy of various teaching methods.

JUDGEMENT UNDER / COPING WITH PRESSURE

- Capacity to operate effectively under pressure and remain objective in highly emotive/
pressurised situations
- Awareness of own limitations and when to ask for help
- Demonstrates initiative and resilience to cope with changing circumstances
- Ability to manage and reflect on one’s own emotions in challenging situations

At the interview, this may be tested by asking you:

• to discuss how you handle stress and provide an example of a situation.

• to explain how you would handle a given stressful scenario.
• to give an example of a mistake that you have made.
• to talk about a recent situation where you had to ask for senior help or where you felt out of your
depth.
• to describe a situation where you had to make decisions in a changing environment.
• to talk about your weaknesses.
• to discuss how you deal with criticism.

9 9
 COMMUNICATION SKILLS, EMPATHY & SENSITIVITY

Communication skills

- Capacity to communicate effectively and sensitively with others, and ability to discuss
treatment options with patients in a way they can understand
- Capacity to adapt language as appropriate to the situation
- Ability to build rapport, listen, influence and negotiate
- Demonstrates clarity in written/spoken communication
- Appropriate use of non-verbal communication

Empathy & sensitivity

- Demonstrates respect for all

- Ability to see patients as people with an awareness of their needs and wishes.
- Demonstrates an understanding of the importance of acting compassionately towards
patients and their families
- Consideration & sensitivity to the importance of understanding and respecting patients'
cultural values and practices

At the interview, communication skills may be tested in different ways. First, the interviewers will be
testing your communication skills throughout the interview by assessing how you relate to them, the
manner in which you present your answers and how you structure arguments. They will also pick up on
non-verbal communication such as your body language, the appropriateness of your tone of voice and
the confidence that you exhibit when delivering your answers.

In some specialties, your communication skills, empathy and sensitivity may also be tested through
role play (e.g. asking you to explain the management of a condition, to break bad news or to reassure
someone) or through a presentation (which will be testing your general communication and teaching
skills more than your empathic and sensitive nature).

Finally, you may also be asked direct questions on communication, for example:

• to explain a complex issue in lay terms (e.g. in ophthalmology, some candidates were asked to
explain in lay terms what glaucoma was).
• to describe or rate your communication skills.
• to give an example of a situation where your communication skills made a difference to the care
of a patient.
• to give an example of a time when you had to deal with a conflict, a difficult colleague / patient or
a vulnerable patient.
• to discuss how you would handle a situation where a colleague is underperforming.
• To discuss how you approached a sensitive topic with a patient.

ORGANISATION & PLANNING

- Capacity to manage/prioritise time and information effectively

- Capacity to manage time and prioritise workload, to balance urgent and important

10 10
 demands, and to follow instructions
- Evidence of thoroughness (is well prepared, shows self-discipline / commitment, is punctual
and meets deadlines)
- Ability to keep effective notes/records
- Capacity to organise ward rounds
- Understands the importance and impact of information systems
- Ability to use information technology to optimise patient care, continued self-learning and
other activities

At an interview, this may be tested by asking you:

• to explain how you manage your workload or your time.

• to provide an example of a situation where you had to prioritise.
• to prioritise a list of five or six emergencies or other tasks.
• to explain how you would organise ward rounds, theatre lists or training sessions.
• to detail your IT experience and explain its relevance.

VIGILANCE & SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

- Capacity to monitor developing situations and anticipate issues

- Capacity to be alert to dangers or problems, particularly in relation to clinical governance
- Demonstrates awareness of developing situations

At an interview, this may be tested by asking you:

• to provide an example where you showed initiative.

• to provide an example of a time when you had to remain vigilant.
• to describe a situation when you resolved an unsafe situation.
• to explain how you ensure that you remain fully aware of what is happening in complex clinical
situations.
• to discuss how you would handle a given clinical scenario (e.g. ALS).

PATIENT CENTRED

- Ability to relate to the patient and take the perspective of the patient
- Capacity to fully understand the patient's needs before forming a diagnosis
- Appreciation of taking a holistic approach to patient care
- Ability to build relationships with patients' families
- Capacity to work in partnership with patients
- Understanding of the value of spending time with patients
- Awareness of patient safety
- Capacity to act as an advocate on behalf of the patient when required

Patient-centredness can be assessed through role play, using scenarios where the patient has
psychosocial as well as clinical needs. You may also be asked to role play with an actor playing a family
member who has particular concerns or demands.

11 11
At a question-based interview station, this may be tested by asking you:

• to give an example of a situation where you had to take into consideration the various needs of a
patient.
• to talk about a situation where it was important to build a relationship with the patient and/or their
relatives.
• to give an example of a time when patient safety considerations impacted on your management
of a case.
• to discuss a situation where you needed to spend more time than usual with a patient.
• to discuss the possible consequences of not spending enough time with a patient.
• to discuss how spending time with a patient can be effectively balanced with the need to see
more patients in a shorter amount of time (e.g. when dealing with busy clinics).
• to talk about a time when you needed to act as an advocate for the patient
• to discuss a situation where you strongly disagreed with the proposed management plan for a
patient and felt the need to speak up.
• to talk about a situation where you felt the patient’s full needs were not addressed properly either
by you or a colleague, and to discuss how the situation could have been handled better.

NHS VALUES

- Understands, respects and demonstrates the values of the NHS

The NHS constitution sets out six values that all staff are expected to demonstrate:

1. Working together for patients. Patients come first in everything we do.

2. Respect and dignity. We value every person – whether patient, their families or carers,
or staff – as an individual, respect their aspirations and commitments in life, and seek
to understand their priorities, needs, abilities and limits.

3. Commitment to quality of care. We earn the trust placed in us by insisting on quality

and striving to get the basics of quality of care – safety, effectiveness and patient
experience right every time.

4. Compassion. We ensure that compassion is central to the care we provide and respond
with humanity and kindness to each person’s pain, dis-tress, anxiety or need.

5. Improving lives. We strive to improve health and wellbeing and people’s experiences of
the NHS.

12 12
 6. Everyone counts. We maximise our resources for the benefit of the whole community,
and make sure nobody is excluded, discriminated against or left behind.

Typically questions on NHS values are addressed at interviews either by asking you if you know the
values and can list them, or by giving you one, two, or three values and ask you for to provide an
example of a situation where you have demonstrated those.

13 13
2.2 GMC guidance

THE GMC’S GOOD MEDICAL PRACTICE

This guidance document sets out the responsibilities of all doctors towards society, their patients and
their col¬leagues. It can be found on the GMC’s website ([Link]) and I encourage you to
read it before you undertake any preparation as it will crystallise a number of important concepts in
your mind.

When doctors talk about Good Medical Practice, they often limit their thoughts to the “duties of
a doctor”, as reproduced in Table 1 on the next page. The “duties of a doctor” are only one part of
Good Medical Practice and are essentially a high-level summary of some of the important concepts.
Good Medical Practice in fact contains much more than that and attempts to flesh out some of the
concepts described in the duties of a doctor.

It is crucial that you spend 30 minutes reading Good Medical Practice because, at the interview,
you will be expected to demonstrate your understanding of its principles, be it through the provision
of examples based on your personal experience, by answering theoretical questions or by discussing
difficult scenarios. We will see throughout this book how we can make full use of all this information to
transform it into pragmatic, well-structured, well-argued, spontaneous, and personal answers.

OTHER USEFUL GUIDANCE

There are, of course, many guidance documents that you will need to be aware of in the course of your
career. However, in preparation for your interview, you may want to give priority to guidance on the
following topics:

• Raising and acting on concerns about patient safety.

• Duty of candour.
• Confidentiality.
• Decision making and consent.

If you are applying for paediatrics or are generally likely to work with children, you may also want to
read 0-18 years: guidance for all doctors.

All those documents are available on the GMC website ([Link]).

14 14
TABLE 1 – DUTIES OF A DOCTOR REGISTERED WITH THE GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL

Patients must be able to trust doctors with their lives and health. To justify that trust, you must
show respect for human life and make sure your practice meets the standards expected of you
in four domains:

Knowledge, skills and performance

• Make the care of your patient your first concern

• Provide a good standard of practice and care
­ - Keep your professional knowledge and skills up to date
­ - Recognise and work within the limits of your competence

Safety and quality

• Take prompt action if you think that patient safety, dignity or comfort is being compromised
• Protect and promote the health of patients and the public

Communication, partnership and teamwork

• Treat patients as individuals and respect their dignity

­ - Treat patients politely and considerately
­ - Respect patients' right to confidentiality
• Work in partnership with patients
­ - Listen to, and respond to, their concerns and preferences
­ - Give patients the information they want or need in a way can understand
­ - Respect patients' right to reach decisions with you about their treatment and care
­ - Support patients in caring for themselves to improve and maintain their health
• - Work with colleagues in the ways that best serve patients' interests.

Maintaining trust

• Be honest and open and act with integrity

• Never discriminate unfairly against patients or colleagues
• Never abuse your patients' trust in you or the public's trust in the profession

You are personally accountable for your professional practice and must always be prepared to
justify your decisions and actions.

Source: [Link]/ethical-guidance/ethical-guidance-for-doctors/good-medical-practice/
duties-of-a-doctor

15 15
 THE
INTERVIEW
PROCESS

16 16
3 | Marking scheme
ST interviews are structured. This means that each question has a specific purpose: to test one
or more given skills or competencies. Your answer is then assessed against a range of criteria and
marked. This makes it possible to compare candidates in a systematic and objective manner. In
essence the rationale behind this design is to make the process fairer; it avoids interviewers drifting
down a line of personal interest or grilling candidates unfairly. However, as we will see, there is still room
for subjectivity on the part of the interviewer.

The use of a structured marking scheme and the attempt to make interviews more even-handed has
led some candidates to assume that there is a “right” answer to questions. That is usually not the
case. Interviewers are viewing you as potential long-term colleagues. It is important that you are safe
and that you have a good understanding of basic information. To score highly in an interview you will
need to be capable of intelligent conversation around issues. This is not possible without the ability to
develop and discuss your own opinions and use relevant examples.

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE INDICATORS

For each question, the interviewers are given a list of positive and negative indicators. Positive
indicators are behaviours that one would expect from a suitable candidate. Negative indicators are
behaviours that would be cause for concern. For example, if the question is “One of your colleagues is
underperforming; what do you do?”, the indicators would be along the following lines:

POSITIVE INDICATORS NEGATIVE INDICATORS

• Considers impact on patient safety • Does not consider impact on patient

• Considers the impact on the team and safety or on the team
the colleague • Compromises patient safety
• Remains open-minded. Does not judge or • Handles the problem alone
jump to conclusions • Focuses on reporting without measuring
• Involves appropriate support from/ the implications on the colleague
reports appropriately to senior • Does not involve appropriate team
colleagues members
• Adopts a supportive and constructive • Judgemental and unsupportive
approach

Similarly, for the question “Describe an example of a time when you had to deal with pressure”, positive
and negative indicators may be as follows:

POSITIVE INDICATORS NEGATIVE INDICATORS

• Demonstrates a positive approach • Perceives challenges as problems

towards the problem • Attempts unsuccessfully to deal with
• Considers the wider needs of the situation alone
situation • Uses inappropriate strategies to deal
• Recognises own limitations with pressure/stress
• Is able to compromise
• Is willing to seek help when neces-sary
• Uses effective strategies to deal with
pressure/stress 17 17
 situation • Uses inappropriate strategies to deal
• Recognises own limitations with pressure/stress
• Is able to compromise
• Is willing to seek help when neces-sary
• Uses effective strategies to deal with
pressure/stress

If the interviewers feel that you have failed to address certain areas, they may help you along by
probing appropriately.

For example, in answering the question above “Describe an example of a time when you had to deal
with pressure”, if you focused on how you dealt with the practical/clinical angle of the problem but
you forgot to discuss how you managed your stress during and after the event, the interviewers may
prompt you with a further question such as “What did you find particularly stressful at the time and
how did you handle it?” This would give you an opportunity to present a full picture of your behaviour.

Positive and negative indicators can be imposed centrally (in which case all applicants to the same
specialty are judged according to the same indicators, wherever they apply). However, in some cases,
each local panel is required to come up with its own positive indicators, which can make the process
inconsistent across deaneries.

MARKING SCHEDULE

Based on the above positive and negative indicators, the interviewers will mark the candidate’s
performance on a scale of 0 to 4. The marking schedule that is most often used is as follows:

0 No evidence No evidence reported.

1 Poor Little evidence of positive indicators.

Mostly negative indicators, many decisive

2 Areas for concern Limited number of positive indicators.

Many negative indicators, one or more decisive

3 Satisfactory Satisfactory display of positive indicators.

Some negative indicators but none decisive

4 Good to Excellent Strong display of positive indicators.

Few negative indicators, all minor

This schedule clearly sets a number of criteria in relation to positive and negative indicators. Note that
the schedule introduces the concept of “decisive negative indicators”. Decisive negative indicators
are those which carry a stronger weight than normal because they relate to fundamental problems.

18 18
For example, taking an approach that is unsafe for patients would count as a decisive negative
indicator. Failing to report a colleague who is endangering patients would also count as a decisive
negative factor. In some marking schedules, matching a decisive negative indicator could score you
an automatic 0 out of 4. In some interviews, scoring a zero with a decisive negative indicator may
trigger an automatic failure of a station or, possibly, the whole interview.

Throughout this book, I will discuss the positive and negative indicators for a wide range of questions.
This will give you a good insight into what is expected of you; it will also teach you to work out those
indicators by yourself when faced with a question that you did not prepare for or expect.

19 19
4 | Key interview techniques
Interviews are all about conveying information in a convincing and confident manner. They are
therefore, primarily, a communication exercise. It is important that you understand and respect some
key principles, which will enable you to present meaningful and confident answers.

KEEP YOUR ANSWERS BETWEEN 1½ AND 2 MINUTES

No one can listen to a speaker for more than 2 minutes unless that speaker is absolutely fascinating
or has some visual aids to help retain concentration. There is therefore no point in giving answers that
are much longer as you run the risk of boring your interviewers.

The only exceptions are open-ended questions, which involve presenting a lot of information (e.g. “Tell
us about yourself”, “Take us through your CV”, “Tell us about your research experience” if you have a
lot of it). These may take slightly longer, but you should avoid answers longer than 3 minutes – if you
can.

In some (rare) cases, the length of your answers may be strictly dictated by the interviewers. In some
specialties, the interview stations last exactly 10 minutes and involve five questions. Allowing for the
time taken to ask a question and for interviewers to mark your answers, this leaves about 1½ minutes
in which to give an answer. In such cases, the time restriction is usually clearly advertised at the
beginning of the process. Make sure that you read carefully any information sent to you prior to the
interview.

Make sure also that you consult the appropriate Royal College and deanery websites as some deaneries
and colleges publish crucial information, including the marking scheme, both for the application and
the interview.

AVOID LONG INTRODUCTIONS – ANSWER THE QUESTION DIRECTLY

In my experience of interviewing and coaching candidates for interviews, I am often struck by how few
people actually answer questions directly. During an interview, it is crucial that you get to the point
quickly, address the core of the question and avoid lengthy introductions serving no purpose other
than to buy you time.

For example, a typical candidate would start answering a question such as “Tell me about your
experience of clinical governance” with the following words “Clinical governance is a framework whereby
all organisations …”, i.e. by the most common definition. In fact, this does not answer the question.
The question is asking for your experience, not a definition or your understanding of governance.

The answer to this question should really start with something along the lines of: “Clinical governance
is something that I am involved with on a daily basis. For example, etc…” It is a golden opportunity to
showcase how you use tools such as audit, teaching and risk management in your day-to-day practice;
do not waste it by reciting a definition – anyone can do this, and many will.

Similarly, whenever I have asked someone “How would you describe your communication skills?”, the
answer has inevitably been: “Communication skills are important in my job because in my specialty we
need to communicate every day with a wide range of people, and without communication we cannot
be successful. In my day-to-day work I communicate with senior colleagues, junior doctors, nurses,
GPs, doctors from other specialties, etc…” Again, this does not answer the question at all.

20 20
The candidate is being asked to describe their own communication skills, and not to discuss the
importance of communication and the job titles of those to whom they talk. This is not to say that it is
totally irrelevant; indeed, such information may have a place in the final answer, but using it at length
right at the start of the answer will irritate the interviewers. Instead, the candidate should talk about
how good they think they are, the aspects of communication they are particularly good at, and the
feedback they have received.

The answer should start much more directly, with something like: “I feel that I have good communication
skills and the feedback that I have received both from my patients and my colleagues has been
extremely positive.” This would then be followed by three or four points setting out the candidate’s
strengths in communication.

As a rule, it is sensible to avoid using abbreviations – even familiar ones. From a communication point
of view, they can sound sloppy and lazy. You may also confuse members of your panel – especially if
there are lay members present.

STRUCTURE YOUR ANSWERS IN THREE OR FOUR POINTS

A problem that plagues candidates is the lack of structure in their answers. This makes it difficult for
the interviewers to identify easily what the candidate is getting at. The human brain finds it difficult
to remember more than three or four ideas at a time; so there is no point in giving your interviewers
ten different ideas in the same answer. You will struggle to recall them and it will only confuse your
panel. Stick to three or four points maximum. If you feel you need more than four points to convey your
message fully, then see if you can structure your answer in a different manner.

For example, the answer to “Tell us about your teaching experience” can be structured as follows:

• Who you have taught, what you taught them and how often.
• Which teaching methods you have experience of.
• Teaching courses you have attended.
• Feedback you have received.

The answer to “Tell us about a mistake that you have made” can be structured along these lines:

• Description of the scenario and the mistake made.

• How you dealt with the mistake at the time.
• What you learnt from the incident/how it changed your practice.
• How you made sure others learnt too (including critical incident reporting).

The answer to “What are your main strengths?” can be structured using three personality traits, which
are sufficiently different to justify being placed in different sections. For example:

• Dynamic and proactive.

• Approachable and supportive.
• Self-starter and constantly willing to learn and develop.

Each of the points can then be developed individually. The clear and succinct structure will leave no
doubt as to where you are going with your answer. Not only will a strong structure enable the interviewers
to understand easily what you are saying, it will also make you sound much more direct, engaging and
confident.

21 21
EXPAND ON EACH POINT AND ILLUSTRATE WITH EXAMPLES

It is all too easy to quote a few buzzwords and think they will be sufficient to tick all the right boxes. For
example, many candidates answer the question “What makes you a good doctor?” with the following
one-liner: “I am a good doctor because I am hardworking, motivated, dedicated, focused, a good
communicator, a good team player, I learn from experience and constantly seek to develop new skills”.
None of these words are wrong and indeed, strictly speaking, this sentence answers the question
asked. However, a succession of buzzwords can make the answer sound clichéd and impersonal. In
fact, every candidate could give the same answer regardless of their grade and specialty.

Making broad statements makes you sound vague (and possibly arrogant); it also makes it difficult for
interviewers to positively differentiate you from other candidates. It is therefore crucial to back up any
claims you make with examples drawn from personal experience; this will leave no doubt in anyone’s
mind about your abilities.

For example, “I learn from experience and constantly seek to develop new skills” is an easy statement
to make. Once you have made this statement, you could recall briefly one or two examples where this
happened, as follows:

“From the very beginning of my training, I have taken every opportunity to learn from and build
on my experience. For example, recently I had trouble getting a patient to agree to a procedure
and with the help of my registrar I learnt to take a different communication approach which I
have now incorporated into my practice.

Whenever I encounter clinical situations with which I am less comfortable than others, I take
the time to read up on it and in fact often volunteer to run teaching sessions on those difficult
topics. Recently I have identified that a couple of local guidelines were no longer appropriate
and I volunteered to update them.

During that process, I learnt a lot not only about how to conduct literature reviews, but also
how to communicate with colleagues, as some members of the team showed a reluctance to
change their established practices.

Following on from that, I took it upon myself to attend a Trust-run management course and I
have since taken on other projects such as <xxx>.”

Bringing examples into your answers makes you sound more mature and practical; it also enables
you to discuss other skills. For example, the answer above brings in management and leadership and
shows that you are in control.

SIGNPOST EACH POINT CLEARLY – MAKE YOUR POINTS CLEAR

Signposting means stating clearly the new concept or idea that you are addressing. Many candidates
have answers that are well structured and contain a lot of interesting information backed up with good
examples; however, in spite of this, it can still be difficult to extract the message or idea they are trying
to communicate from their answer. This section aims to help you to clarify your message. Once you
have a structure in mind, make sure your key messages are announced clearly within each section of
your answer. These may be introduced in a number of ways, as illustrated below.

22 22
• SIGNPOSTING AT THE START
Signposting is more easily done at the start of each section. For example, an answer to the question
“Why do you want to train in surgery?” could consist of three sections signposted as follows:

Introduction “There are many reasons why I am keen to train as a surgeon.

Signpost & Expand First, I draw a lot of personal satisfaction from being able to make
an immediate difference to my patients. <Then explain why and
how, bring examples>

Signpost & Expand As well as this, I also have a strong interest in research and I feel that
surgery is an excellent specialty in which to pursue that interest.
<Then expand by explaining what the interest consists of and how
this relates to a career in surgery>

Signpost & Expand Finally, I really enjoy working under pressure and in close cooperation
with other colleagues.” <Then expand on how this is important in
surgery and what you enjoy about it>

In this example, each section starts with a clear message, which is what the candidate wants the
interviewers to remember about them.

• SIGNPOSTING AT THE END

Signposting can also be done at the end of each section of an answer. In this case, the candidate
would typically start the section with a description of their experience and would then conclude by
explaining how this is relevant to the question asked. For example, for the question “Why do you
want to train in surgery”, instead of stating up front that he/she has a strong interest in research,
the candidate could phrase the answer as follows:

Context/Experience “During my attachment in Orthopaedics I had an opportunity to

become involved in two research projects, one which was on <xxx>
and another one on <yyy>. Through my involvement in these projects,
I gained a good insight into different research methodologies and
the importance of re-search overall, and I discovered that I felt very
much at ease both in the clinical and the academic setting.

Signpost/Message I feel that surgery is a field that will provide an ideal opportunity to
apply both my clinical and academic skills to patient care.”

23 23
• VARY THE SIGNPOSTING
Beginning all sections of all answers with a signpost is likely to make you sound slightly “military” or
overly systematic. Signposting all sections at the end may give the feeling that you are constantly
trying to build suspense and drama in your answers.

If you can (i.e. if you feel confident enough to do so), try to vary the way in which you signpost so
that some of your answers have points that are signposted at the start and others at the end. This
will give a more balanced picture and will be easier on the ear of your panel.

However, if you do not feel able to vary your answers in this way, stick to signposting at the start.
It is the easier of the two to master. Once you feel more comfortable, you can start experimenting
and softening your de-livery by mixing the two styles.

USE POWER WORDS AND ACTIVE VERBS

Selling yourself is not just about stating your message clearly and describing your experience. It is
also about sounding confident, mature and, generally speaking, in control. It is a common mistake for
candidates to understate their experience. In order to appear more confident, you will need to adopt a
vocabulary which may be slightly different to that which you are accustomed to on a day-to-day basis,
and which will sell you in an active and enthusiastic manner.

There is no need to learn a whole list of words in order to achieve this. When you are preparing your
answers to some of the more common questions, particularly those based on your personal experience,
you should question whether your answers sound energetic and enthusiastic enough. If they don’t, this
could be a problem with the structure or a lack of personalisation in your answer; but it could also be
due to the lack of power words and active verbs.

Example

Consider this sentence: “After a few attempts, I was able to reach a compromise with my
colleagues.”

On the surface, it sounds like a good thing to say. However, “After a few at-tempts” and “I
was able to” sound weak. They make it sound as if the candidate didn’t try that hard or is not
particularly proud of their achievement.

The sentence could have a much stronger impact if it were reworded as fol-lows: “Following
several discussions where I encouraged my colleagues to review their position, I was successful
in helping the team reach a compromise.”

In this revised sentence, the words “encouraged” and “successful” present a much more
proactive candidate and make a big difference in the manner in which the answer is being
received by the listener.

Try to reconsider your answers and experiment with inserting words from the comprehensive list of over
500 power words in chapter 18. Your answers will become punchier and more interesting.

24 24
TALK ABOUT YOURSELF, RATHER THAN EVERYONE ELSE

Candidates who feel uncomfortable at interviews usually compensate by talking about everything
else but themselves. They talk repeatedly about “we” and “the team” and, although it does present a
good team-playing attitude, it fails to demonstrate their personal skills and competencies.

In your interview, it is perfectly acceptable to introduce some collective actions and make statements
such as “As a team, we were charged with conducting an audit on waiting times in A&E”. However, this
should only serve as an introduction to the rest of the answer, which should stay focused on you and no
one else with the use of “I”, “My responsibilities”, “My aim”, etc.

BRING OBJECTIVITY INTO YOUR ANSWERS

If you feel awkward talking about yourself or don’t want to appear boastful, a good way to overcome
this problem is to bring objectivity into your answers. This can be achieved by:

• Illustrating your answers with personal examples

• Mentioning feedback that you have received, either informally or through 360-degree appraisal.

Instead of “I feel that I am an excellent listener”, you may feel more comfortable saying “My patients
and colleagues have often commented on the fact that I am a very good listener.”

AVOID MAKING VAGUE STATEMENTS

Keep to statements that provide definite, factual information. Avoid vague statements such as “I
went into surgery because I like it” unless you can back up your statement. What really matters is why
you find it interesting or why you like it. Use facts to substantiate your general statements. Use the
5 “W” questions (what, who, where, when, why) and the “H” question (how) to gain knowledge about
yourself and add content.

AVOID UNNECESSARY DETAIL

Avoid excessive detail when giving examples unless you have been asked for specifics. If you provide
too much intricate detail, your answer will be very long and wordy. Most importantly, you will distract
from your key message by concentrating on one issue whilst the question may be much broader.

REMAIN POSITIVE

Whether I coach people who are applying for CT, ST, Consultant, Clinical or Medical Director posts,
or even higher up, candidates incriminate themselves by delivering answers with a negative undertone
right from the start. I have lost count of the number of people who start their answers to the question
“What is your research experience?” by saying “Well, I haven’t done much re-search”; or those who
describe their communication skills as “above average”, i.e. nothing special. To make an impact, you
must sell what you have rather than what you don’t have. If you don’t show that you believe in yourself
then no one else will.

25 25
5 | Key interview structures and
frameworks
In order to produce structured and meaningful answers, you will need to learn to use a number of
structures and frameworks that will make your life easier. Once you have mastered these, you will
be able to apply them endlessly across a wide range of questions. Not only will this give you a sense
of direction, it will also provide you with reassurance as you deliver your answers. You will feel more in
control because you will know that there are sound principles that you can apply, regardless of what
the question is.

In this section, I introduce three fundamental structures:

CAMP: for background and motivation questions.

STAR: for skills-based questions asking for specific examples.

SPIES: to answer questions on difficult colleagues or conflicts.

Do not simply memorise these techniques. Learn to use them intelligently. At the interview, you are
likely to feel nervous and blank out if you simply try to recall information. The key to success is to allow
sufficient time to prepare so that these structures become second nature and you don’t have so
much thinking and information-recalling to do on the spot.

Throughout this book, I will apply these key generic structures and will also develop more specific
structures for individual questions. More importantly, I will show you how to think about the questions
logically and construct answers using your common sense and experience.

26 26
5.1 The CAMP structure
(for background & motivation questions)

CAMP = CLINICAL, ACADEMIC, MANAGEMENT, PERSONAL

When answering questions such as “Tell me about yourself”, “Take me through your CV”, “Why do you
want to train in this deanery?” (for training posts), or any generic question which draws on the breadth
of your experience, CAMP will provide you with a ready-made structure that will enable you to provide
a logical and well-developed answer.

For example, when answering the question “How do you see your career developing over the next 10
years?”, using the CAMP structure will prompt you for ideas along the following lines:

Clinical You may want to work in a specific type of hospital (e.g. teaching, DGH,
tertiary hospital). You may also want to develop special clinical skills or
interests.

Academic You may have an academic interest and want to develop re-search interests
and skills. You may be keen on teaching and want to get involved in education
and training activities. You may even wish to get involved at regional or royal
college level, and perhaps undertake a medical education degree.

Management You may want to gain further experience in areas such as service
development, audit, or risk management. Perhaps, even, you are aiming at
becoming an educational supervisor or other responsibilities.

Personal Is there a region where you would like to settle? Perhaps you would like to
spend some time abroad to expand your horizons both clinically and socially.
Do you have any relevant or interesting hobbies or skills that will make your
interviewers want to ask you more?

27 27
5.2 The STAR structure
(for questions asking for an example)

STAR = SITUATION, TASK, ACTION, RESULT/REFLECT

The STAR structure is a universally recognised communication technique de-signed to provide

meaningful and complete answers to questions asking for specific examples, such as:

• “Tell us about a situation where you worked under pressure”

• “Describe a situation when you dealt with a difficult patient”
• “Tell us about a time when you played a key role in a team”
• “Describe a situation where you had to ask for senior help”
• “Give an example where your communication skills made a difference to the care of a patient.”

Many interviewers will have been trained to use this structure. Even if they have not, they will recognise
its value when they see it. The information will be given to them in a structured manner and, as a result,
they will become more receptive to the messages you are trying to communicate.

The interviewers will be looking for the following:

Situation What is the context of the story?

Task What did you have to achieve?

Action What did you do? How did you go about achieving it? And why did you do
it in that way?

Result/Reflect What happened at the end? Why did you feel you did well? If the example
is about a mistake or a difficult situation, what did you learn? How did it
change you?

STEP 1 – SITUATION OR TASK

Describe the situation that you were confronted with or the task that needed to be accomplished.
This section is merely setting the scene for the “Action” section so that your panel can understand the
story from start to finish. You should therefore aim to make it concise and informative, concentrating
solely on what is pertinent to the story and the message you are trying to communicate.

For example, if the question is asking you to describe a situation where you had to deal with a difficult
person, explain how you came to meet that person and why they were being difficult. If the question is
asking for an example of teamwork, explain the task that you had to undertake as a team and what
your role was.

28 28
STEP 2 – ACTION

This is the most important section as it is where you will need to demonstrate that you have the skills
and personal attributes that the question is testing. Having set the context of your story, you need to
explain the action you took, bearing in mind the following:

• Be personal, i.e. talk about yourself, not other people.

• Go into some detail. Do not assume that the interviewers will guess what you mean.
• Avoid clinical information unless it is essential for the general comprehension of the story .
• Explain not just what you did, but how and why you did it.

WHAT YOU DID AND HOW YOU DID IT

Explain the actions that you took to resolve the situation, highlighting clearly your role. In describing
your role, keep in mind the purpose of the question and the skills that it is asking you to demonstrate.

For example, if you are asked to give an example of a situation when you dealt with a difficult patient,
you will need to discuss several points, including:

• How you used your communication skills effectively.

• How you sought to involve others in helping you deal with the patient.
• How you dealt with your frustration.

WHY YOU DID IT

If you stick to explaining what you did and how you did it, you run the risk of giving an answer that
is slightly too basic. In your answer, you must be able to demonstrate that you are taking actions
because you understand their purpose and what they will achieve, not simply because you got lucky.

Never lose sight of the fact that the example is only of interest if you demonstrate, through your
narration, how you match the desired criteria.

Consider the following question and (ineffective) answer:

Question:

“Tell me about a time where you dealt with a difficult patient.”

Ineffective answer:

“I was called to Accident and Emergency to review a patient who, I’d been told, was aggressive
and abusive towards other patients and even towards members of staff. I came down to
Accident and Emergency and took the patient to a separate room. We had a 10-minute
discussion during which I was able to resolve his problem. The patient left shortly thereafter
and decided not to make a complaint.”

29 29
This example is very superficial. On the positive side it does follow the STAR structure but, although
the candidate has described what they did, there is a distinct lack of detail.

More importantly, we do not know why they acted in this way and what they were trying to achieve.
This will make it difficult to mark the candidate appropriately. For example, why did they take the
patient to a separate room? By highlighting the reasons behind their reaction, the candidate would
make a greater impact, as follows:

Reworded partial answer

“…As I arrived in Accident and Emergency, there were two issues that I needed to address. My
main priority was to ensure that the staff and patients who had been abused were unharmed.
so I asked a senior nurse to look after them. Meanwhile,
I was also conscious of the need to take the patient away from the emotions of the situation
so that we could have a sensible discussion about the issues at stake.
I felt that the best way to address this was to escort him to a separate room, taking another
colleague with me for my own safety…”

By explaining both what you did and the reasons behind your actions, you bring more depth to your
answers and will appear a more mature candidate and consequently score much higher.

STEP 3 – RESULT

Explain what happened eventually, how it all ended. You may be surprised by the number of candidates
who finish their answers on a cliff-hanger. By not concluding your story, you will leave the interviewers
with a strange sensation and, although they are likely to prompt you for an ending and a reflection, it
will sound much better if you get to it of your own accord.

Once you have stated the ending of the story, you can then conclude the answer in two different ways:

• By reflecting on the scenario and explaining the significance of the story to your role as a
doctor

Example of an ending for the question: “Tell me about a time where you dealt with a
difficult patient.”

“…After our discussion, the patient decided not to make a complaint and said that he
was actually very happy with the attention that he had received. By focusing my attention
on the needs of the patient and the safety of the staff, I was able to redress the situation
successfully. This ex-ample demonstrated how important simple things like listening can
be, and how much can go wrong when communication is not properly handled.”

30 30
• By summarising the key skills you demonstrated during the scenario

Example of an ending for the question: “Give us an example of a situation where you
showed leadership.”

“…Throughout this scenario, I showed leadership both by ensuring that all junior members
of the team knew exactly what they had to do and that they were supported in their role by
my availability if there were problems. I also ensured that my seniors were kept fully up to
date with key developments and that we not only took care of the patient’s needs but also
of the relatives’ needs for information and support.”

31 31
5.3 The SPIES structure
(for questions on difficult colleagues)

SPIES = SEEK INFO, PATIENT SAFETY, INITIATIVE, ESCALATE, SUPPORT

Questions asking how you would deal with a difficult colleague come in different shapes and forms.
The level of difficulty varies from simple lateness to training-related underperformance and attitude
problems, to sheer criminal acts. In these questions, the level of seniority of the colleague in question
also varies from a junior doctor to someone more senior, such as a consultant, for example.

Examples of questions frequently asked include:

• “What would you do if your consultant came into the ward/theatre drunk one morning?”
• “One of your colleagues keeps turning up 20 minutes late each morning. What do you do?”
• “Your consultant is asking you to do something that you feel is wrong (e.g. modifying notes to cover
up a mistake). What do you do?”
• “Your Registrar constantly fails to answer his bleep, leaving you several times in precarious
situations. He tells you that his batteries keep going flat. What do you do?”
• “During a break in the mess, you see a bag of cocaine fall out of your Registrar’s pocket. How do
you handle the situation?”
• “You walk into your consultant’s office and see that they are watching images of child pornography
on the hospital computer. What do you do?”

The scenarios are daunting and these questions often strike fear into the heart of candidates – most
of us imagine the worst case and the thought of having to remove our drunken boss from the ward
is scary. Psychologically, part of the difficulty is to overcome the fear of what would happen to “me”
if I blew the whistle. Your interviewers will demand that you understand the broad implications of the
scenario not only for patients, but also for the team and for your colleague. They will be testing your
ability to address all the relevant issues appropriately. Having the SPIES structure as a basis for your
answer allows you to deal with any of the above questions by applying the same principles.

At the interview, you will be expected to demonstrate that you can handle the situation in a responsible
and mature manner, ensuring patient safety at all times whilst also resolving the matter sensitively.
Most importantly, the inter-views will expect you to discuss what you SHOULD do in an ideal world
(hence the fear of whistleblowing disappears) and not what you WOULD actually do. This is to ensure
that you understand the fundamental principles that should underline your response to the situation.

To ensure that you cover all angles, you will need to consider the following:

Seek info Before you can do anything, you need to understand the nature of the
problem. In some cases, it will take a fraction of a second (e.g. if a colleague
is drunk). In others, it may take longer (e.g. if a colleague does not appear
motivated). This may involve discussing the matter with the individual
concerned or with other colleagues, if appropriate.

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 Patient Safety Once you have assessed the situation, you must make sure that patients
are protected. If the person is an immediate threat to patients (e.g. drunk
or about to do the wrong operation), then you must remove them from the
clinical area or tell them to stop doing whatever they are doing (this could be
done by having a quiet word with the individual in question, or in the worst-
case scenario calling for help to have them removed).

Initiative Is there anything that you can do by yourself that will help resolve the
problem? In practice, this will only apply to mi-nor issues, where there is no
real threat to patient safety.

If the colleague is drunk, there is little that you can do to help. However, if
it is just an issue of a junior colleague being a bit slow, then there are things
that you could do to help out in the first instance (e.g. individual coaching
or a discussion).

Escalate If the situation is too serious for you to deal with, then you must involve
other colleagues at appropriate levels of seniority. For a problem junior
colleague, this could be the Registrar, the education supervisor of the
underperforming col-league or another consultant.

For an underperforming consultant, this would need to be the clinical

director. If the situation is not resolved, you may need to escalate further
to the medical director, the chief executive or even the GMC. If you don’t
know what to do, you can seek advice from other organisations (e.g. the
BMA, any medical defence organisation, the GMC).

Support There are reasons for the colleague to behave in this way. As an individual,
they will need support to deal with the problem. Your team will also need
support if it is one person down.

This approach is supported by the following articles from the GMC’s guidance documents:

GOOD MEDICAL PRACTICE – ARTICLE 25:

“You must take prompt action if you think that patient safety, dignity or comfort is or may be seriously
compromised.

a) If a patient is not receiving basic care to meet their needs, you must immediately tell someone
who is in a position to act straight away.

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b) If patients are at risk because of inadequate premises, equipment or other resources, policies or
systems, you should put the matter right if that is possible. You must raise your concern in line
with our guidance and your workplace policy. You should also make a record of the steps you have
taken.

c) If you have concerns that a colleague may not be fit to practise and may be putting patients at
risk, you must ask for advice from a colleague, your defence body or us. If you are still concerned,
you must report this, in line with our guidance and your workplace policy, and make a record of the
steps you have taken.”

RAISING AND ACTING ON CONCERNS ABOUT PATIENT SAFETY – ARTICLE 12

“If you have reason to believe that patients are, or may be, at risk of death or serious harm for any
reason, you should report your concern to the appropriate person or organisation immediately. Do not
delay doing so because you your-self are not in a position to put the matter right.”

RAISING AND ACTING ON CONCERNS ABOUT PATIENT SAFETY – ARTICLE 13

“Wherever possible, you should first raise your concern with your manager or an appropriate officer of
the organisation you have a contract with or which employs you – such as the consultant in charge of
the team, the clinical or medical director or a practice partner. If your concern is about a partner, it
may be appropriate to raise it outside the practice – for example, with the medical director or clinical
governance lead responsible for your organisation. If you are a doctor in training, it may be appropriate
to raise your concerns with a named person in the deanery – for example, the postgraduate dean or
director of postgraduate general practice education.”

GOOD MEDICAL PRACTICE – ARTICLE 43:

“You must support colleagues who have problems with their performance or health. But you must put
patient safety first at all times.”

As we will see throughout this book when we study individual questions dealing with problem doctors or
difficult colleagues, many of the answers call upon your common sense. The SPIES structure is really
there to make sure that you do not forget anything crucial in your answers.

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6 | Portfolio station
Many ST interviews contain a separate portfolio station where the interviewers will go through the
various sections of the candidate’s portfolio and ask relevant questions. In some cases, portfolio
stations are merely a formality but in many others they are actually a formal station with a formal
marking schedule. Either way, you should not underestimate the importance of this station.

Even an informal set-up will involve careful checks of your CV – including any publications or
achievements you have listed. As well as any documents you are told to bring, take along evidence
of your achievements, including copies of papers or posters (an A4 version is fine). If you are writing
or have written a thesis, bring along what you have done. If it is complete, that looks fantastic. If you
have written chunks of it, that shows intent.

Historically, there have been examples of candidates exaggerating their achievements – part of
this station’s role is to pick that up. It is not unheard of for panels to perform a literature search on
candidates – if you are honest, you have nothing to fear but a lie will fail you that interview and may
land you in front of the GMC.

The scoring system varies from specialty to specialty, as well as between deaneries. However, it is
commonly as follows:

ORAL PRESENTATION AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS (5 MARKS)

The candidate will be asked to talk about specific aspects of their experience such as a specific
job or rotation. Questions may also be broader; in many portfolio questions, candidates are asked to
take the interviewers through their CV or to talk about themselves in no more than 2, 3 or 5 minutes
depending on the circumstances (see 7.1 and 7.2 for details on how to answer these). Candidates are
assessed on their fluency and verbal communication. A lack of structure and coherence, as well as
poor eye contact, will usually ensure the lowest mark.

INTERACTION WITH THE PANEL (5 MARKS)

As the panel questions candidates about their experience, they will be assessing the candidate’s
ability to consider the questions asked and the relevance of the answers provided. An ability to think
quickly, provide relevant answers and communicate effectively would lead to a high mark, whilst a lack
of coherence and relevance would ensure a low mark.

QUALITY OF COMPETENCE EVIDENCE (5 MARKS)

The panel will be assessing the evidence presented by the candidate to vouch for their competence
(logbook, DOPs, mini-CEX, etc.) and will be judging the organisation, layout, presentation, legibility,
and completeness of the information. A low score would be given for poor evidence or unclear layout.

QUALITY OF CV (5 MARKS)

As well as the evidence, the panel will be assessing the quality and layout of the candidate’s CV.
A comprehensive and well-presented CV with fully relevant information will score highly, whilst a
disorganised CV with poor evidence will score low.

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7 | Background & motivation
questions
7.1 Take me through your CV

In answering this question, it is tempting to list your experience methodically. However, this is unlikely
to result in a very engaging and enthusiastic answer and would certainly take more than the allocated
time to deliver your full biography. The following rules will enable you to provide a comprehensive yet
concise and personal answer.

DO NOT LITERALLY TAKE THEM THROUGH THE CV

I remember once sitting in on an interview where the candidate actually started their answer with:
“Well, on the 1st page, you will find my name, address and qualifications; on the 2nd page, the list
of past jobs, etc.” Needless to say, the panel was not impressed. Instead of boring everyone with a
lengthy description of every page, think of the themes that your CV addresses and of the points that
you want the interviewers to remember about you.

DO NOT WORRY ABOUT OVERLAPPING WITH FUTURE QUESTIONS

Many candidates worry that, if they talk about everything at the start of the interview, they will have
nothing else to say later (e.g. if they are later asked a question on research or teaching). In reality, you
simply do not know what questions you will be asked later on, so do not deprive your interviewers of
important information on that basis. Treat this question as a content table for the interview, where
you will be setting out what you have to offer in a logical and structured manner, without going into
excessive detail.

AVOID THE CHRONOLOGICAL APPROACH

Structuring your whole answer around the chronology of your training to date will create an exceptionally
long answer in which you will spend most of your time listing hospital names, dates and specialty
names. Going through every single job you have had may be okay if you have very few jobs behind
you, but if you have more than five or six then it could prove lengthy. The most effective answers tend
to be structured around the main themes of a candidate’s experience (i.e. their clinical training, why
they enjoy the specialty, their re-search and audit experience, etc.) rather than the chronology of their
training.

APPLY THE CAMP STRUCTURE (SEE 5.1)

If your CV is well designed, it will already have been written more or less along the lines of the CAMP
structure (i.e. with clinical information at the start; fol-lowed by your audit, research, teaching and
management experience; finishing with more personal information such as hobbies). There is no
reason why the answer to this question should vary widely from the actual structure of your CV. You
simply need to convert it into something that is easy to listen to. Here is an example of how you could
structure your answer:

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Clinical
• Brief chronology of your training (15/20 seconds).
• Description of skills and experience (2 to 4 points).
• How this motivated you for this specialty/post, or why you want to train in this specialty.

Academic
Brief description of your research/teaching involvement, including:
• Papers you have written.
• Relevant postgraduate qualifications.
• Postgraduate courses you have been on.
• Teaching you have done, teaching qualifications or courses.
• A summary of your intercalated degree or postgraduate thesis (if you have done one).
• Any grants you have won.

Management
• Brief description of your audit experience
• Overview of your other management experience, including:
- Rota management .
- Service development or service improvement (including conducting audits and
implementing changes thereafter).
- Experience of writing or updating guidelines and protocols.
- Sitting on committees, e.g. risk management.
- Acting as representative, e.g. junior doctors committee.
- Handling complaints (for more senior candidates).
- Organising events, including induction programmes for junior doctors or nurses,
departmental or regional teaching programmes, mock exams, conferences, etc.
- Dealing with underperforming colleagues (for more senior candidates, e.g. ST3).
- Any other management experience linked to a personal achievement or outside
medicine

Personal
• Overview of your personal strengths/interpersonal skills.
• Basic information about your social life (e.g. hobbies).

Example of an effective answer

“My name is Joanna. I am currently training as an FY2 doctor in the East of England deanery.
I graduated in 2020 from Cambridge University. I have trained in the Eastern region for both
foundation years, during which I have experienced a range of specialties, including Cardiology,
Respiratory, Accident and Emergency, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and General Practice.
Out of all of these, I have particularly enjoyed the medical specialties because of the analytical
and communication challenges that they offer, and this is the reason that I am applying to
Internal Medicine Training.

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 During medical school and the ensuing two foundation years, I have gained a lot of confidence
in history taking and basic procedures such as cannulation, ABG sampling and urethral
catheterisation. Through my cardiology attachment, I gained a good knowledge of ECG
interpretation. I was able to perform cardiac catheterisation under supervision, I assisted
in the placement of pacing wires and I took the opportunity to observe transoesophageal
echocardiography. My A&E attachment helped to increase my confidence in dealing with
acutely ill patients; it also provided me with excellent training in how to remain calm and
organised under pressure, which has proved extremely useful during my on-call work.

As well as developing good clinical skills, I have sought to develop my teaching skills. I have
been involved in teaching undergraduates on basic clinical matters and procedures, with both
bedside or ward teaching and formal lectures. I have also actively sought to mentor groups of
medical students who have rotated through the units I have worked in. Teaching is something
that interests me greatly, and which I’d be keen to develop further throughout my training and
my career.

Over the past few years, I have also played an active role in audit projects. I have completed
two audits, one of which led to a change in clinical practice through the introduction of new
departmental guidelines for the follow-up of MI patients. On both audits, I was the lead auditor.
As well as this, I have played a key role in organising departmental activities, including a weekly
depart-mental teaching session and some mock vivas for medical students in their final year.

From a more personal perspective, my colleagues see me as someone who is reliable and very
supportive. Outside of work, I enjoy team sports such as football and cricket, which give me an
outlet to de-stress. I also enjoy reading and spending time out with friends.”

This answer takes about 2 minutes to deliver at a realistic enthusiastic pace. Slower candidates (and
speaking slowly is by no means a disadvantage) could easily deliver an answer of this length in 2½
minutes.

WHY THIS ANSWER WORKS

• It is well structured. You will have recognised that it follows the CAMP structure. The short
introduction where the doctor gives her name and her current post is very effective. Obviously, they
should already know your name, but the purpose of this sentence is not to provide information. It is
designed to build a rapport. They won’t know you at all; so it is nice to introduce yourself.

• The candidate does not just list information or make bold statements about having experience.
It is easy to make statements such as “I have gained a lot of audit and teaching experience”,
hoping that interviewers might understand what was meant by it. Instead, the candidate provides
concrete examples of achievements.

• The candidate ends her answer with a more personal slant. Note the use of feedback: “my
colleagues see me as someone who is reliable and very supportive.” With such a sentence, there is
an immediate picture of some-one who works well in a team, even though they have never actually
said “I am a good team player”.

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• The information has opened up several avenues of interest that the inter-viewers can then follow
with questions. The information is accurate and punchy: just enough of an appetiser for the panel
to gain a feeling of confidence about the candidate.

ENDING THE ANSWER

In this example, the candidate finished with the personal section. Their tone of voice should clearly
indicate that they have finished the answer. Another possible finish would involve taking out the
sentence: “Out of all of these, I have particularly enjoyed the medical specialties because of the
analytical and communication challenges that they offer and this is the reason that I am applying to
Internal Medicine Training” from the first paragraph, and to position it instead in the last paragraph in
a slightly modified format:

“Out of all my attachments and training opportunities so far, I have enjoyed the medical
specialties most because of the analytical and communication challenges that they offer;
and this is the reason that I am applying to Internal Medicine Training.”

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7.2 Tell me about yourself

This question puzzles many candidates, whose first reaction is to ask back “What do you want me to
talk about? Do you want to know about my training, my research, my hobbies?”

If you ask the interviewers to narrow the scope of the question, you will lose a valuable opportunity to
demonstrate your full potential. You may also give the impression that you are unable to determine
what is important and what is less important to the interviewers, which may then raise questions
about your ability to prioritise information.

The purpose of the interview is to determine whether you are the right candidate for the post. Focusing
an answer on your hobbies or your personality will not enable you to sell yourself fully. You should aim to
tick as many boxes as you can and use the vagueness of the question to your advantage by presenting
your strengths, skills, and achievements.

The good news is that, if you have already prepared “Take me through your CV”, there is little further
preparation to do. Indeed, these two questions are essentially the same and you can deliver the same
answer in exactly the same way.

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7.3 Why do you want to train in this specialty?

WHAT THE INTERVIEWERS ARE LOOKING FOR

This question is testing your motivation for the post and the interviewers will be looking for the following:

• A range of reasons: some marking schemes take into account the number of reasons listed. To
maximise your score, you will need to state at least three, preferably four. Any more than four
and you run the risk of spreading your answer too thin or repeating yourself. Make sure that your
reasons are sufficiently different from one another so that you do not sound repetitive, and that
the answer has enough variety to keep the interviewers interested throughout.

• Strong explanations, with a personal slant: simply listing your reasons for choosing the specialty
will not be sufficient. You need to explain why these reasons are important to you and how you
developed your interest.

• Evidence that demonstrates your interest in the specialty: thinking that a specialty will suit you
is not enough. The interviewers will be looking for evidence that you have taken steps to test your
interest or to gain experience in that specialty. These posts are precious opportunities and your
panel wants to know that you are going to make good use of that opportunity.

• Career focus: your choice of specialty needs to come across as some-thing that you have thought
about and fits within a career plan. The inter-viewers will not be keen on recruiting someone who
wants to join the specialty because “it sounds quite interesting” or because they could not get into
anything else.

• Enthusiasm: it is not a competition about who will have the best reason or the most reasons; it
is about recruiting those who believe in their future in the specialty. This can only be achieved by
talking, in some detail, about what you enjoy. Some of the enthusiasm will be conveyed through
your description of your experience to date; but most of it will come from your tone of voice and
the enthusiastic manner with which you deliver your answer.

DEFINING YOUR REASONS FOR TRAINING IN THE SPECIALTY

Statements such as “I want to train in this specialty because I find it interesting, stimulating, fascinating,
enriching, etc.” are common and not particularly informative. Adjectives such as “interesting” and
“fascinating” may sound good on the surface, but they are meaningless unless you explain why you
find the specialty interesting or fascinating. Use such words sparingly, particularly as most of your
competitors will overuse them and the interviewers will be bored of hearing them time after time.

Your answer should be structured around three or four clear reasons. These reasons will of course
depend on your personal circumstances and the specialty. For this question, you can also use the
CAMP structure (see 5.1) as a useful tool to ensure that you cover all angles. Here are a few examples
that you can use as a starting point:

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Clinical reasons
• The technological aspect (e.g. surgery, radiology, pathology)
• The variety of work that the specialty offers, for example:
- You deal with different specialties (e.g. Paediatrics).
- Good mix of medicine and surgery (e.g. Ophthalmology, Obstetrics & Gynaecology).
- A mix of ward work and clinics (most medical specialties).
- A mix of chronic and acute patients.
- Involves prevention as well as treatment.
- Mix of interventional and other activities (e.g. Cardiology, Radiology).
- Opportunity to work in different settings (e.g. community and hospital for Psychiatry,
Paediatrics, GUM).
• You get immediate results from your work (e.g. most surgical specialties). Be careful with
this reason because surgeons also deal with chronic patients. A better reason may be that
you enjoy the combination of the two.
• A strong investigative component, or, on the other hand, there aren’t many investigations
available so it offers you a challenge.
• The diagnosis is easy to establish, or on the contrary it is challenging.
• The holistic/psychosocial approach (e.g. Psychiatry, Oncology)

Academic reasons (research, teaching)

• Fast advancing specialty, with a real challenge in keeping up to date and constantly learning
new skills (e.g. most surgical specialties, Oncology).
• Good opportunities for research.
• Good opportunities for teaching.
• Great variety in teaching styles (e.g. simulation in Anaesthetics).
• Opportunity to develop a special interest.

Management Reasons (responsibility, working with others)

• Opportunities to get involved rapidly in areas of responsibility where one has greater
autonomy (e.g. Psychiatry).
• Strong multidisciplinary focus (e.g. Psychiatry, Paediatrics, Oncology).
• Mix of independent work and teamwork
• Opportunities to develop services and make a difference to service provision.
• Prefer to work in small teams and therefore hold greater responsibilities (e.g. Dermatology,
Haematology, Urology).

Personal reasons (personality, soft skills, social)

• Offers a communication challenge (e.g. Paediatrics, Psychiatry).
• The challenge of dealing with difficult patients and sensitive situations (e.g. Paediatrics,
Psychiatry, Obstetrics & Gynaecology).
• Your input has a strong influence on patient satisfaction, and makes a big difference to the
patient’s lifestyle and mobility (e.g. Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics) and therefore leads to
greater satisfaction.
• The buzz of working under pressure (e.g. surgery, emergency medicine)
• Enjoy working in an environment where detail matters (e.g. Radiology, Pathology).
• Prefer to work in larger teams to learn from a greater variety of people and develop in a
more sociable environment.

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The CAMP structure (see 5.1) is useful to help you think about a wide range of reasons and gives you
a natural structure. You can use it as you see fit in relation to your own situation.

You do not have to find one reason in each category; for example, it would be perfectly fine to have two
clinical reasons and one management reason; or one clinical reason, one management reason and one
personal reason. What matters is that you can present suitable variety in a structured manner.

It is crucial that you remain true to yourself if you want to appear enthusiastic. Not everyone wants to
join a specific specialty for academic reasons, so don’t force yourself to talk about academic reasons
if they do not represent your true motivations. You will only invite further questions which will make you
regret having mentioned it in the first place.

Example of an ineffective answer

“I have acquired all the skills to do well in Obstetrics & Gynaecology and I feel that I have a lot
to offer the specialty. I also want to train in Obstetrics & Gynaecology because I think it is an
interesting and challenging specialty. I like the surgery; I enjoy caring for women and I think that
there is no better job than to help a baby enter life.”

WHY THIS ANSWER DOES NOT WORK WELL

This answer is ineffective for several reasons:

• It consists mostly of a list of reasons, with no real attempt to substantiate them. None of the
reasons have been developed in any depth. In particular, the use of words such as “interesting”
and “challenging” without an explanation of why the specialty is so attractive makes the answer
particularly vacuous. Also, what does the candidate mean by “I enjoy caring for women”? What
does he/she enjoy about it?

• The candidate does not attempt to link his/her explanations to their experience or personal story.
When delivered orally, the answer will sound unenthusiastic and bland. There is a need for more
depth, which would in turn translate into a more dynamic answer.

• We all have skills that make us suitable for jobs that we don’t want to do. Having the skills is
therefore not a sign of motivation. These skills may be something worth mentioning in the answer,
but only as a conclusion and providing the candidate explains, even if briefly, what these skills are.

On the positive side, there is an attempt to choose a range of reasons which are of a different nature,
e.g. a technical reason (liking the surgery), a patient-based reason (enjoying caring for women) and
personal satisfaction.

Example of an effective answer

“Obstetrics & Gynaecology is a specialty in which I have developed an interest since my first
attachment in Obstetrics at medical school; and which I have learnt to discover and enjoy
further during my Foundation Years attachments.

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 One aspect of the specialty that I have particularly enjoyed is the variety it offers. You can
experience extreme joys – for example when helping to deliver babies – but you also have
opportunities to help patients through particularly difficult times – for example when dealing
with miscarriages or cancers. I personally experienced these highs and lows when I helped an
HIV-positive woman safely deliver a healthy baby, whilst the very next day having to console
a patient who had just been told that she would need to have an operation that could result
in subfertility. I feel very enthusiastic at the prospect of being able to make a difference to
women in situations which evoke such extremes of emotions, high or low.

I like the fact that Obstetrics & Gynaecology is a very procedure-based specialty,
complemented by a challenging medical side. During my attachments, I enjoyed performing
examinations and observing procedures such as hysteroscopies, diagnostic laparoscopies,
and open surgery. I have always thoroughly enjoyed both surgery and medicine, and I feel that
a career in Obstetrics & Gynaecology would enable me to develop both interests.

From a personal perspective, I find the holistic approach that Obstetrics & Gynaecology offers
very rewarding. Having attended sexual health clinics and women’s health clinics both as a
medical student and as a junior doctor has really helped me appreciate how much difference
we can make in addition to the purely physical needs of the patient. This makes Obstetrics &
Gynaecology a well-rounded specialty.

Finally, I feel that the specialty offers a wonderful opportunity to work closely with other
members of a team. I have particularly enjoyed the buzz of working on labour wards with
midwives and the challenge of ensuring good communication and team working to ensure
the safety of our patients, despite the some-times-fast-moving conditions and the possible
conflicts that can develop as a result of shared responsibilities.”

This answer can be delivered in just over 1½ minutes at normal pace, which should reassure you that a
three-point personalised approach works well.

BEWARE OF CRITICISING OTHER SPECIALTIES

Candidates commonly criticise other training schemes (e.g. explain that they chose medicine because
they found surgery too boring or surgery because they found that medicine does not achieve fast
results). This would give answers along the lines of: “I feel that surgery can be very samey and that
there is no real opportunity for prolonged contact with patients after the follow-up. Medicine, on the
other hand, is much more varied and does offer better opportunities for continuity of care.”

You can see how inflammatory such an answer could be. And even if the interviewers agree with the
candidate, it will no doubt present them as someone negative. The answer does not sell the candidate’s
love for medicine in a positive manner. In particular, the lack of examples makes the candidate appear
judgemental.

Generally, I would advise against selling your interest for one specialty by put-ting another one down.
You must make sure that you present a positive image. The only exception to this would be if you have
changed career path, in which case you could explain your interest in the specialty by comparing it
to your previous specialty. If you do this, make sure that you sell the positive points of your previous
specialty. When mentioning the negative aspects, present them as something that you did not enjoy
rather than generalising with sentences like “Specialty X is not very interesting because …”

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The best format to explain a switch of specialty would be to explain:

• What you enjoyed about your previous specialty.

• Why you felt limited within it.
• Why this new specialty is the answer to your problems.

SELLING YOUR ENTHUSIASM FOR A GENERAL TRAINING POST (CORE OR IMT)

Those who are applying to named specialties (e.g. Ophthalmology, Cardiology, O&G, Paediatrics,
Anaesthetics, Urology, ENT, etc.) should find it easier to explain their career choice than those applying
to general training posts. In-deed, those applying to core training schemes in surgery / acute care or
for IMT are not actually applying for a specific specialty and may therefore lack focus in their answer.
Specialties within medicine or surgery can be very different from one another and this leads to some
candidates sounding vague and seemingly unmotivated.

There are, however, aspects which are common to all or most specialties with-in medicine, surgery or
acute care. Here are a few to get you started:

Medicine
• Excellent problem-solving environment.
• Opportunity to deal with psychosocial issues as well as physical.
• Good mix of ward and clinic work.
• Opportunity to follow up patients with chronic illnesses.
• Enjoy contact with patients.
• A lot rests on your communication skills.
• Enjoy the varied teamwork.

Surgery
• Enjoy manual/technical skills and challenges.
• Enjoy the satisfaction of making an immediate difference to patients.
• Good mix of acute and chronic patients.
• Enjoy the fact that it is very evidence-based and fast moving.
• Look forward to research opportunities.
• Enjoy working under pressure.

Acute Care
• Enjoy working under pressure.
• Enjoy the challenge of dealing with the unexpected.
• Strong communication challenge in terms of reassuring patients and relatives, and
managing their expectations.
• Good teamwork angle, particularly in dealing with other specialists.

You can of course add your own reasons based on your own experience of the field to which you are
applying. By following a similar pattern to the answer given earlier, and more importantly, by using your
own experience, you will be able to create a strong answer.

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If you already have an idea of the specialty that you want to do after your rotation, I suggest using this
in your answer. However, only bring this up at the end of the answer (i.e. your third paragraph). Talking
about a single specialty throughout the whole answer will cause three issues:

• The consultants interviewing you will often be from a different specialty and they will be looking for
some balance (you wouldn’t want to bruise their egos too much…).

• You will give the feeling that you may be bored during the rotation when-ever you are not working in
your chosen specialty. This could be problematic if your two-year rotation only contains 4 months
in that specialty (if anything).

• By spending the whole answer on one specialty, you may face a secondary question of the type:
“What will you do if you don’t get into Cardiology in two years’ time?”

By spending two paragraphs talking about medicine, surgery or acute care in a general manner and by
focusing on your chosen specialty in the final para-graph, you will establish a sensible balance in your
answer. This will show that you are motivated for the whole programme but that you also have a clear
focus.

Better still, you could identify two specialties which are of a similar nature. For example, Cardiology
and Gastroenterology both have a diagnostic and a procedural side. In that way, you do not show
too strong a focus on one specialty but you retain focus in the answer. By mentioning two specialties
rather than one, you also present yourself as someone who is open-minded.

So, your third paragraph could be as follows:

“Finally, the two specialties that I have particularly enjoyed over the past three years have been
Cardiology and Gastroenterology because they provide a good mix of pure medicine, including
diagnosis and management, and of procedures (for example: pacemaker implantation and
endoscopies). Internal Medicine Training would help me discover more about both specialties
so that I can make the right choice.”

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7.4 Why do you want to train in this region/deanery?

We all know that the real answer to this question is either “Because that’s where I live” or “Because
that’s where there are jobs!” However, the marks for these are likely to be minimal.

WHAT THE INTERVIEWERS ARE LOOKING FOR

The marking for this question is fairly consistent across all deaneries. All deaneries will be looking for
candidates who are motivated for the training that they offer and will expect you to have developed
a good understanding of their training programme (i.e. it is not enough to state geographical reasons
for wanting to work or train in a particular region). As well as good reasons, the interviewers will expect
good and clear explanations of your motivation. Here is an example of a marking schedule:

0 No clear reason

1 Vague geographical reasons, but no reasons relating to the training programme

2 Limited understanding of the training programme with unclear reasons

3 Reasonable to good understanding of the training programme with clearer

reasons

4 Excellent understanding of the training programme.

Clear and detailed explanations of the reasons

As you can see, the marking structure leaves some room for subjective judgement but one thing is
clear: you should do some homework about the deanery to identify what the training scheme offers;
otherwise you will struggle to score more than 2.

For most deaneries, you should be able to score at least 3 by spending a minimum of time reading
relevant internet sites or talking to people who are al-ready training there. With a bit more homework
and a clear structure, you could easily score the maximum mark. Clearly, this is a question to expect
and this simple preparation makes it easy to score well.

WHAT REASONS CAN YOU MENTION?

Here again you can use the CAMP structure (see 5.1) to brainstorm for reasons and structure the
answer appropriately.

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Clinical reasons (including clinical practice and clinical training)
• The area covers a varied population (e.g. ranging from deprived to affluent populations,
multiethnic or otherwise), thus providing a good case mix for training.
• The region covers types of patients that are of particular interest to the specialty applied
for (e.g. a primarily elderly population, a strong refugee population, strong diabetes
prevalence).
• The rotation provides training in a mix of different settings (e.g. good exposure to both
DGH and tertiary centres, or community settings for some specialties) or, on the contrary,
it has more DGH or tertiary exposure (de-pending on what your future plans are).
• Some of the hospitals are renowned centres for the specialty to which you are applying,
thus allowing you better exposure to your future specialty of choice, or special interest that
you are keen on developing.
• The deanery provides good support for taking and passing exams, with established
structured programmes.
• The deanery encourages and provides support for trainees to pass specialty-specific exams
early, which may not be compulsory (a sign that the training programme is attempting to
stretch its trainees, which would suit the more ambitious candidates).
• The deanery has achieved high pass rates at Royal College exams, which reflects the
quality of support received.

Academic reasons
• The training programme actively encourages an involvement in research.
• You are interested in research and the deanery contains centres which would enable you to
further that interest.
• You may already have developed research projects in this region and wish to continue
training in the same region to complete or pursue these projects further.
• You have an interest in teaching and will be primarily training in teaching hospitals, thus
giving you opportunities to get involved.
• Local medical schools employ teaching methods which match your inter-est and experience,
and with which you will have opportunities to become involved.
• Teaching qualifications are encouraged for those interested.
• The deanery runs good courses for research and teaching.

Management reasons
• The deanery encourages active participation in audit.
• The deanery provides structured management training (e.g. running in-house courses).
• There are opportunities to take on responsibilities (e.g. clinical governance, service
development).

Personal reasons (personality, soft skills, social)

• You have worked/trained in the region before and enjoyed your time there (you should be
able to explain what you enjoyed).
• Your wife, husband or partner works in the region.
• Your family, relatives and/or friends are close by, thus providing a good support network.
• You have responsibilities which would warrant working in that region. This could include
caring for relatives, social responsibilities, responsibilities with local charities or other
associations.
• You enjoy the region.
• You have hobbies or personal interests that would be best maintained in that region.

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These are just a few of the reasons that you can discuss and should give you a starting point to think
about your own.

One question, which I am often asked, is whether it is acceptable to bring social reasons into the
answer. Those who ask are concerned that they may be projecting the wrong image. The answer
to this question is that it is acceptable because the right social circumstances are likely to make
you a better and more stable trainee. However, you should ensure that social reasons are mentioned
at the end of the answer, after you have successfully demonstrated your knowledge of the training
programme.

Example of an ineffective answer

“I want to work in the East of England because of the variety of population and the different
experiences that I can gain there. It is also close to London where most of my family and
friends are based, whilst also providing access to the countryside.”

WHAT MAKES THE ANSWER INEFFECTIVE?

Although the candidate alludes to the variety that the deanery offers, it is not very clear as to what
that variety is and why this is relevant to the candidate’s training. The answer could be given in just
about every deanery in almost every specialty, and it is clear that the candidate has made no effort
to research the training scheme that he/she is applying for and to describe why that training scheme
is of particular interest. This answer would probably score 1 mark only because it has a strong focus on
the geography and personal reasons, but not much else.

Example of an effective answer

“I feel that East of England is an ideal region for Cardiology training, for many reasons.

First of all, it offers a huge variety in terms of settings. There is a good selection of smaller
hospitals, but also specialist tertiary centres such as Papworth. The East of England also
covers a vast area, encompassing rural and urban areas from Norwich to Bedford, as well as
middle-class and deprived populations. This makes the training scheme very broad-ranging
and provides a good opportunity to get involved in all clinical aspects of Cardiology.

I also know from my background reading that many of the hospitals are investing a lot of
resources into cardiac services, for example through the creation or increase in capacity
of catheter labs in Kings Lynn, Ipswich and Cambridge, some of which will be mobile. This
obviously increases opportunities to gain hands-on experience in interventional cardiology
(one of my areas of interest) but also demonstrates that the region is forward thinking in its
approach, which makes it an exciting environment in which to train.

One of the area’s great assets, in my opinion, is also that it contains major teaching hospitals
such as Addenbrooke’s and Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. The proximity to one of the oldest
and one of the newest medical schools provides a unique opportunity for me to become involved
in a wide range of teaching activities and to develop new skills, both in traditional teaching
methods and in newer ones such as problem-based learning. Working near major centres such
as Papworth also makes it an ideal environment to develop research interests.

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 Finally, so far, I have trained mostly in the London area and I am very keen to discover a new
environment. The East of England provides a nice semi-rural setting whilst at the same time
having the advantage of remaining within easy reach of London, where I have a lot of friends
and family.

Overall, I feel that it will provide me with an excellent training in a dynamic environment, both
clinically and academically, and will give me many opportunities to develop a strong portfolio
that will enable me to give back fully to the specialty once I become a consultant.”

This answer can be delivered in approximately 2 minutes. It clearly sets out different reasons in each
paragraph, all of which are properly signposted. The candidate has covered several domains including
clinical, academic and personal reasons.

The level of detail within each paragraph is just enough to demonstrate that the candidate has seriously
considered their reasons and has taken the trouble to do some homework, which is by itself a sign
of motivation. More importantly, for each reason, the candidate has demonstrated why it mattered
to them. For example, saying that the region was setting up new catheter labs is not interesting by
itself until the candidate explains that it will give them an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in
interventional cardiology, which is one of their areas of interest. In your answers, make sure that you
don’t limit yourself to stating a list of reasons; you should explain their relevance to your application.

Finally, the social reasons are highlighted too – though not until the end – to round off the answer and
give a more personal dimension.

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7.5 Why not train somewhere else?

You may have proudly delivered a good answer to the question “Why do you want to train in this region/
deanery?” but there is always someone who will spoil your fun. Whilst question 7.4 was asking you to
demonstrate why this region was a good place for you to train, the interviewers now want you to ex-
plain why this particular deanery is more attractive than others.

In practice this can be quite tricky to answer because, in many specialties, there isn’t much to
differentiate one region from the next and the determining factor is often the personal side (i.e. either
you have already trained there, you live there, or you have family there). There are two possibilities:
either you have strong reasons for choosing this region over all others, or they pretty much all look the
same to you.

IF YOU HAVE A STRONG REASON

If your reason is making this particular region stand out in relation to the others, you should mention it.
Reasons that would tie you to a specific region would normally include:

• Having enjoyed training or working there previously

• Having career plans which can only be realised in that area (e.g. in respect of special interests)
• Having academic commitments already started in that region
• Personal responsibilities in the local area (children, other social engagements or responsibilities).

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A PARTICULAR REASON

If you feel that this particular deanery is only one option amongst several others, you need to take
particular care not to come across as disinterested or dismissive. Doctors who work there will want you
to show some enthusiasm towards their own deanery and the training that they are delivering.

On the other hand, there is no need to pretend that they are a particularly unique deanery if you have
no real argument to back that up.

An effective way to approach the question in this case is to set out what your criteria for selection are,
and to show how the deanery matches.

Example of a possible answer

“It is true that there are other regions which look equally interesting; however what I am really
looking for is a deanery which provides good clinical training in an environment that provides
variety and strong support. I also want to train in a deanery that provides good opportunities
for research and teaching, and where I will feel comfortable socially.

This deanery offers all this and therefore is my preferred choice. In addition, I have talked
to colleagues and other people who work here. They are all enjoying their training and the
opportunities that they are given to progress. As such, I have absolutely no doubt that I will
benefit greatly from training here.”

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7.6 What is your biggest achievement?

This is a question that gives you the opportunity to impress. The question says “biggest”, so stick
to one achievement. Mentioning more than one achievement would only dilute the strength of your
answer. You would also be wasting time because the marking scheme will only allow you to score
points for one achievement.

This question is not very specific as to what type of achievement the inter-viewers are looking for. You
have a choice between achievements within medicine or outside medicine, academic or non-academic
achievements, etc. If you have one particular achievement that you are keen on highlighting, mention
that one. If you have several and are unsure as to which they would prefer, you can ask them what type
of achievement they are looking for.

DERIVING CONTENT FOR YOUR ANSWER

Use the CAMP structure (see 5.1) to help you derive possible achievements:

Clinical
• Breadth of experience gained
• Progression in training over expectations
• Initiative taken to gain experience in your specialty of choice well beyond basic training
requirements
• Prizes or awards at medical school or during your postgraduate training.

Academic
• Substantial involvement in a research project
• Substantial involvement in teaching
• Involvement in the preparation and delivery of an important presentation
• Publication of paper, audit, poster or case report, preferably as 1st author
• Prize for presentation or poster
• Teaching achievements or recognition, e.g. becoming an ALS instructor.

Management
• Substantial involvement in audit or taking charge of an audit which led to important changes
in clinical practice
• Successfully managed a rota for a complex team or set-up
• Writing a guideline or protocol.

Personal
• Voluntary work or out-of-programme experience (OOPE)
• Position of responsibility outside of medicine
• Implementing educational website or other key resource
• Having successfully juggled training with difficult personal circumstances
• High achievement in sports, music, arts, etc.

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MARKING SCHEME

Marking schemes may vary but they will always centre around the strength of the achievement and
the explanation of its significance to you. A typical marking scheme would be as follows:

0 No real achievement

1 Moderate achievement with reasonable explanation of significance

2 High achievement with reasonable explanation of significance or

Moderate achievement with clear, detailed explanation of significance

3 Exceptional achievement with reasonable explanation of significance or

High achievement with clear, detailed explanation of significance

4 Exceptional achievement with clear, detailed explanation of significance

NATURE AND STRENGTH OF THE ACHIEVEMENT

To produce an effective answer, you must explain clearly not only what the achievement is but also
why it is an achievement. This will help the interviewers to mark it as moderate, high or exceptional.
The following table is often used by interviewers to determine the level of the achievement:

Exceptional Less than 10% of your peers would be expected to achieve the same thing
or there was a high level of competition.

High Less than 25% of your peers would be expected to achieve the same thing
or there was a reasonable level of competition.

Moderate Less than 50% of your peers would be expected to achieve the same thing
or there was some competition.

You will greatly help the interviewers to mark you well by ensuring that you define how hard you needed
to work in order to achieve and/or the level of competition that you faced.

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EXPLANATION OF THE ACHIEVEMENT’S SIGNIFICANCE TO YOU

In addition to the nature of your achievement, the interviewers will want to know its significance and
what it says about you. This is an important part of the answer, often neglected by candidates.

In your answer, you should therefore highlight why you are particularly proud of your achievement and
what can be derived from it. You will also need to make the link back to the post or specialty that you
are applying for.

Example 1: Medical school prize

Saying “I got a prize at medical school during my neurology attachment” does not reflect
accurately the level of the achievement. The interviewer will not know how hard you needed to
work to obtain it or how much competition you faced. Instead, you will need to say something
along the following lines:

Achievement: “My biggest achievement is a prize that I obtained at medical school for
a neurology attachment. I was competing against 30 other students. It
involved a written exam and an oral presentation. To achieve the prize I
made sure I attended all the teaching sessions and clinics planned, but
I also took the initiative to gain further experience by attending extra
clinics for neurodegenerative disorders. I also did quite a lot of reading on
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Significance: I am particularly proud of the prize because I worked hard to ensure that I
was well prepared for the assessment and the reward reflects the interest
that I paid to the specialty. In fact, one of my reasons for applying to
Internal Medicine Training this year is that I am considering a career either
in Neurology or stroke medicine.”

This answer is effective because the level of the achievement and effort required are both clearly
set out by the candidate. The explanation of the significance is also well developed. The candidate
demonstrates why they were proud of the achievement and what it meant to them.

Example 2: Poster presentation

If you consider the answer “During one of my attachments, we had a poster accepted at a
regional conference, for which we nearly got a prize”, you will see that the impact is minimal. The
achievement itself seems exceptional for someone at F2 level; however, the lack of explanation,
coupled with the fact that the candidate talks about “we”, i.e. the team rather than themselves,
makes it difficult to mark. A better answer would be as follows:

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 Achievement: “During my F2 attachment in Anaesthetics, I conducted an audit on
the availability of difficult airway equipment in obstetrics units, which
encompassed results from three major hospitals in the area. The audit
highlighted some severe issues, which I summarised in a presentation to my
department, fol-lowing which I was encouraged to write up the audit results
as a poster presentation for the <xxx> conference. Not only was my poster
accepted for exhibition; it was also selected for an oral presentation, which
I gave, and for which I came second overall.

Significance: I am very proud of this achievement for several reasons. Firstly, I played
a leading role in the audit and was able to point out some severe failures
of the system, which ultimately led to a change in practice and improved
patient care. Secondly, being selected for a poster presentation was my
first major academic achievement but being asked to do the presentation
really gave me pride in my work. Finally, I was able to put together a good
presentation with very little notice, and, although I did not get the first prize,
I came close and it really motivated me to get further involved in audits and
studies so that I can do even better next time.”

This answer works well because we can easily identify the level of involvement and effort made by
the candidate. There is sufficient detail without being boring to listen to (for example, the actual
results of the audit were missed out deliberately because by themselves they do not form part of
the achievement – if the interviewers were interested in the results, they could always ask further
questions). The significance of the achievement is also very well laid out, with a good explanation of
the motivation gained by the candidate as a result of it.

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7.7 What do you like the most about this specialty?

The answer to this question can be taken directly from question 7.3 – “Why do you want to train in this
specialty?” – as they are effectively the same question. It may be, however, that the interviewers ask
you to focus on one specific positive point of the specialty. You can simply pick on one of the points,
but this may leave you with a feeling that you are not selling yourself fully. There is a good trick that
you can adopt if you want to present several attributes in the same answer without sounding like you
are not answering the question properly. Consider this answer:

“There are plenty of aspects that I like about Paediatrics. I enjoy the teamwork element of the
specialty, the communication challenge of having to convey similar information at a child and
an adult level, as well as the fact that you can deal with a lot of specialties within the course
of one day.

However, if I had to isolate one particular aspect of Paediatrics, I would say that what I enjoy
most is that you can really make a strong difference to someone’s life and there is nothing that
gives me more satisfaction than the smile on a mother’s face when she sees that we have
made a big difference to her child. It can be very emotional, but it is also very rewarding at
times. For example, <then talk briefly about a recent situation which illustrates your point>.”

If you look closely at the answer, you will see that the candidate has mentioned briefly a few positive
features of the specialty, before quickly settling on what they regard as the most rewarding. In all
fairness, the marking scheme is likely to account only for one positive and therefore, as such, you
may not score extra marks for the daring introduction. However, this technique will make your answer
much more dynamic. In turn, it will make you sound more enthusiastic and it may well influence the
interviewers subconsciously in providing a slightly higher mark. This could be the difference between
getting 3 marks for a good answer and 4 marks for an excellent answer.

56 56
7.8 What do you like the least about this specialty?

The interviewers will be looking for honesty and a realistic insight into the specialty. Here are some
examples of points that you can raise:

• Medicine (in general): being given inappropriate referrals. Having to deal with constant demands to
discharge patients, sometimes borderline
• Surgery (in general): some aspects of the work may be repetitive
• Paediatrics: it can be emotionally difficult to deal with cases where you know that there is little
you can do for a child (and more so for neonates). Dealing with challenging child protection issues
• O&G: dealing with distressing situations such as stillbirths or sexual assaults. Challenging
teamwork environment
• Oncology: feeling of powerlessness for some patients. Poor outcomes
• A&E: having to put up with angry or drunk patients or the feeling that sometimes you are dealing
with a lot of self-inflicted problems, which deflect attention from other more important matters
• Orthopaedics: some repetitive aspects (e.g. routine hip replacements)
• Respiratory: feeling of fighting a losing battle when dealing with a lot of self-inflicted problems
• Cardiology: dealing with patients with end-stage heart failure for whom treatment options are
limited
• Gastroenterology: dealing with patients with more functional/non-organic conditions for which
non-invasive investigations are unhelpful and you may have to persuade patients to accept that
their symptoms may not be simply cured by a course of tablets or invasive procedure
• Diabetes: can be repetitive unless broken into special interests
• Psychiatry: can sometimes be difficult to retain professional barrier with patient (i.e. not get
involved emotionally). For adult psychiatry, feeling that sometimes nothing can be done for a
patient anymore. Having to deal with stigma attached to psychiatry
• Ophthalmology: repetitive nature of some of the work (e.g. cataracts)
• Radiology: a lot of solo work (e.g. reporting). Having to fight unreasonable requests from other
specialists
• Anaesthetics: not in control of the full patient pathway. Many periods of “low demand” where extra
vigilance is required
• ENT: dealing with high expectations from patients (e.g. curing snoring).

There are no right or wrong answers. However, in order to optimise the impact of your answer, you will
need to consider the following:

• Unless specifically asked, do not mention more than one negative aspect
• You must justify your answer using your experience
• If you can, introduce your answer with one or two quick positive aspects to place the negative into
a more neutral context
• Reassure the interviewers that you can deal/cope with this negative and explain how/why.

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Example of an effective answer

Positive introduction “It’s hard to find something that I don’t like in Accident and Emergency
because I think that the specialty has a lot to offer both in terms of
variety and the personal satisfaction to be able to deal with people at a
particularly vulnerable time.

Clear answer However, there is perhaps one aspect of A&E which I have enjoyed less
than others and this is the fact that we sometimes have to deal with
patients who have high expectations of a stretched system, even when
their in-juries are fairly minor and they see that we are busy dealing with
real emergencies. Some of our clients don’t tend to be very patient and
can sometimes become very vocal or abusive.

Illustrative example For example, a couple of months ago, during my A&E attachment, I
dealt with a patient who had a wart on his thumb and should really have
gone to his GP. He had become aggressive because he felt he should
have been given a higher level of priority. At the time I was able to deal
successfully with his behaviour through listening and providing clear
explanations for the delays and the prioritisation; but it was frustrating.

Coping with it I am usually very good at dealing with pressure and I have always been
able to handle the more stressful moments appropriately and with good
outcomes. One of the reasons I want to do A&E is because I feel that
I build a good rapport with people even in challenging circumstances
and, in many ways, I am very much looking forward to taking on this
challenge.”

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7.9 What have you done outside of your regular scheduled daily
activities that demonstrates your interest in the specialty?

The question is asking for experience that you organised to gain an insight into the specialty. Note that
the question precludes you from discussing any activities which formed part of your normal duties. It
has to be above your normal duties, i.e. something that you took the initiative to organise or to get
involved in.

FINDING CONTENT FOR YOUR ANSWER

The list below contains some of the experiences that you can use to sell your interest and commitment:

• Seeking special attachments or “tasters” in the specialty

• Attending relevant teaching sessions (for example, many medics/surgeons attend X-ray meetings;
general medics attend oncology MDT meetings; surgeons attend trauma meetings, etc.)
• Undertaking a project in the specialty (e.g. audits, presentations)
• Discussing a possible career in the specialty with a consultant
• Shadowing an SHO/Registrar/ST in your spare time
• Voluntarily sitting in on clinics in that specialty
• Reading up on specialty-related issues (journals, internet sites)
• Attending conferences (specialty associations or other)
• Studying for exams or certificates related to the specialty
• Online CME activities through recognised institutions/websites
• Choosing an elective at medical school which was in that field
• Doing a dissertation for your BSc or otherwise on a related topic

THINK LATERALLY ABOUT EXPERIENCE ACQUIRED IN RELATED SPECIALTIES

The experience does not have to be in the specialty itself. For example, if you wanted to apply to
Psychiatry, one obvious way to demonstrate your interest in the specialty would be to initiate an audit
during a Psychiatry attachment. However, you may also have used your initiative to get involved in
Psychiatry-related projects during a General Practice attachment, an Elderly Care attachment, or
even an Accident and Emergency attachment.

Similarly, if you are applying for Obstetrics and Gynaecology, you may have volunteered to attend
additional theatre sessions during your O&G attachment. You may also have attended specialist
clinics in the Genitourinary Medicine department or training sessions with the neonatal team.

MARKING SCHEDULE

A typical marking schedule would be as follows:

0 No clear evidence

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 1 Examples are not related to the specialty, or they are but the candidate has not
demonstrated the relevance

2 Some evidence provided but it is basic, explanations are relatively vague and
relevance to the specialty is not explained

3 One good example provided with relevance to the specialty highlighted, clear
explanation of how the candidate developed experience, skills or understanding
as a result

4 More than one good example provided, showing relevance to the specialty, clearly
explaining how the candidate developed their experience, skills or understanding
as a result

From this sample marking schedule, you can clearly see that to maximise your mark you need to provide
several relevant examples with full explanation of relevance and personal reflection. Any vagueness in
the answer will make you score at most 2 marks, even if you have several items to discuss.

Example of an effective answer (Radiology)

“In addition to my regular discussions with radiologists in the course of all my previous jobs,
whether they were in Accident and Emergency, Geriatrics, Cardiology, Intensive Care or
Endocrinology, I have also sought many additional opportunities to become involved in
Radiology audit projects or studies and completed two projects last year under the guidance
of a consultant radiologist. I performed an audit on the complication rate of tunnelled central
lines in radiology and did a study that compared ultrasound aided and unaided liver biopsies.
Both enabled me to get a good grasp of some of the important issues affecting radiology,
particularly on the interventional side.

I have also made every effort to attend courses that would enhance my knowledge. Over
the past two years, I have attended four radiology-related courses on topics as diverse as
cardiovascular radiological imaging and diagnostic imaging in Emergency Medicine. I am due
to attend a further meeting later this year on plain film reporting. Although some of these
courses were quite complex, they provided me with a better understanding of some of the
issues that I had come across during my A&E and Cardiology posts. They have also shown me
the diversity that radiology offers.

Finally I have taken up membership of a number of radiology societies, such as the British
Institute of Radiology, the British Society of Skeletal Radiology and the European Congress of
Radiology. This gives me access to a range of websites and publications that I consult in my
spare time. Like the courses that I attend, it gives me further insight into the specialty. Some
of the sites also have online CPD exercises, which I have found useful.”

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 Example of an effective answer (Trauma & Orthopaedics)

“Trauma and Orthopaedics is the surgical specialty that I have most enjoyed over the past few
years and, as a result, I have taken the initiative to get involved in many projects in this field.

I have recently taken up a 2-year distance learning MSc with Warwick University, which contains
modules such as ‘Managing Upper Limb Pain’ and ‘External Fixators’. I found this course to be
an excellent complement to my daily activities as it not only allowed me to continue my training
in T&O during other attachments in my rotation, but it also allowed me to consolidate what I
learnt on the shop floor.

On top of that, I have made a point of attending several T&O courses. Over the past 3 years,
I have attended an average of three courses per year, including the Royal College course on
‘Core skills in operative orthopaedics’ last year, a course on ‘Basic knee arthroscopy’ also last
year, and the Edinburgh Instructional Trauma Management Course a couple of years ago.
These courses have helped me in my daily work and proactively getting involved in Continuing
Professional Development will put me in good stead to keep my skills up to date throughout
my career.

Finally, I have attended the optional weekly radiology meeting, combined orthopaedics/
rheumatology meetings and combined neurosurgical/spinal surgeon meeting. These have been
particularly useful in helping me understand the interaction between T&O and other specialties
and certainly showed me how much more can be achieved through teamwork, even when there
are disagreements.”

Example of an effective answer (Genitourinary Medicine)

“During my attachment in respiratory medicine last year, I arranged to sit in on a number of

GU and HIV clinics with the local GU consultant. I attended three female GU clinics, two male
GU clinics, three HIV clinics and three health advisers’ counselling sessions, which gave me an
excellent insight into the nature of the clinical problems encountered as well as the intricacies of
managing HIV patients. In particular, I gained an appreciation of the ethical issues associated
with confidentiality and partner notification.

Last year I did an audit of needle stick injuries amongst hospital staff. Through this audit, I
learnt much about risk management and the prescription of post-exposure prophylaxis. It also
gave me an opportunity to discover how A&E handles occupational injuries.

Finally, I have attended two conferences, one on Chlamydia and the other on the management
of HIV for sex workers, which gave me a good introduction to current issues.”

All three examples work well because they contain three key points, which are developed in a personal
manner. The candidates stick to the point and avoid waffling. This makes the delivery confident and
enables the interviewers to tick the boxes.

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7.10 Where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time?

This question requires some degree of thought if you don’t want to provide an answer of the type
“Well, I see myself as a consultant caring for patients”, which would be quoting the obvious and would
guarantee you a poor mark. Again, you can think along the lines of the CAMP structure (see 5.1) to
gather your thoughts and structure your answer:

Clinical
• If you are applying for IMT or a Core Training scheme, which specialty would you like to
get into? There is no need to focus on one if you can’t but try to narrow your preferences a
little to your most likely choices. For example, if you are doing IMT, you may not be able to
decide which specialty you want to do but you have a preference for those which are partly
interventional (e.g. Cardiology, Gastroenterology).
• If you are applying for a specific specialty, are there particular interests that you want to
develop? For example, if you are applying for ST1 Psychiatry, would you be more interested
in child and adolescent, adult, learning disabilities, substance misuse subspecialties? If you
are applying for Anaesthetics, are you drawn to obstetrics anaesthesia, pain management
or ITU?
• You clearly want to be a consultant, but in what type of hospital? Do you want to work in a
DGH or a teaching hospital?

Academic
• Are you interested in doing research? If so, why? What makes you say that? Do you already
have experience of research? What topics interest you?
• Have you already developed research interests that you are keen to pursue?
• Do you have an interest in teaching that you are keen to develop? What kind of personal
development do you envisage undertaking? Do you want to be an ALS instructor? Do
you want to get involved at Royal College level? Are there particular areas that you have
enjoyed teaching and would like to become further involved in? Do you intend to gain further
teaching qualifications (e.g. medical education degree)?

Management
• Do you want to be involved in service development? Perhaps you have had opportunities to
get involved in developing guidelines or improving services.
• Are you interested in managing and supervising others, for example by becoming an
educational supervisor?
• Are you interested in developing training programmes?
• Do you have an interest in some aspects of governance in which you would like to become
involved (e.g. patient information, risk management).
• In 10 years’ time you won’t have had a chance to become clinical director, but you could look
slightly further and determine whether you are keen to develop management responsibilities
further down the line.

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 Personal
• The type of region you see yourself working in.
• The type of team you see yourself being part of.
• Responsibilities you have outside work (charity, voluntary work)
• Hobbies you engage in.

Example of an effective answer (for ST1 surgery)

“Ten years time is a long way away but, certainly, by that time I will have completed my training
and become a consultant. So far, I have particularly enjoyed working in DGHs because you are
often dealing with a high turnover of patients and deal with a wide spectrum of problems and
this is therefore the setting in which I see myself working in the long term. Clinically, I will have
the opportunity through my core surgical training to determine which specialty I enjoy most;
however, so far, the two specialties that I have been very keen on are urology and GI surgery.
Both have a strong laparoscopic side which I enjoy and both also have the strong research
element that I am looking for in my career.

Over the past couple of years, I have really enjoyed participating in teaching programmes,
whether by giving lectures to medical students, running revision workshops for finals or even
simply mentoring juniors and students on the job. This is certainly an avenue that I am keen to
develop and to achieve this I plan to attend a number of teaching courses and perhaps also
do a medical education degree. I know that these degrees can be quite onerous timewise and
therefore I think it would be a good idea if I started doing it earlier in my career rather than
when I get too close to my CCT date to give it the time it de-serves. From a more personal
perspective, I am involved outside of work in voluntary work, teaching disadvantaged children
at a local school and raising funds for a charity which sends medical equipment to African
countries and I would hope that I get sufficient time to continue my involvement either with
these institutions or others of a similar nature.”

This answer works well because:

• It goes beyond the obvious and demonstrates that the candidate has put some thought into his
career and motivation.
• It has three points clearly signposted and expanded upon.
• It covers a range of activities (clinical, teaching, voluntary work).

Note also the nice touch brought into the answer by the recognition that doing a medical education
degree is hard work (in fact, many people give up before they complete them). It is this type of sentence
which clearly demonstrates that the candidate has done their homework.

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7.11 What skills do you need to improve?

It would be easy to provide an answer such as “I feel that my training has been excellent so far and
therefore there is nothing that I need to improve.” However, this would score low because, in actual
fact, the question aims to determine whether you have any insight into your own skills and attributes,
and whether you are proactive in seeking ways to improve. Importantly, the question does not refer to
new skills that you want to gain in future, but to existing skills that you need to improve. The distinction
is important if you want to avoid going off topic.

BRAINSTORMING FOR IDEAS

To think about different topics that you could raise, use the CAMP structure (see 5.1):

Clinical
• Are there procedures that you need to perfect?
• Did you miss out on opportunities to develop exposure to some conditions or procedures,
either because you were busy building other parts of your CV or because the hospitals in
which you rotated did not have a sufficient number of patients on whom you could train?
• Are there areas of clinical practice that could be consolidated or improved by going to
formal courses or attending special clinics?

Academic
• Have you been involved in research and struggled with some aspects of it? Perhaps you
have not done any formal research yet, but have gained research-related skills on an ad hoc
basis, and want to formalise your learning?
• Have you got any teaching experience and want to develop certain aspects of it? Are there
aspects of teaching or presentation skills that you need to improve (e.g. speaking to large
audiences, or learning to make your teaching sessions more interactive)?

Management
• Did you wish you had done more audits?
• Did you miss out on management opportunities such as organising rotas?
• Have you found it hard sometimes to deal with the complexity of project management?
• Have you found it difficult to negotiate your way out of difficult situations and need to
develop more confidence (e.g. getting people to radiology or ITU)?
• Have you found it difficult to find your place in MDT meetings and need to become more
self-confidence and assertive?

Personal
• Are there interpersonal skills you wish you could have had more formal training in?

ANSWERING THE QUESTION

There is therefore no need to be too negative about your training. You must be proud of whatever
you have done so far and be honest about your areas of weakness. Overall you want to convey that

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everything went well, but that there are some minor areas which you could have handled differently.
The answer could be structured as follows:

• Explain that you really enjoyed your training and why.

• State clearly the area you feel could have been handled differently.
• Explain how you feel you should have handled it.
• Explain how you plan to correct this in the forthcoming years.

Example of an effective answer

“I feel that my training to date has been extremely good. As well as developing good clinical
practice and judgement, I have also built a good portfolio of audits, teaching experience and
research exposure, including one publication. The one area which I feel I have not had much
opportunity to develop is my management skills. Although I have been involved in a number
of projects such as <x, y and z>, where I was able to demonstrate good leadership, I feel that
the lack of formal management training and the fact that we constantly rotate between jobs
makes it difficult to consolidate all the skills learnt on the job.

I have tried to counter this by having discussions and informal training with my educational
supervisor, but I would benefit more by being involved in more long-term projects and attending
formal training. As soon as I start my ST3 training, I plan to raise the issue with my consultants
so that I can plan my career well ahead in that respect. I would hope to improve this by continuing
my interest at work and by attending an appropriate management course.”

Another example of an effective answer

“During the course of my training so far I have been heavily developing my audit and teaching
portfolio, which has enabled me to learn an awful lot about service improvement, training and
communication skills. However, as a result, I have not had much time to undertake research
work. I know that as a trainee it is important to develop research skills in order to understand
the evidence that we base our practice on. As such, I am keen to develop my understanding
of research further. I plan to achieve this by attending and organising journal clubs but also by
enrolling myself on courses on topics such as research methodologies. I am also keen to write
and publish a paper in my next job.”

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8 | Skills-based questions
Skills-based questions form are common feature at interviews. They can take the form of asking
about generic personal attributes such as communication, leadership skills, and team playing. They
often also require you to provide specific examples where you demonstrated these skills.

Most candidates tend to neglect these questions during their preparation for interviews, either because
they feel they can “wing it” or because they are unsure as to how the questions should be approached,
preferring instead to bury their head in the sand, hoping that some of the awkward questions such
as “What is your main weakness?” won’t come up. The scores on these questions more commonly
reflect this lack of preparation – therefore this represents a real opportunity for you to gain points that
will separate you from the crowd.

In truth, generic questions can be very difficult to handle at an interview if you have not thought your
answers through prior to the big day. I would, therefore, encourage you to spend some time organising
your thoughts on the matters raised in this chapter.

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8.1 How would you describe your communication skills?

WHAT IS COMMUNICATION AND WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING FOR?

The interviewers will be looking for an answer which is mature, relevant to the specialty that you
are applying for and backed up with personal examples. To score highly, you must present different
facets of your communication skills, demonstrate their relevance to the specialty and provide suitable
examples.

Communication is an integral part of your daily working life and is the cement that ensures that you
maintain good relationships and that you are effective in your work. In the course of your work, you
generally demonstrate the following communication skills:

Active listening and empathy

Active listening and empathy are ways of letting the other person know that you understand
their feelings, that you care about what they are saying and that you are non-judgemental.

In your dealings with others, this will translate into the following behaviours:
• Knowing when to keep silent and let the other person speak.
• Not interrupting.
• Being attentive to what the other person is saying and showing it (open posture, appropriate
nodding and good eye contact).
• Probing in a supportive manner and using open questions.
• Showing support, warmth, care and attention.
• Being sensitive to the emotions of others.

You can demonstrate such behaviours in the following situations:

• Breaking bad news.
• Talking to an upset patient, relative or colleague.
• Dealing with an angry person (patient or colleague).
• Handling complaints.
• Dealing with a conflict.
• Discussing problems with colleagues (work-related or personal).

As a result, you will achieve the following:

• Gain cooperation from the other person.
• Build trust and develop a rapport.
• Make people feel more confident.
• Encourage discussion and greater openness.

Conveying information in a clear and structured manner

As a doctor, you need to convey your message in a manner that suits your audience. In practice,
this will include the following behaviours:
• Anticipating the needs of your audience.
• Using clear and unambiguous language, with appropriate jargon.
• Choosing the most appropriate communication method, e.g. written, face-to-face,

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 telephone, email, models, diagrams, leaflets.
• Adapting your communication to the understanding of your audience.

You can demonstrate such behaviours in the following situations:

• Explaining procedures or management plans to patients.
• Seeking consent.
• Writing discharge summaries, reports or notes .
• Presenting a patient to a senior colleague with a view to gaining advice.
• Teaching colleagues.
• Presenting at a meeting.
• Educating a patient about a chronic condition, or writing leaflets.

As a result, you will achieve the following:

• Better cooperation and appropriate response from the other person.
• Time efficiency.
• Fewer mistakes/errors.

Influencing and negotiating skills

During the course of your daily work, you will be confronted by difficult situations, disagreements,
or even conflicts. To resolve them, you will need to influence other people (i.e. make sure that
they do what you want them to do without coercing them or manipulating them, which could
aggravate the situation and build resentment).

You will also need to negotiate. In your dealings with others, this will translate into the following
behaviours:
• Understanding the impact of your communication on others and adapting your approach
accordingly.
• Confidently but non-aggressively explaining and defending your point of view.
• Being tactful and diplomatic.
• Being encouraging and constructive when talking to others.

You can demonstrate such behaviours in the following situations:

• Dealing with a difficult colleague (e.g. not pulling his/her weight).
• Dealing with difficult patients or complaints.
• Conflicts with nurses/midwives or any other colleague.
• Conflict within an MDT environment due to different personal agendas.
• Negotiating the admission of a patient onto a different ward (e.g. if doing general on-calls)
or into ITU.
• Designing rotas.
• Negotiating study or annual leave.

As a result, you will achieve:

• Outcomes that match your expectations.
• Better working relationships and understanding of your colleagues.

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ANSWERING THE QUESTION

To produce an effective answer, you need to reflect on your day-to-day experiences and determine in
which context you have used the above skills. You only need to discuss a small number of points but it
is important that these points are backed up by your personal experience. The answer must be your
answer and not some standard explanation of what constitutes communication skills.

Blow your own trumpet. At an interview, you must sell yourself positively; it would make no sense to
play down your communication skills. Even if you think that you are not that good, you need to find the
courage to state that you are; if you don’t sell yourself, the interviewers won’t be doing it for you!

Phrases to avoid:
• “My communication skills are above average” (not very positive).
• “My communication skills are okay” (meaningless and uninspiring).
• “My communication skills could be improved” (are they bad?).
• “I would give myself 8 out of 10 (meaningless; why not 9 or 10?).
• “I think I have good communication skills” (unless delivered confidently, the work “think” may
sound too weak / tentative).
• “My communication skills are excellent” (don’t overdo it!).
• “My English could be improved” (They will be testing your English at the interview. No need to
shoot yourself in the foot by reminding them of a potential weakness) .
• “I am a good communicator because I can speak 5 languages” (the fact that you can speak
several languages doesn’t mean that you can communicate; there are plenty of people who speak
English perfectly and are not good communicators. Of more relevance will be your ability to relate
to people at different levels, including those from other cultures or ethnic backgrounds. Languages
are only tools that help you achieve this).

Good phrases to use:

• “I have good communication skills”.
• “My communication skills are very good”.
• “I have developed good communication skills” (this recognises that communication is an evolving
skill).
• “I have effective communication skills” (meaning that they are achieving results – it saves you
having to say that you are good).
• “I have received very positive feedback on my communication skills, not only from nurses and other
colleagues, but also from patients” (Remember: feedback is a good way to introduce objectivity
in your answers).

Many candidates feel uneasy saying that they are good. This unease comes from the tendency to
limit their answer to a single statement of the type “I feel that I have good communication skills”
which, if not backed up by concrete examples, will sound very boastful and arrogant. Your answers can
sound genuine only if you mention practical examples; by being down to earth and practical, you will
reach your comfort zone, which in turn will make you feel more confident in your delivery. Mentioning
feedback received will also help make your answers more realistic and will make you sound and feel
more confident.

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 Example of an ineffective answer (commonly given)

“I think that my communications skills are okay but obviously can be improved. Communication
is particularly important in my specialty because we have to discuss complex issues with
patients and be able to talk to them in a way they understand. We also have to break bad
news and deal with difficult patients. I can speak several languages including English, Hindu
and Tamil, which can be extremely useful in the region where I work, and I have also done a lot
of teaching, which is also important in the specialty.”

On the positive side, the candidate has attempted to discuss a variety of communication issues.
However, this answer is ineffective because:

• The candidate focuses on tasks (breaking bad news, teaching) and not on skills so much: the skills
which enable them to carry out these tasks effectively (e.g. empathy, listening, etc.).
• The answer discusses the importance of communication more than the candidate’s abilities to
communicate.
• The candidate does not sell themselves (e.g. “okay”).
• The candidate uses words which are detached (e.g. “in my specialty”). If you are applying to a
given specialty, then why not mention its name? Stating “Communication is particularly important
in Ophthalmology” (say) would be more effective. Similarly, if you come from abroad, do not say “In
my country”, but “In India”, or “In Poland, where I first trained”. It makes the answer more personal
and more direct.
• Listing English as a language is not relevant. As for the other languages, they do not indicate that
the candidate can communicate; merely that they have tools to relate to patients from certain
origins. The link between the languages and how they demonstrate a good ability to communicate
should be made more explicit.
• Stating that the skills “obviously can be improved” is a reasonable statement to make; however,
mentioned in this manner, it suggests that the candidate is not very good at communication.
Instead, the candidate should convey a more positive message by mentioning that he/she is
constantly finding opportunities to develop his/her communication skills further (for example, by
attending courses such as a recent teaching course). This would create a more positive feeling.

Example of an effective answer

“Throughout my training I have developed effective communication skills across a wide range
of areas. One of my main strengths is my ability to relate to others and empathise with them.
During my diabetes attachment, I often dealt with patients who felt very apprehensive and at
times overwhelmed by their diagnosis, its potential complications and implications. I found I
could easily engage with them at a level where they felt comfortable expressing their thoughts
and feelings. I can remember a couple of patients who had been particularly affected because
of the impact of diabetes on their lifestyle, and who commented later that they felt I had given
them the time they needed to deal with the issues that mattered to them. They felt that my
communication approach helped them to open up.

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As well as this, I feel comfortable expressing my opinions clearly in the different areas of work.
I take great care to prepare well so that I don’t miss any important points and I take account of
what other people want to know and of what they will be doing with the information. For instance,
on a ward round, I ensure that I focus on the salient points and leave aside the unimportant
de-tails. When discussing a diagnosis or treatment plan with a patient, I ensure that I take
account of their prior knowledge. I can then convey information that I feel will matter to them.

Over the course of my training so far, I have developed good negotiation and influencing skills.
Experience has taught me how everyone in a working system has their own priorities, pressures
and even agendas. I feel that, as I have developed an increased clinical understanding, I have
improved my ability to prioritise my patients’ needs against those of colleagues. This means
that I am better able to judge whether to push for something in the interest of my patient or,
perhaps, having listened to my colleague, allow them to take priority - for example, when ITU
are reluctant to admit a patient or when a radiologist is refusing to perform a scan.

I have also learnt to appreciate that not all colleagues respond in the same way even if I try to
maintain the same approach, tone and language when dealing with them. One of the lessons
that I have learnt as a junior doctor is the importance of remaining calm when dealing with
someone who disagrees with you and to try to see things from their point of view. By telling
myself that their refusal is nothing personal and by trying to understand their agenda, I have
found that I could have very constructive discussions which often led to positive outcomes. In
my training in respiratory medicine, this will come in particularly handy.”

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8.2 Give an example of a situation where you showed empathy towards
a patient

WHAT SITUATIONS CAN YOU DESCRIBE?

A good example would be a situation where a patient wanted to take a course of action which you felt
was obviously against their best interests. This could include:

• A patient who wanted to self-discharge against medical advice.

• A patient who was scared of surgery or a procedure.
• A patient who refused to comply with their treatment, condemning them-selves to a poor outcome.
• A patient who refused to involve relatives but who required strong social and moral support.

Whatever example you choose to describe, you must ensure that it is your communication skills that
made a difference. You must also ensure that you are not seen to coerce the patient into making a
decision.

ANSWERING THE QUESTION

Since this is a question asking for a specific example, you should use the STAR technique (see 5.2).

Example of an effective answer

Situation/Task “Whilst working in Accident and Emergency I saw a young Asian woman
who was 6 months pregnant. She was very timid but also appeared to
be quite distressed and I felt that she would need some support.

Action To ensure that she had some privacy and felt more at ease, I took her
to a cubicle where we could talk more easily. I took my time, made sure
that I did not rush her and started to take a history. I could see that she
was becoming a little tearful and so used a softer tone of voice. I could
see from her composure and her body language that she wanted to tell
me more but was somehow reluctant to do so. I felt it was important
to let her talk to me in her own time and I gently asked about why she
was so upset, reassuring her that it was okay to discuss her feelings.
This prompted a sudden release of her emotions, and she started to
cry. I gave her some more time to compose herself, making sure that
I remained silent in order not to overburden her with words. After a few
minutes of silence, she explained that she had miscarried twice before
and that her husband and his family thought she was an unfit wife. I felt
that she was relieved to confide in someone.

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 Result /Reflect Once she had opened up, we spent some time dis-cussing how she
was handling the bottling up of her emotions and I offered her the
possibility to see a counsellor if she felt she needed one. Her medical
complaint turned out to be minor and with the good rapport we had
built she trusted the diagnosis. Overall I found that by listening actively,
pre-paring the scene and mirroring her pace I was able to engage with
the patient quickly. Using words that were non-threatening and from her
own vocabulary also helped greatly.”

This story describes in some detail how the doctor approached the patient and how they made a
difference. In this example there are further opportunities to demonstrate empathy by discussing how
the doctor then handled the patient once she had admitted what the problem was, but this would
make the answer far too long and it may be best to wait to be prompted for more information. Note
the reflective paragraph at the end where the candidate states what they did well.

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8.3 Describe a time when you had to defend your own beliefs regarding
the treatment of a patient

WHAT THE QUESTION IS TESTING AND WHAT THE INTERVIEWERS ARE LOOKING FOR

The interviewers will be looking for a range of skills including:

• Your ability to listen and take on board criticism without losing your cool
• Your ability to set out your opinions in a constructive manner
• Your ability to influence others in a non-threatening manner.

SCENARIOS YOU CAN DISCUSS

Hopefully this is not a situation that recurs much in your daily working life, so any situation where this
has occurred should stand out in your mind. This could be for example:

• A situation where you made a decision that was queried by one of your peers, or seniors, or a nurse,
and where you had to defend your views
• A situation where your decision or belief with regard to treatment was queried either by the patient
or one of his/her relatives
• A case review meeting where you were asked to justify your actions.

HOW WOULD YOU NORMALLY SEEK TO CONVINCE SOMEONE THAT YOU ARE RIGHT?

• Firstly, you would ensure that you have all the information to hand to be able to present a sensible
case.

• Secondly, you would present logical arguments to the other person and would wait for their reaction.
You would then pay attention to what they have to say, giving them the opportunity to express
their opinion freely without interruption. It will make them feel valued and, you never know, they
may have a valid point.

• Thirdly, if your first approach did not work, you may want to try a different approach. In some
cases, the alternative approach may be to involve a senior colleague in the debate to give more
authority to your argument.

• If none of this works, there may not be an easy conclusion to the problem. If patients are involved,
the complaint procedure may need to be invoked or even court action, etc. For the purpose of
answering this question you should ensure that you choose an example where you were successful
at defending your beliefs otherwise you will run into trouble, however justified your actions were.

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 Example of an effective answer

Situation/Task “I had admitted a patient for diabetic ketoacidosis who, I felt, required
a high dose of insulin. I asked a staff nurse to administer the treatment,
which he refused to do since this was a high dose, beyond that normally
given, and he would only give a lower dose.

Action I spent a couple of minutes explaining patiently and in a normal tone of

voice to the nurse that, as well as the patient’s blood sugar, we needed
to deal with the metabolic acidosis, which requires a higher dose of
insulin. As he re-fused to go ahead and, in view of the urgency of the
situation, I administered the treatment myself in order to ensure the
patient was safe at all times.

Once the patient was stabilised, I asked the nurse if he wanted to

discuss the matter in a more relaxed setting. We went to the mess and
I asked him to tell me how he saw the situation. He explained that he
had never come across a situation like this and did not feel comfortable
giving a potentially dangerous treatment without understanding why.

With his agreement I spent some time explaining the pathophysiology

of diabetic ketoacidosis and why a high dose was necessary. I made
sure that I kept to terms that he was happy with and throughout our
conversation asked him questions to check that I was communicating
clearly. I also explained in a non-judgemental manner how his actions
could have endangered the patient, emphasising that this should in no
way stop him from raising her concerns if he felt he needed to do so
in future. Although his behaviour had potentially threatened a patient’s
health, I wanted to make sure that he used this mistake as a learning
point and that we continued to have a good working relationship. To that
end, whilst suitably conveying my concerns to him, I made sure that I did
not give him a guilt trip.

Result/Reflect The nurse felt that he understood the situation better and apologised
for his action. This incident enabled us to have a closer relationship and,
as a result, enhanced the standard of care that we were able to provide
to all future patients.”

Note the emphasis on the communication aspect of the scenario about listening, being non-
judgemental but also assertive. Also note that there is some clinical content; however, it has been
reduced to what is strictly necessary to understand the context and the actions of the individuals
involved.

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Don’t be afraid to go into some detail. Detail and facts will help build up your credibility and will make
the example look real. But always make sure that those details are relevant to the question being
asked.

You can use the “Result/Reflect” section to explain a little bit more than what happened at the end
of the story, by adding a sentence about how it helped you become a better doctor. In this example,
it is about building bridges with the nurse and enhancing the working relationship. It helps add depth
to the answer.

Other questions looking for similar types of answers include: “Give an example of a situation at work
where a patient has not agreed with your diagnosis or management.”

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8.4 Describe a time when your communication skills made a difference
to the outcome of patient care

WHAT EXAMPLES CAN YOU USE?

The question focuses not just on your communication skills, but on a situation where they actually
made a difference to the care of a patient. There are a number of areas that you can explore:

• Situations where the patient was reluctant to agree to a procedure be-cause, perhaps, they were
scared (maybe due to a previous bad experience) or had trouble understanding what it involved.

• Situations where the patient had needs which they had not clearly ex-pressed and which you
managed to identify through good communication.

• Situations where you communicated well with a range of members of your team, which then led to
efficient action towards the care of a patient.

Although the question does not specify whether the communication skills should be directed towards
the patient or towards the team, I would recommend that you play safe by addressing communication
with the patient (i.e. the first two points) rather than with the team as this is likely to have a greater
impact.

Example of an effective answer

Situation/Task “Whilst working in Accident and Emergency, an elderly lady presented

with left ventricular failure. On being told that she would require admission
she became very unhappy and re-fused to be admitted. After her initial
emergency care, I spent some time with her in order to ascertain why
she was so reluctant to come in and it transpired that her husband, who
was disabled as a result of stroke and dementia, was on his own at home
and that she did not want to leave him by himself.

Action I spent some time listening to the patient and trying to show as much
empathy as possible so that I could gain her trust. My main aim at
that stage was to let her talk so that I could identify how we could
compromise with her.

I explained to her that we would do our utmost to take care of her

husband as well as her, and that one solution would be to involve social
services so that her husband would be looked after whilst she was
recovering. At first, she was reluctant to involve social services because
she felt that her husband may be taken away from her. I was able to
reassure her that this would not be the case and that her husband would
be well looked after.

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 Result The patient was happy with this solution and subsequently accepted to
be admitted.

Reflect I felt that I was able to make a real difference by showing real empathy
towards the patient at a difficult time for her, and by looking at the
situation as a whole rather than concentrating solely on her physical
needs.”

This example is effective because the story is easy to follow. The context is set out clearly, as is the
action that the candidate took. Note the small amount of clinical information, which is just enough to
aid the comprehension of the scenario without overwhelming the interviewer with unnecessary detail
that would distract from the candidate’s communication skills.

The final paragraph summarises the main points that the candidate wishes the interviewers to take on
board, effectively highlighting how the example given actually answers the question.
This example is effective because the story is easy to follow. The context is set out clearly, as is the
action that the candidate took. Note the small amount of clinical information, which is just enough to
aid the comprehension of the scenario without overwhelming the interviewer with unnecessary detail
that would distract from the candidate’s communication skills.

The final paragraph summarises the main points that the candidate wishes the interviewers to take on
board, effectively highlighting how the example given actually answers the question.

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8.5 Describe a situation where you failed to communicate appropriately

WHAT THE INTERVIEWERS ARE LOOKING FOR

This is a question about learning from a communication mistake. The inter-viewers will be looking for:

• Honesty in acknowledging your mistake (i.e. professionalism and integrity).

• Sensitive and constructive resolution of the problem at the time.
• Ability to reflect, learn from your mistake and change your behaviour.

When you are asked to incriminate yourself by describing a situation where you failed to act properly,
you should avoid fobbing the panel off with comments such as “I can’t remember a situation where I
did not communicate well because I always do my best to ensure that I provide the best possible care
to my patients”. This would actually be missing the point of the question.

WHAT EXAMPLES CAN YOU DESCRIBE?

You can use examples that relate to patients and relatives as well as other team members. This may
include:

• Using unnecessary jargon with a patient.

• Being too concise in giving instructions to a junior or to a nurse, not appreciating they may not
understand you fully.
• Assuming a patient is okay with a particular issue and adopting a normal communication approach,
when in fact the patient is actually worried/anxious.
• Forgetting to give important information to a colleague, which results in a delay in patient care or
discharge.
• Complaining to a colleague about their behaviour in an abrupt manner, leading to a conflict.
• Being insensitive to someone else’s point of view in a meeting, leading to a confrontation.
• Dealing with a problem via email or a third party when you would have been better off talking to the
person face to face or at least on the phone.

The most powerful answers are those based on real and complex problems. If you choose to talk
about an insignificant problem, you will not have much to learn from the scenario and will end up with
a weak answer. So, be prepared to take risks if you want to score highly.

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM?

The way in which you would handle the matter would obviously depend on the nature of the problem.
For example:

• If your mistake resulted in a patient not adhering to treatment or a col-league doing the wrong
thing because they misunderstood you, then you will need to make sure that you apologise to the
patient or colleague and then explain things again in a better manner.
• If your mistake resulted in a confrontation, then you will need to explain how you recognised from
their response that you had mishandled the situation, that you apologised and then you corrected
the problem by explaining things differently.

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• If you were insensitive to someone’s point of view at a meeting, you ought to go and see them face
to face after the event to apologise and build bridges.

Whatever you did, make sure that you go into enough detail to enable the interviewers to understand
that you took the problem seriously and were proactive in resolving the issue.

REFLECT AND LEARN

Once you have described your mistake and how you remedied the situation, reflect on the issues it
raises by explaining what you learnt and how you changed your practice thereafter. For example:

“This scenario showed me how important it is to take the time to check the patient’s
understanding, even if they seem to have understood, as in this case I would have identified
straight away that the patient had not fully grasped the impact of the treatment on their
lifestyle. The patient was never at risk but getting the communication right would have avoided
having to call the patient back for further explanation. I now ensure that I systematically check
their understanding throughout the consultation.”

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8.6 Tell us about a situation where you had to obtain informed consent
from a patient who was in a vulnerable situation

This looks like a question on how to seek consent so most candidates would rush into describing
how they can seek consent (explain advantages and risks, check the person’s understanding, etc.).
However, the question is about much more than that. It specifically relates to a vulnerable patient and
therefore will be testing the sensitivity of your approach and your ability to recognise and adapt to the
patient’s specific needs.

IDENTIFY VULNERABLE PATIENTS YOU HAVE ENCOUNTERED

This could include:

• Patients who are elderly, of sound mind but easily influenced.
• Patients who may be making decisions against their own best interest because of other factors
(e.g. fear of becoming a burden on relatives).
• Patients who have just had bad news broken to them.
• Patients who have psychiatric problems.

ANSWERING THE QUESTION

Here again, the STAR system (see 5.2) will help you.

• Start by explaining the context. Who was the patient (ensuring you give enough detail to show
how/why they were vulnerable) and for what did you need to seek their consent?

• Detail how you sought consent (explaining things slowly, checking their understanding, drawing
diagrams if needed, etc.) but throughout your answer explain how their vulnerability impacted on
your actions and how you resolved each problem that this presented you with. For example, simply
saying “I explained the procedure in simple terms” is too weak because this could apply to anyone,
not just a vulnerable patient. Instead you could say something like “I explained the procedure in
simple terms, using a diagram to illustrate my words, but the patient seemed a bit confused about
some of the detail and was taking a long time to understand some of the basic information. I
therefore asked the nurse and also one of the relatives to explain in their own words what I had
described, which helped the patient along. Following our explanation, I asked the patient to tell me
in their own words what they thought was going to happen to them. I also made sure that they had
an opportunity to ask questions.”

• As another example, instead of saying “the patient was crying so I gave her some leaflets and
asked her to come back later”, which sounds harsh, you need to explain why you acted in that way
and show that you used a sensitive approach that matched the distress of the patient. This could
give an answer like “As the patient was crying uncontrollably, I spent some time gently reassuring
her that we would do our best for her and asked her if she was okay to continue or wanted to go
home. I offered her the opportunity to study some leaflets and come back at a later stage, which
she gratefully accepted. She returned three days later, etc.”.

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• Try not to be too technical when explaining how you are seeking consent from the patient as it is
not really the aim of the question (which is how you deal with a vulnerable patient). The only really
important consent-seeking aspects for this question are:

- Explaining the procedure in detail in a clear manner, including pros, cons, alternatives, risks (no
need to go into detail in these questions).
- Checking the understanding of the patient and answering their questions
- Reassuring the patient that they can change their mind and can take the time to think about
their decision.

In your example, if you have any doubt about the patient’s competence then make sure that you
explain how you sought to check whether they were competent or not (e.g. by calling for help from a
consultant or a psychiatrist). For comprehensive information on patient competence, see Chapter 11.

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8.7 What makes you a good team player?

Before you can answer this question, you must understand what being a team player means. Most
candidates are able to quote a few of the attributes of a good team player (the most popular one
being that a team player understands their role in the team) but they are unable to explain what they
mean in practice. This then makes it difficult to provide meaningful examples.

The following table sets out and develops the key attributes of a good team player. It will help you
crystallise your thoughts and produce your own ideas and example:

Qualities good team players

Understand their role in the team and how it fits within the whole picture
Good team players understand what is expected of them and are able to anticipate and
address the needs of other members of the team. They must also understand what is expected
of others so they can work with them effectively. In practice, they:

• Are reliable, i.e. deliver quality results in a timely manner and follow through on their
assignments.
• Are consistent, i.e. deliver good quality of work all the time and not just when someone is
watching.
• Work hard and do their fair share of the work. They take responsibility to
• prioritise and organise their work appropriately to deliver results.
• Involve others appropriately, e.g. asking for advice or help, referring specific issues to others
who have greater knowledge of the problem.
• Take the initiative and work as a problem solver, i.e. they don’t just do what they are told,
don’t blame others, don’t avoid getting involved and don’t let others deal with problems
alone.
• Show commitment to the team. They put the team’s success before their own pride/
success (e.g. if invited to do a non-glamorous task).

Treat others with respect and is supportive and willing to help

Good team players are considerate and courteous towards their colleagues. They demonstrate
understanding and show appropriate support towards others to help get the job done. Effective
team players deal with other people in a professional manner. In practice, they:

• Are consistently approachable (i.e. not just when it suits them).

• Respond to others’ requests for help, even when inconvenient.
• Take the initiative to offer help when they feel someone needs it.
• Allow others to express their opinions and respects them.
• Take into account other people’s agendas and feelings.
• Go beyond their differences with others and find ways to work together to get the job done.
• Show diplomacy and tact.
• Don’t gossip maliciously or attempt to undermine others.
• Demonstrate a good sense of humour and know how to interact with others in a more social
context.

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 Are flexible and adaptable and can compromise
Good team player adapts to ever-changing situations without complaining or resisting. In
practice, they:

• Can consider different points of view and compromise when needed .

• Don’t hold rigidly to a point of view especially when the team needs to move forward to
make a decision or get on with things.
• Are able to strike a compromise between holding on to their own beliefs and convictions
whilst respecting and taking on board others’ opinions.
• Show willingness to change their working methods to adapt to new circumstances, without
complaining, getting stressed or resisting change.

Communicate constructively and listen actively

Communication is the lynchpin of any good team and good team players en-courage and
contributes to good communication. In practice, they:

• Speak up and express their thoughts and ideas clearly, directly, honestly, and with respect
for others and for the work of the team.
• Propose ideas that help resolve problems rather than create them.
• Absorb, understand, and consider ideas and points of view from other people without
debating and arguing every point.
• Avoid interrupting others to force their point through.
• Are willing to accept and listen to comments or criticisms from others without reacting
defensively, even if they come from more junior col-leagues.
• Share appropriate information with colleagues and keep them up to date about progress
on projects / assignments.

ANSWERING THE QUESTION

It would be tempting to list all the above qualities in one answer. However, it would sound corny.
To answer the question effectively, you must pick three or four of the above skills, which you feel
characterise you best, and expand on each using your past experiences. Spreading three points over
2 minutes makes it 40 seconds per point, which gives plenty of time for a couple of brief examples.

Example of an effective answer

“One of my key strengths as a team player is definitely my ability to motivate other people
when things are not going well and to support them through hard work and by making myself
available to help when required. Over the past 4 months, during my attachment in Oncology,
I worked with a couple of other junior doctors. One of them was finding it difficult to come to
terms with the terminal aspect of some cancers and I tried to spend some time with him to
help him see the positive aspects of our job. I also tried to encourage him to seek some advice
from senior colleagues and occupational health, which he did.

As a member of the team, I work very hard to ensure that I do all my jobs on time and with the
quality that my colleagues expect of me. For example, I work hard to ensure that everything

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 is organised and ready for the morning ward round and that all test results are ready to be
presented to the Registrar or consultant. Once the ward round is finished, I organise the jobs on
a spreadsheet and ensure that I order the appropriate investigations early so that the results
are back in time to be checked and acted upon within the working day. In some cases, this
involves negotiating with the lab or other colleagues for some urgent review and, when that
happens, I ensure that they understand I am trying to get things done with good reason and
not simply to impose on their service. I have found that, by remaining calm and polite, I am able
to get the majority of tasks done. I have learnt the importance of presenting a good clinical
case and not simply arguing when someone shows scepticism.

Finally, I have always been very proactive in discussing problems with col-leagues so that we
can all improve and the team can provide a better service. As an example, recently I felt that
the team had started to become a little inefficient and that the standard of note keeping had
gone down. This meant that some investigations were either overlooked or patients were seen
twice for no reason. I addressed the issue at a team meeting and offered to do an audit, which
has now led to a tightening up of our procedures. By presenting the problem as something that
concerned us all rather than by placing the blame on some individuals, I managed to engage
the team in resolving the issue.”

This answer is effective because it focuses on a handful of key points (i.e. it does not simply list 20
attributes of a good team player); each point is clearly backed up with personal experience and
presents the candidate as someone who is clearly playing an active role in the team rather than waiting
for others to tell them what to do, when to do it and how to do it.

WARNING ON MENTIONING LEADERSHIP IN A “TEAM PLAYER” ANSWER

A large proportion of candidates rush to mention that they are good team players because they can
both work in a team and be a leader. Leadership is a totally different skill to team playing and you
should really avoid mentioning it in an answer to a question that relates to team playing only. In fact,
there have been interviews where candidates were told to differentiate between the two (the question
was “What makes you a good team player (not a team leader)?”.

If you intend to mention leadership (i.e. you don’t feel that your answer will be any good without it)
then you can do so but you must ensure that it does not take over your entire answer. The best way to
introduce the concept of leader-ship in a “team player” question is to mention it under the heading of
flexibility. You would basically say that you are very flexible and take more of a lead when the situation
calls for it. To avoid allowing leadership to take over your answer, I would suggest that you only mention
it at the end of your answer, as a conclusion.

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8.8 Give an example of a recent situation where you played an important
role in a team

This question is asking for a recent example. Typically, this means the last few months (though you
could probably get away with a one-year-old example).

Also, note the focus of the question is on a situation where teamwork is important as opposed to a
situation where you were a good team player. However, you should not be fooled by this; it is a question
about you and your ability to demonstrate good team-playing abilities. You must therefore find an
example where you played a key role.

EXAMPLES THAT YOU CAN USE

Identify a situation in your recent past where you have had the opportunity to demonstrate a range of
team-playing skills set out in the previous question. This could be a situation where you:

• Participated in the organisation of an event or project such as organising a seminar, regular

teaching sessions, health camps, awareness pro-grammes, etc.

• Had to deal with a complex patient, where team playing was important. In order to make the answer
interesting you would need to find an example where you had to deal with a multi-disciplinary team,
for example. You could then explain how you participated in the debate about the management
and ongoing care of the patient, and how you interacted with all members of the team to achieve
a safe discharge.

• Had to deal with an emergency by using the staff resources available, whilst maintaining constant
communication with your seniors so that they could have an input into the process and would be
fully briefed by the time they arrived. Note that, in order to highlight as many skills as possible,
you would need to ensure that the situation was complex enough to show how your role was key
to the success of the team. For example, if your seniors are there with you and they are managing
the situation themselves (e.g. crash call), you are losing the opportunity to emphasise the
communication aspect of your role in keeping them up to date.

Example of an ineffective answer

“I work every day as part of a team, dealing with my immediate colleagues, nurses and other
doctors. I am aware of my limitations and seek help when necessary, and I communicate well
with everyone in the team. I am willing to help and motivate others.”

This answer is too vague and general. In fact, it does little more than summarise the job description.
Also, it does not actually answer the question, which is asking for an example of a recent situation, i.e.
a specific scenario, in which you were involved.

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 Another example of an ineffective answer

“I had an elderly patient who wanted to self-discharge because she was worried about her dog.
I talked to the nurse and the consultant, and eventually the patient agreed to stay one more
day. The patient left the hospital the next day and was happy with the way she had been dealt
with.”

This answer follows the STAR structure (see 5.2), which is a plus point. It starts well by explaining the
context that leads to the team action being started. However, the “Action” section contains very little
information:

• Why did the candidate talk to the consultant or the nurse? Probably be-cause the consultant is
responsible for the patient and had to be informed. As for the nurse, it might have been because
he/she had a good relation-ship with the patient and a good understanding of their psychological
is-sues too, through the rapport he/she had built with that patient. This needs to be explained.

• Did the candidate do anything else that would have shown they were a good team player? Such
as taking the initiative to contact social services or asking the patient if the relatives could be
involved? (They can become part of the team too).

This answer basically needs more detail about what was done and why it was done. In addition, the
“Result” section is partially addressing the wrong point. As well as highlighting that the problem was
satisfactorily resolved, it should emphasise that this was the result of teamwork.

Example of an effective answer

“Three months ago, I was on call, taking admissions from GPs and Accident and Emergency. I
was the only Foundation Year 2 doctor on-site, with my Registrar being busy in theatre and my
consultant on call from home. A patient presented with <Emergency> which required admission
and an emergency operation. Whilst I was resuscitating the patient, I asked the Foundation
Year 1 to call the Registrar in theatre as I felt it was important to inform her as soon as possible.
The Registrar informed the FY1 that she would be busy for at least two hours and I therefore
took the decision to call the consultant as well, who announced that she would come in and
see the patient.

At the same time, I asked one of the nurse practitioners to call the anaesthetist and help
prepare the theatre so that everything would be ready by the time the consultant arrived.
Throughout this time, I kept in constant communication with the consultant in order to ensure
that he was fully briefed. The patient was taken to theatre within minutes of the consultant’s
arrival and made a successful post-operative recovery. By coordinating the team at a time
that was stressful for all involved (patient and doctors), I helped achieve this result. This taught
me how crucial communication is in ensuring that the whole team functions well.”

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Note the absence of much detailed clinical information (totally irrelevant for the purpose of highlighting
team playing), the concise but informative introduction, and the manner in which the main components
of team playing are highlighted throughout the example by the candidate, including:

• Recognising their limitations.

• Informing senior colleagues and keeping them informed of developments.
• Informing other colleagues about developments that are relevant to them (the anaesthetist).
• Using other team members to help out, based on their skills level
• Getting things done (stabilising the patient, preparing the theatre, etc.)

Also note how the conclusion keeps the mind of the interviewer focused on the candidate’s skills by
not only explaining the outcome in a concise manner but also highlighting what the candidate did that
made it possible to achieve it, and what they learnt from it. Without this element of reflection, the
answer would achieve a low score.

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8.9 Give an example of a situation where you failed to act as a good
team player

Like all negative questions asking you to incriminate yourself, you must make sure that you choose an
example which helps you sell your potential. The interviewers will be testing:

• Your self-awareness, i.e. your ability to recognise your faults, reflect on situations and determine
what you did wrong.

• Your ability to learn from your bad experiences and change your behaviour accordingly.

EXAMPLES THAT YOU CAN DISCUSS

Essentially, you need to consider the qualities of a good team player (see 8.7) and identify whether you
have examples of situations where you acted against any of these. This could include a situation where:

• You failed to complete a task that you were entrusted to do and, when you realised that you would
struggle to complete it, you did not inform the per-son who had asked you to do it.

• You did complete the task or project that you were entrusted to run but you were so busy that you
did not give it your full attention and the quality of your work suffered, i.e. you became complacent.

• You had some important personal issues to resolve and thought it would be okay to leave a little
early. You chose not to let anyone know and, unfortunately, someone actually needed your help.

• You attended a meeting where you had a “heated debate” with someone because you focused
too much on trying to impose your point of view in-stead of listening to what they had to say.

• One of your colleagues was struggling or needed some help but you felt it was someone else’s job
to do it.

• You were uncomfortable changing your approach to a particular problem despite receiving advice
from colleagues because you felt you were right (but ended up being wrong).

• Someone suggested a change in working practices but you resisted the change because you
couldn’t see the point. You failed to consider the new approach and ended up causing friction.

• You felt that something was not quite right in the way some aspects of patient care or departmental
life were organised and decided to let it go because you felt your input would not make much
difference (or that you were about to rotate anyway).

• You had information that would make a difference to a particular issue but did not feel confident
raising it (though this may be dangerous to mention because the interviewers may feel that you
would be reluctant to report a problem colleague, for example).

• You carried out a task by yourself instead of involving other appropriate people because you felt
it would be easier or quicker to get on with it. Your colleagues then became upset (once again,
consider this option carefully as your interviewers may view you as having a tendency to work
beyond your limitations).

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STRUCTURING YOUR ANSWER

To give your answer the maximum impact, you must ensure that the emphasis is on the learning points
rather than on your bad behaviour. The following approach would be successful in achieving this:

Situation/Task Describe the situation, your behaviour and the negative impact that it
had (e.g. someone became upset). State clearly why you feel you did
not demonstrate appropriate team-playing behaviour.

Action Explain how you resolved the problem at the time (e.g. did you have to
work harder to compensate for your failure, or attempt to build bridges
with colleagues you had upset?)

Result/Reflect How did the story finish? What did you learn from the situation and how
do you feel it has altered your behaviour? This is the most crucial part
of the answer. Make sure that there is a strong learning point and, if
you can (and if you’ve got time), briefly describe another situation which
demonstrates that you have now altered your behaviour.

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8.10 Do you work better on your own or as part of a team?

This question is often misunderstood and sees candidates rushing to reassure the interviewers that,
since they are good team players, they work better as part of a team. The answer is slightly more
complex and requires you to demonstrate that, although you are, of course, a good team player, you
can also work independently (though still within the remit of a team), i.e. that you are not someone who
requires constant support to get on with their work.

One way to structure the answer is to have two sections: one where you de-scribe how you can work
independently, followed by a section on how you can also work as part of a team. Alternatively, you can
structure your answer around different types of work that you do, showing how you can be independent
and also a team player. As usual, you will be expected to back up your claims with examples from your
personal practice.

Example of an effective answer

“The answer to this question is that I can work well both as part of a team and independently,
depending on what the situation calls for. When I arrive in the morning, I ensure that the list for
the ward round is ready on time, with all the investigation results. Although I take full ownership
of this task, it is a clearly defined role and often requires me to use my own initiative; by fulfilling
this job well, I function as a team player at the same time. Indeed, I need to anticipate what
information my colleagues are likely to need when making management decisions; I also
often need to liaise with other departments when information is missing, which requires good
communication and, sometimes, diplomacy.

When I undertake my audit projects, a lot of the work required consists of data collection and
analysis. I like to take full responsibility for all of this and make sure that I deliver what is required
by working independently. However, I also involve my senior colleagues when I need to discuss a
particular issue relating to the project; and if one of my junior colleagues is keen to get involved,
I will make sure that they can take part in the project too.

I think that part of being a good team player is also to be able to undertake roles and work
independently, delivering what the team requires of you, whilst ensuring that you maintain
constant communication. I feel that it is something that I am particularly good at and my
colleagues’ feedback is that I am a very proactive and entrepreneurial individual who is, at the
same time, very attentive to others’ needs and also a very good communicator.”

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8.11 What makes you a good leader?

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?

Leadership can be described in three words: – Change – People – Results

Initiating and implementing Change

A leader is someone who has a vision of how departments or teams should develop or change
and is able to drive that change. He/she is able to question conventional wisdom and current
practice, to encourage others to develop their own ideas and to implement new protocols,
guidelines, or new ways of working. This involves building relationships with others, not just within
your own environment but also with others outside, to ensure greater collaboration and achieve
common goals. Leadership is also about identifying and under-standing the impact of internal
and external politics and acting accordingly. That involves negotiating and influencing others,
building consensus, and gaining cooperation from others to ensure that the right information is
obtained and that common objectives are achieved.

Developing People (and creating a positive environment)

A leader takes people with them towards the objectives that they have set and makes sure
that they create an environment in which people can develop, work together and cooperate,
and where there are good mechanisms in place to resolve conflicts constructively.

Delivering Results

This is the ability to meet set goals and expectations. This includes an ability to make decisions
that lead to tangible results by applying knowledge, analysing problems, and calculating risks.
Delivering results is the aspect of leader-ship to which you are most usually exposed as a
trainee, and the closest to management. Essentially, it is about organising a team, planning
and delegating, and getting things done.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A CLINICAL DIRECTOR TO BE A LEADER!

Leadership is a real skill that anyone can demonstrate. You don’t have to be a consultant or a chief
executive to exercise leadership. I am often struck by the number of people who ask me at my courses:
“How do they expect us to demonstrate leadership when we are only trainees?” In truth, you probably
started demonstrating leadership very early in your career and even before. For example, anyone who
has had to deal with a busy on-call or with multiple emergencies on their own or with limited resources
would be demonstrating leadership – even leading a ward round and the organisation surrounding that
may be an example.

This section should help you clarify your thoughts and will prompt you to think about your own
examples.

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QUALITIES OF A LEADER

From the description of leadership set out above, you can see that, in order to be a good leader, you
will need to exhibit the following qualities:

Approachable Encouraging Integrity

Assertive Fair Open-minded
Clear communicator Fast learner Organised
Consistent Flexible Patient
Constructive Good listener Resilient
Creative Honest Supportive
Decisive Innovative Tenacious
Diplomatic

ANSWERING THE QUESTION

What makes you a good leader will be a mixture of the responsibilities that you take and your personal
qualities, both of which you can derive from the issues above. Leadership is a vast topic so you should
stick to three or four areas or skills that you feel represent you and your experience best. Attempting
to dis-cuss everything will result in either a very superficial or a long answer.

Example of an effective answer

“One of my strengths as a leader is that I take ownership of a task, a project, or a problem

when it is given to me. I also involve the other members of my team to ensure that we work
well together towards completing that project. For example, during on-calls I may have several
complicated cases to deal with at once; at times the Registrar and consultant may not be
immediately available either because they are busy somewhere else, or because they are on
call from home. In such a situation, I aim to make decisions about how we should prioritise the
patients, which member of the team would be best placed to handle each patient, whether we
can deal with the issues by ourselves and how likely we are to require assistance from senior
colleagues. As a leader in these stressful situations, I feel that I am very good at keeping the
team together by maintaining good communication with everyone, by making myself available
if colleagues have queries or questions they want to discuss and also by making decisions
when they need to be made. Sometimes, this may require seeking advice from someone more
senior or more experienced.

As a leader, I am also very supportive and encouraging towards my col-leagues, trying my

absolute best to encourage my juniors to consolidate their skills and experience, and to
develop new ones. For example, when I do an audit, I make a point of involving junior colleagues
in collecting and analysing the data. As I review patients in the morning, I also make sure that I
identify interesting cases that we could review as a team in order to consolidate our knowledge.
I often use these in monthly workshops that I organise for those taking the membership exams,
and also encourage junior trainees to present these cases at departmental teaching sessions.
I have found these activities particularly effective for developing a good relationship between
all team members and making everyone feel involved.

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 Finally, I have a good ability to engage with people, even when conflicts develop. For example,
I have had to deal with GPs who insisted that a patient with seemingly little wrong with them
should be admitted, with a nurse who refused to administer a drug which they felt contravened
hospital policy, with relatives who were adamant that the patient was not being treated well or
even with a Registrar who made decisions I believed were not in the best interests of patients.
In these situations, I have always been very good at keeping calm (and in fact this is one of the
comments that often comes back in my feedback forms) and at trying to find a constructive
way of resolving the problem.”

This answer is effective because:

• It has three points which are clearly signposted at the start of each para-graph and demonstrate
wide-ranging experience, with examples.

• Each point is expanded just enough to show the extent of the candidate’s experience.

• The candidate reflects on his skills by demonstrating their impact on others. Bringing feedback
into the answer (last paragraph) helps to introduce some objectivity into the answer.

• The candidate uses a positive language and also appears realistic by presenting the image of
someone who, despite being confident, can also involve others and ask for assistance.

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8.12 Give an example of a situation where you showed leadership

CHOOSING THE BEST EXAMPLE

For this question, you should familiarise yourself with the role and qualities of a leader discussed in
the previous questions and try to determine which examples would enable you to best present your
leadership abilities.

Initiating and implementing change

• Any situation where you identified a problem in the workplace and took the initiative to
implement a solution. Maybe you spotted some inefficiency or lack of compliance, did
an audit to identify the extent of the problem and then tried to encourage your team to
change its practice. Perhaps you identified some training issues and took it upon yourself
to liaise with other key team members to change some aspects of training.

• Situations where you held positions of responsibility and were instrumental in making
decisions that impacted on other people (for example, if you were on the board of some
student committee at medical school).

Developing people and creating a positive environment

• Any team environment/meeting where you have encouraged and managed differences of
opinions (e.g. ward round, MDT meetings).

• Situations where you have dealt with a conflict with colleagues in a constructive manner
(e.g. underperforming colleague).

• Projects or tasks where you played a key role in encouraging and supporting juniors or other
colleagues, developing their skills and abilities by providing feedback and encouragement,
and providing them with opportunities to become involved in interesting or challenging
projects (e.g. audit, teaching).

• Situations where you sought to encourage a positive team spirit. This could be either
through encouragement whilst dealing with a difficult work situation, or even outside of
work (e.g. by organising team events such as quizzes, sport tournaments, etc.).

Delivering results
• Competently managing a difficult case with little senior help.
• Dealing with multiple emergencies in an under-resourced environment.
• Dealing with a difficult patient or a complaint.
• Being confronted with a sensitive problem with no immediate help (e.g. child protection
issue or any other challenging situation).
• Facing tight deadlines to complete a complex project (e.g. publication for which you need
advice from a senior who couldn’t care less).
• Negotiating admission of a patient onto a ward where the ward doctor on-call refused.
• Negotiating admission of a patient to ITU where the ITU doctor was reluctant to agree.

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 • Requesting a scan from Radiology, who refused to perform it.
• A GP or another doctor requesting something unreasonable, for which you needed to
“educate” them about your position.
• Any negotiating situation outside of medicine, for example if you were in charge of organising
an event, or part of a committee, and had to influence other people to help you with your
project, when they were reluctant to en-gage.

DELIVERING THE ANSWER

Delivering the answer should be done using the STAR approach (see 5.2), ensuring that you use
the story as a backdrop to your leadership skills (the whole point of the question is to give you an
opportunity to showcase your leadership skills, and not just the story itself).

Example of an effective answer

Situation/Task “A few months ago, a child was admitted onto the paediatric HDU ward
feeling unwell with diabetic ketoacidosis. During the night, the child’s
condition deteriorated.

Action Since the change was significant and unexpected, I informed the
consultant so that she could advise me and, should I need her help
later on, she would be aware of the situation. At the same time, I also
informed the anaesthetist and asked for his assessment in case the
child required ITU admission later.

I started to manage the child by using an established protocol, and he

gradually showed signs of improvement. I therefore decided it was safe
to keep the child on the HDU and organised for nurses to check the child
at 30-minute intervals and let me know of any changes in his condition.
This enabled me to provide care to other patients whilst keeping up to
date with the child’s development. I also explained that I would return to
review him once I had checked on other patients.

In the meantime, I met up with the boy’s parents in order to keep them
updated on their son’s situation; this provided them with information,
a chance to ask questions and some reassurance. I also arranged for
a nurse to check regularly on them to make sure they remained happy
with developments. Throughout the process, I kept my consultant
involved where necessary; this meant she had a clear picture of events
and would be able to answer any questions from parents later. As the
child’s condition improved further, he was transferred to the general
paediatrics ward, at which point I involved a diabetic nurse and a
dietician who talked to the child and the parents about insulin and the
importance of diet.
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 paediatrics ward, at which point I involved a diabetic nurse and a
dietician who talked to the child and the parents about insulin and the
importance of diet.

Result When the consultant arrived, the parents were keen to dis-cuss their
son’s care with her. With the advance information I had provided, she
was able to see the parents very quickly after reviewing the child and
his notes. This proved very reassuring for the parents; they also told her
that they had been really impressed with the care I had given to their
son and the explanation they’d received from me.

Reflect This was a medical emergency. I placed the patient’s care and treatment
as the highest priority, I was working with a good team and with
good planning, delegation and appropriate communication everyone
understood their role and completed it well. By carefully coordinating
the actions of a wide range of colleagues, I was able to make sure the
team delivered efficient and safe care to the patient and his family.”

This example is effective because it describes in detail the candidate’s actions, with sufficient but not
excessive clinical information, and clear reflection at the end of the answer.

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8.13 What is the difference between management and leadership?

In a nutshell, leadership is setting a new direction or vision for a group and developing colleagues
in a team. Management is about controlling or directing people/resources in a group according to
principles or values that have already been established.

The difference between leadership and management can be illustrated by considering what happens
when you have one without the other.

Leadership without management ... sets a direction or vision that others follow, without considering
too much how the new direction is going to be achieved. Other people then have to work hard in the
trail that is left behind, picking up the pieces and making it work. In medicine, this could be a consult-
ant who asks junior doctors or nurses to manage a patient in a certain way, without making sure that
it is realistic or without understanding the hurdles that could be met on the way.

Management without leadership ... controls resources to maintain the status quo or ensure things
happen according to already-established plans. For example, a referee manages a sports game, but
does not usually provide “leadership” because there is no new change, no new direction – the referee
is controlling resources to ensure that the laws of the game are followed and status quo is maintained.
In medicine, this would be a doctor who ensures that protocols and guidelines are followed without
questioning, when necessary, whether they are actually applicable or relevant. It would also be a doctor
who gets things done but does not worry about finding opportunities to train and develop their juniors.

Leadership combined with management ... does both – it sets a new direction and manages the
resources to achieve it, for example a newly elected prime minister.

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8.14 Give an example of a situation where a new and different approach to
a patient of yours proved beneficial

WHAT IS THIS QUESTION ABOUT?

Essentially the question is asking you to describe a situation where your first approach was unsuccessful
and where you then changed your strategy of approach to achieve your objective. This could include
situations where:

• A patient was reluctant to go ahead with one of your recommendations and where you had to take
a different approach in your communication to ensure that they got the message.

• A patient with whom you used a first approach that revealed some hidden issues, which then
prompted you to choose a different approach. For ex-ample, you may have adopted a “standard”
approach to the problem but then gained information from the patient that indicated there were
deeper psychological issues at stake that needed to be resolved as part of the same process.

This question is testing three skills:

• Your ability to think laterally about a difficult situation, using your knowledge of the patient/
situation and the resources available to you in order to find a solution that will drive you towards a
successful outcome. (Note that this could include involving other people such as relatives, other
doctors, etc. in which case you may be able to include an element of teamwork in your answer).

• Your communication skills in relation to the patient.

• The manner in which you are able to build and maintain a rapport with the patient to achieve your
desired objective, whilst not compromising your integrity but preserving respect for the patient’s
values and choices.

DELIVERING THE ANSWER

This is a question asking for a specific example so you should use the STAR structure (see 5.2),
ensuring that you do not provide too much clinical information, that you clearly describe the steps that
you took to achieve the de-sired result and that you mention the outcome. If appropriate, you should
reflect on the situation to highlight what you did well.

Example of an ineffective answer

“An obese 42-year-old HGV driver came to my clinic with a high blood sugar level. His GP
had referred him to the diabetic clinic twice (he had Type 2 diabetes) and, each time, the
patient had failed to attend. Despite my best efforts to explain the situation to the patient
and encourage him to attend, he was not listening attentively and was being uncooperative.
I felt a stronger approach would be required to spur the patient into action. I told him that,
unless he was admitted into hospital and treated, there would be long-term complications to
his diabetes, such as loss of eyesight, nerve damage, heart disease and stroke.”

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The above answer has many good points: it deals with a specific example; the situation is fairly
clear and the clinical information is reduced to the bare mini-mum. However, it seems a little harsh.
The candidate is saying “He wouldn’t listen so I scared him to make him comply”. This needs to be
softened. In particular, they should spend more time demonstrating how they approached the patient
in the first place in order to demonstrate why the second approach was then necessary.

Also the candidate has missed out the “Result” part of the answer. This makes it look very odd and
even scary to a point. You simply don’t feel that there was a rapport between the patient and the
doctor, or any attempt by the doctor to try his very best before escalating his approach. The answer
should therefore focus more on the communication aspect and how the doctor interacted with the
patient, rather than just about what the doctor felt and what they said.

Example of an effective answer

Situation/Task “An obese 42-year-old HGV driver came to my clinic with a high blood
sugar level and a urinary tract infection. His history revealed that his GP
had referred him to the diabetic clinic twice for Type 2 diabetes and that
the patient had failed to attend both appointments. On enquiring about
the reasons for his non-attendance, the patient mentioned that he was
scared of being prescribed insulin as it would lead to the loss of his HGV
licence.

Action My first approach to the patient’s reaction was to listen to him carefully
and then explain that I understood his dilemma, emphasising the solutions
we could find. I took him through the features of Type 2 diabetes and
explained that there were ways in which it could be controlled. In view of
his worries, I reassured him that insulin would probably not be necessary
at this stage. I sensed that the patient was not listening attentively and
was being uncooperative. As he had already missed two appointments
and was showing few signs of engaging with my proposed plan, I felt
that a stronger approach was required to encourage him to listen and
take appropriate action. After discussing my proposed approach with
my Registrar, I explained to the patient that, unless he was admitted
into hospital and treated, there would be long-term complications to his
diabetes, such as loss of eyesight, nerve damage, heart disease and
stroke.

Result/Reflect This resulted in a drastic change in the patient’s attitude and he very
quickly agreed to our management plan. A few months later, the patient
thanked me for my empathic but assertive approach as he felt I had
saved his life.”

This answer is more balanced: showing empathy, discussing with the Registrar and then adapting the
style of communication to the situation and the patient’s reaction.

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It would be easy to mishandle the question by taking a very clinical perspective; this would lead you
straight to disaster. There is no harm in presenting clinical information as was done above, but only to
the extent that it helps to-wards the story. In the example above, it was necessary to demonstrate the
gravity of the patient’s condition and the extent to which the patient was “scared” into concordance.

Finally, beware of words that may sound harsher than you mean them to be. For example, “I told” is
very direct whilst “I explained” is softer.

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8.15 Describe a time when you were unsure whether what you were being
told represented the patient’s true thoughts or feelings

WHAT TYPE OF EXAMPLES CAN YOU DISCUSS?

The question does not tell you whether it is the patient who is not telling you their true thoughts, or
whether it is a relative who is telling you something that does not match the patient’s thoughts or
feelings.

If it is the patient, then it may be because they are frightened of what will hap-pen to them if they
reveal their thoughts or feelings. This may be a patient who is scared about their own health problems
or diagnosis, a patient who hides part of their history to avoid confronting the reality of their illness, or
an elderly patient who is keen to have their health problems resolved but is not keen to be taken into
care. They might also be worried about becoming a burden on their relatives.

If it is a relative, it may be that they are trying to forcibly influence the patient into a position that suits
them rather than the patient. More often it is relatives who feel they have little or no control over their
family’s healthcare. They often want to help and, whilst the strong expression of their views may be
well intentioned, it is often misplaced or misguided.

WHICH SKILLS ARE BEING TESTED?

The interviewers will be testing:

• Your listening skills, with a particular interest in how you recognised that there was a problem
– recognising the issue will come from your own judgement of the situation based maybe on
inconsistencies in the story that you are getting from the patient, their body language, the way
they express themselves (for example, by being vague), etc. Ultimately this will come from your
ability to listen to the patient.

• Your empathy, sensitivity and diplomacy. Dealing with the issue is complex and requires you to
gain the patient’s confidence in order to put them back on the right track. This requires diplomacy
and sensitivity.

• Teamwork. You may need to involve:

- A nurse. They often have a more in-depth relationship with the patients simply because they
may be more empathic than doctors and have more time to spend with patients.
- The GP, if there is time to make decisions and the patient can be helped through counselling
or simply by having an opportunity to dis-cuss issues.
- The relatives, if needed. They may be crucial in reassuring the patient.
- Your seniors.

If you judge that the relatives are causing the problem (for example, by coercing the patient) you may
have to use other tools to minimise their possible negative influence on the patient. This could include
involving seniors, behaving in an assertive but sensitive manner, spending time with the relatives (after
all, there may be a valid reason or fear behind their behaviour), etc.

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 Example of an ineffective answer

“One of my patients wanted to self-discharge because she felt her dog would be in danger if
she did not get back home as soon as possible. I suggested that she called a relative so that
they could look after the animal but she was adamant that she needed to do it herself. This
prompted me to think that there was more to her story and, after much discussion, I concluded
that she was worried about the anaesthesia. In order to resolve the situation I arranged for the
patient to have a second discussion with the anaesthetist and also arranged for a nurse to sit
in with her. After the discussion the patient was happy and went through with the operation.”

This answer is not “bad”. It has a number of positive aspects:

• It deals with a specific situation.
• The introduction is descriptive and effective in setting out the situation.
• It addresses the right type of issue.

On the negative side, it describes what the doctor did, but not really why he/she thought or acted like
this. In other words, the answer needs more depth and needs to highlight how the doctor used his/her
skills to resolve the situation.

Look at the following statement: “This prompted me to think that there was more to her story and,
after much discussion, I concluded that she was worried about the anaesthesia.” Essentially, it looks
as if the doctor has jumped to a conclusion without really explaining how it came about. The whole
process has been summarised by “after much discussion”. The candidate would need to go into more
detail about that conversation and discuss how they spent time with the patient, discussing the
situation and their fears, eventually picking up on parts of the conversation that seemed to indicate
that she was afraid of having an anaesthetic.

The candidate also needs to emphasise how they used listening skills and empathy to gain the
patient’s trust and confidence. Per haps they also asked a nurse to have a conversation with the
patient instead because they felt the nurse had a better rapport with the patient and that the patient
would open up more to them.

Example of an effective answer

Situation/Task “One of my patients wanted to self-discharge because she felt that

her dog would be in danger if she did not get back home as soon as
possible. I suggested that she called a relative so that they could look
after the animal but she was adamant that she needed to do it herself.
This prompted me to think that there was more to her story and that,
maybe, she feared the operation she was due to have the next day.

Action During a quiet period, I asked a nurse to make sure that I would not be
disturbed. I sat down with the patient and asked her gently to tell me
about her dog. I listened patiently to her, showing an interest in her story
and occasionally asking questions. As the patient opened up to me, I

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 and occasionally asking questions. As the patient opened up to me, I
felt more comfortable introducing the subject of her own health and the
operation. I could feel that she wanted to express her fears but that she
was reluctant to admit to the problem, perhaps because she did not
want to appear foolish. I gently explained what the operation entailed
and reassured her about the anaesthesia. In order to avoid giving the
patient the impression that I was pressurising her, I asked the nurse to
spend some time with her. To reassure the patient further, I arranged a
meeting with the anaesthetist and arranged for the relatives to discuss
the care of the dogs with the patient.

Result After a few hours of concerted teamwork and sensitive communication,

the patient agreed to remain in hospital and the surgery went ahead as
scheduled, with a successful outcome. I feel that I played an important
role in achieving a good outcome for the patient despite her initial
reluctance to open up, not only by recognising some of her unspoken
needs but also by giving her the time and attention that she needed to
open up, without coercing her.”

This example combines teamwork and communication skills in a relatively de-tailed manner. To have
an impact, you must make sure that your answers are as personal as they can be by drawing on the
relevant detail of the experience that you have accumulated over the years. The above example
also shows you how you can transform an “okay” answer into a much more precise answer simply
by expanding on one or two ideas that you raised, highlighting how you used your skills in practice to
achieve the desired result.

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8.16 Describe a situation when you had to use creative thinking to solve a
problem at work

WHAT IS CREATIVE THINKING?

Many candidates who are confronted with this question struggle to find appropriate examples, not
because they are short of experience but simply because they struggle with the wording of the
question, and particularly the meaning of the term “creative thinking”. If you struggle with some words
in the question, it is of course perfectly acceptable to ask the interviewers for clarification so that you
have a chance to present the best possible answer, though of course it may cost you a small amount
of marks. However, losing a few marks for seeking clarification is far better than scoring none for going
down completely the wrong path.

“Creative thinking” refers to the fact that you have used your imagination and initiative to resolve a
problem. In the marking schedule, the interviewers would be looking for the following indicators:

• Capacity to use logic and lateral thinking to solve problems and make decisions.
• Capacity to think beyond the obvious, with an analytical and flexible mind.
• Capacity to bring a range of approaches to problem solving.
• Demonstrates effective judgement and decision-making skills.

EXAMPLES YOU CAN DISCUSS

The question relates to a situation with which you were unfamiliar and for which you had to use your
brain power to develop a sensible and effective solution. This may include situations where:

• You had to deal with a patient who presented with a condition with which you were unfamiliar.

• Your senior asked you to organise something that you had never organised before (educational
meeting, audit project, rota, etc.).

• You had to deal with several tasks at the same time, which looked completely impossible to you at
the time (for example, routine work and sever-al emergencies all at the same time).

• You have a patient who looks like they have a particular condition but something tells you that
there is more to it than meets the eye. Your creative thinking leads you to do some reading in
textbooks and on the Inter-net, before having a chat with your Registrar. You also feel that another
doctor from another ward can help, so you contact them and arrange a discussion on the patient’s
condition to find a solution to your problem.

• You work in a hospital where the rota is imposing too many constraints on junior doctors (perhaps
they have made a mess of implementing the European Working Time Directive). You come up with
a solution of your own, discuss it with your colleagues and then arrange a meeting with a consult-
ant to discuss the problems caused by the current system and to offer your own ideas. As a result,
your proposal is implemented.

• You are running a clinic where you constantly have the same problem with patients. For example,
there is some simple information that they need to take away with them after the clinic but that

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 information often gets scribbled on a piece of paper, which they lose. You take the initiative to
produce a pro forma slip, which doctors can complete quickly by ticking the right boxes and which
patients are less likely to ignore.

• You have discovered that members of your team often forget to consider certain points in their
history taking, which slows down patient management and may lead to errors. You know that the
current system has been implemented by a consultant who thinks that it works well, and you need
to convince everyone that the system needs to be changed. Your creative thinking leads you to
use diplomacy and tact to highlight the issue and to offer a counter-solution without upsetting the
consultant in question.

• You are on call, facing a difficult case, and none of your seniors are avail-able for help. You can then
describe the research you did to find a solution and how you used other resources available (nurses’
advice, other juniors/seniors from other wards) to solve your problem.

DELIVERING THE ANSWER

As this is a question asking for an example, you will need to use the STAR approach used in such
previous questions (see 5.2). You should conclude on a personal note, for example, by mentioning how
the situation helped you gain confidence in your own abilities to handle complex scenarios or how it
made you realise how important it was to use the resources available to you and to work as a team.

Example of an effective answer

Situation/Task “In my hospital, the mess room is located outside the main hospital
and, as a result, very few doctors use it. This makes it very difficult for
doctors to take appropriate breaks as they are forced to stay within the
clinical area and there-fore any breaks are regularly interrupted. It also
makes handing over a difficult exercise as there is no quiet area in which
it can be done effectively. As a result, a number of doctors have chosen
to hand over through written notes whilst others simply may not hand
over properly.

Action I suggested to my consultant that we should consider having the

mess room within the confines of the main hospital building so that it
encourages doctors to use it both for personal and professional purposes.
In order to convince my consultant without using up too much of his time,
I prepared a single A4 sheet of paper highlighting the issues associated
with the situation and explaining the benefits of implementing the
change. I explained that patient care would be improved by opening
a mess room within the hospital. As well as enabling doctors to have
proper breaks, it would facilitate contact between colleagues from the
same and different departments and could be used to have systematic
handover meetings in a quiet setting. I also set out a number of measures
to make the room attractive to all doctors and encourage usage, such
as installing a coffee machine.

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 to make the room attractive to all doctors and encourage usage, such
as installing a coffee machine.

Result/Reflect My suggestion was subsequently approved by management on the

advice of my consultant and is currently being implemented. This was
an issue that had often been talked about amongst my colleagues
but never addressed. Most people felt that it would be too much hard
work to convince anyone to effect a change, particularly since all the
consult-ants never seemed to have any time to discuss such matters.
However, by anticipating the information that they would need to make a
decision, gathering all the information and presenting a case in a simple
and concise format, I was able to help management reach a quick and
unanimous decision, which benefited the whole team.”

This answer is effective because the issue is clearly set out and well ex-plained. The “Action” section is
not confined to what the doctor did but explains why he/she took such steps and demonstrates that
the doctor anticipates the impact of his/her actions on others. This reflects a good level of influencing
skills (i.e. the ability to get things done without coercing anyone), which would score highly.

The example above is not a clinical example; however, it would be perfectly acceptable to discuss
a clinical scenario, using the same principles. If you have any doubt as to whether the interviewers
require a clinical scenario or not, ask them to clarify the wording of the question.

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8.17 Tell us about a mistake that you have made

WHAT THE QUESTION IS TESTING

This question is testing your ability to recognise that you make mistakes, to take responsibility for
your mistakes, to sort them out, to reflect on your experience, modify your behaviour accordingly and
ensure that others benefit from your experience too.

Many candidates are reluctant to discuss their mistakes because they feel that it will present them
as bad doctors. However, with this question, the interviewers are trying to establish that you are safe
in a realistic context; as far as you are concerned, this means demonstrating that, when mistakes
happen, you can deal with them appropriately (and not that you never make mistakes. If you said that,
you would score zero).

STRUCTURING AN ANSWER

You will need to follow the STAR structure (see 5.2). For this question, this will mean bringing the
following items into your answer, all of which would be reflected in the marking scheme:

Situation/Task Describe the scenario (keeping the clinical information to the strict
minimum necessary to the comprehension of the story). Explain what
the mistake was and its impact (i.e. how did that affect the patient, if
at all).

Action Explain the clinical steps that you followed to resolve the problem and
make sure that the patient was safe. Describe which other members of
the team you involved and why you needed to involve them. Describe
how you communicated with the patient or relatives about the mistake
made (this is often neglected by most candidates, thus costing them
valuable marks).

Result/Reflect Reflect on the scenario and explain what you have learnt from it. Explain
how it changed your practice, perhaps giving a quick example of a
different situation where you acted differently. Explain how you ensured
that others learnt from it (for example, by raising the problem at a team
meeting/ sending an email to others). If you completed a critical incident
form, don’t forget to mention it.

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WHICH MISTAKES CAN YOU MENTION?

A good answer will discuss a mistake which is:

• Personal, i.e. your mistake and not that of another colleague. If you talk about someone else’s
mistake you will miss the opportunity to demonstrate your own integrity.

• Interesting, i.e. which has some element of drama. If the mistake is boring to describe, it is likely
to score low. Similarly, if you choose a mistake that is fairly common then you are less likely to
impress, unless the consequences were significant enough to make the whole answer interesting.

• Safe. You don’t want to appear completely incompetent. Safe does not mean that no harm was
caused to the patient, but that if there was harm or risk of serious harm you identified it quickly
and took immediate steps to resolve the problem. You do want to avoid discussing a mistake
where the patient died, though. Answers of the type “The patient died but I learnt a lot” never
sound that impressive. Examples which are safe would include any near misses, any situation
where the patient was inconvenienced or non-emergency care was delayed, or even any situation
where the patient was placed at risk but you recognised it before much harm could be caused.
Everyone on your panel will know what being a junior doctor is like. There is no point pretending that
you are perfect.

• Good learning ground. Half the marks will relate to the learning points that you drew from the
experience and how you changed your practice. If your example is too safe, you are unlikely to
have any interesting learning points and will end up scoring a low mark. For this reason you want to
avoid any mistakes which are not yours, any mistakes which are caused by a system failure and, for
surgeons, any mistakes which are in fact recognised complications since it is only with hindsight
that you could say that something could have been done differently.

Here are a few examples of mistakes that could be used. For all clinical mistakes it is important to
include the fact that you completed an incident form. If you did not, be prepared to justify this – you
may have to admit that the failure to do so was an oversight and a learning point in its own right. This
should help you think about your own experience and formulate your own answer:

• Flushing a venflon with lidnocaine instead of saline because the label looked similar and since you
were in a hurry you did not take the time to double-check. You would explain how you managed
the patient clinically after the mistake was made (moved to resus, cardiac monitoring, called for
help from your Registrar, anticipating potential complications and ensuring that all bases were
covered). You would then raise the issue of patient communication including reassuring him/her,
explaining how you plan to deal with the consequences, apologising and mentioning how you plan
to ensure that the same mistake won’t happen again. You can then dis-cuss how you changed
practice as a result (e.g. this taught you the importance of double-checking your actions) and how
this led to a change in the labelling system.

• Giving a patient a dose of antibiotics, not realising that they were allergic. This could have
happened because you made the assumption that they were not allergic (the drug chart did not
say so, or you just did not remember to check) or perhaps because the bracelet indicating they
were allergic was hidden by a bandage. In your answer, you would explain how you kept an eye
on the patient to ensure that they did not develop any problems. Hopefully, the patient did not
react in this particular case; otherwise you will need to explain which steps you took to treat the

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 clinical problem. Explain that you called for help and communicated with the patient appropriately
(explaining, reassuring, apologising). Finally, reflect on the reason why you made the mistake and
how you have since changed your practice.

• Discharging a patient with inappropriate medication. You may have spotted the mistake yourself
and recalled the patient, or the mistake may have been spotted because the patient turned up a
few days later with a more severe problem.

• Failing to plan for a potential complication prior to performing a procedure, as a result of which you
were not prepared when it did happen. You then had to call for help to resolve the problem. For this
mistake to be effective, you will need to discuss a complication that you should have planned for
but somehow didn’t. If no one ever plans for it because it is rare then it isn’t really a mistake.

• Failing to take into account a patient’s co-morbidities (perhaps you were in a hurry, or the notes
were so thick that you made assumptions).

The above mistakes are all of a clinical nature. There are other mistakes you can discuss, which are of
a managerial or communication nature. These include:

• Delegating a task to a colleague (e.g. junior doctor, nurse) assuming that they would know what
to do and how to do it. They didn’t and, as a result, patient care was delayed and/or confusion
ensued.

• Communicating important information to a patient assuming they would understand it, when in
fact they did not. As a result, they did not comply with your instructions. This could be because
you were falsely reassured by their behaviour towards you or because you forgot to check their
understanding.

• Being a bit too direct with a patient, not realising that in fact they were very sensitive. As a result,
you risked causing them more distress than in-tended or compromising their trust in you.

At an interview, you can mention any mistake, unless the interviewers have directed you towards one
particular type. For example, if simply asked for “a mistake”, you could mention a clinical or non-clinical
mistake. If asked specifically for a clinical mistake, then you would need to find a clinical scenario;
fobbing off the interviewers by presenting a non-clinical scenario would result in a low mark. If in doubt,
ask them.

Some interviewers will ask for a recent example. This usually means the last 6 to 12 months.

PLAYING SAFE V TAKING RISKS

Having viewed the feedback received by hundreds of candidates over dozens of specialties, I can
comfortably say that those who score the highest on this question are candidates who present
mistakes where they were actively involved and from which they will have learnt a lot from a personal
point of view.

Before the interview, you must decide whether you wish to play safe by presenting an average mistake
or a non-clinical mistake, thereby guaranteeing yourself half the marks; or whether you want to be
more daring by presenting a more dramatic mistake, which, although risky, may yield you much higher
marks if you can explain it properly using the steps highlighted earlier.

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8.18 Describe a situation when you demonstrated professional integrity as
a doctor

Many candidates have little understanding of the word “integrity”, which then leads to poorly positioned
answers. Integrity is a crucial part of the GMC’s Good Medical Practice and you should therefore show
a good understanding not only of the concept but also of how it impacts on your work on a daily basis.

INTEGRITY IN YOUR DAY-TO-DAY WORK

Integrity refers to your ability to do the right thing when it may be tempting to react unethically for the
sake of an easier life. This may be:

• Situations where you have made a mistake, where you would be expected to own up to it and take
corrective action (see previous question).

• Situations where you should know how to handle a particular issue but somehow you don’t. Integrity
is about admitting your lack of knowledge and working towards addressing it (a lack of integrity
would be pretending that you know what to do, which may put your patients and colleagues at
risk).

• Situations where you discover that something is wrong and where you take proactive steps to
address the situation (for example, if you discover that one of your colleagues has made a mistake,
is an alcoholic, takes drugs, has abused a patient or is underperforming/incompetent).

• Situations where you were pressurised to do something that you knew or felt was wrong and where
you resisted the pressure (e.g. a relative, a friend or a colleague encouraging you to breach patient
confidentiality or a patient wanting you to prescribe a treatment that you know would not work).

• A colleague who wanted a favour that would place you in a difficult position (covering up for a
mistake they made, prescribing them controlled drugs, etc.).

Example of an effective answer (using the STAR approach)

Situation/Task “In my Foundation Year attachment in General Practice, a mother came

in with her child, who had a cough, fever and sore throat. The mother
insisted that her baby had a chest infection and demanded antibiotics.
After a thorough examination of the child, the chest was clear and I
diagnosed viral upper respiratory tract infection. In the short term, the
child only really needed paracetamol, rehydration and steam inhalation.

The mother became slightly irritated at the fact that I did not wish to
consider antibiotics and after having spent some time explaining to her
in simple terms why antibiotics would not work in this situation, she did

Action I suggested to my consultant that we should consider hav-ing the

mess room within the111
confines of the main hospital building so that
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it encourages doctors to use it both for per-sonal and professional
 not show any sign of changing her position. She indicated very strongly
that she felt I had not been trained properly and that any good doctor
would give her the antibiotics she was requesting. She demanded to see
my consultant.

Action The mother was placing me under a lot of pressure to give her what she
wanted by attempting to intimidate me. It was important that I kept my
cool and did not give in simply to get rid of the problem that I was facing.
I provided the mother with a couple of leaflets regarding sore throat and
cough from the PRODIGY guideline and told her that I would refer the
issue to my consultant for advice straight away.

My consultant explained that the best way forward would be to offer the
mother a back-up antibiotic prescription and ask her to come back for it
if her child did not improve after two days. I explained to the mother that
I would compromise by getting her to follow my advice whilst the back-
up prescription, in line with her wishes, would give her the reassurance of
antibiotic back-up.

Result/Reflect The mother left happy and came back to thank me after the child got
better without the need for antibiotics. In this situation I maintained my
integrity by remaining professional in my relationship with the patient
despite the pressure that she was placing on me, by not giving in to a
request that I deemed against the best interest of the patient. It also
helped to dissipate her anxiety and maintain my credibility by involving
a senior colleague appropriately. This example also illustrates the
importance of communication in dealing with potential conflicts. In this
case, by remaining civil, I avoided a potential complaint.”

The STAR approach (see 5.2) provides a clear structure for the story. Each step is properly explained
from the candidate’s point of view and there is a good level of reflection at the end. The example
also clearly shows the candidate as someone who took responsibility for sorting the problem out,
highlighting, where appropriate, how professional integrity was maintained.

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8.19 What are the advantages and disadvantages of admitting when
mistakes are made?

This question not only tests your integrity, but also your understanding of why integrity matters. The
question looks very theoretical, calling for a list that you could simply learn and regurgitate; however,
obviously, many candidates will come up with a similar list and you therefore need to set yourself apart
from the rest by bringing your personal experiences into your answer.

ADVANTAGES OF ADMITTING WHEN MISTAKES ARE MADE

• You are able to repair the mistake much more quickly because you can involve others in the process.

• You can openly identify areas of possible improvement and gain support from your superiors to
deal with them.

• You may originally annoy people but they would be grateful for your honesty. In the long term,
owning up to your mistakes may encourage people to trust you more because they know that you
are honest.

• If you cover up a mistake for a long time and it is then discovered, the patient may lose trust in you
and in the medical profession as a whole. You may be sued or struck off. If you admit the mistake
and apologise early enough, the matter is much more likely to be resolved without such drastic
consequences.

DISADVANTAGES OF ADMITTING WHEN MISTAKES ARE MADE

• Your colleagues and patients may lower their opinion of you.

• You may be sacked, sued, struck off, or all of the aforementioned.
• Patients may lose trust towards you and/or the medical profession.

BRINGING EXAMPLES INTO YOUR ANSWER

As mentioned earlier, it is crucial that you mention examples in order to make your answer more personal
and more interesting; otherwise it will resemble everyone else’s answer. When you give examples, keep
your descriptions to two or three sentences. Here are a few effective examples:

“…One of the advantages of admitting that you have made a mistake is that you can avoid
complaints or at least minimise their impact. For example, I once examined a patient in A&E
and prescribed antacid, believing that the patient had indigestion. Later on he was admitted
for acute anterior MI. His son was angry. I spent some time discussing the situation with him,
and apologised profusely for my mistake. The son accepted my apology gratefully, thanked me
for my honesty and left it at that …”

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 “…Admitting to a mistake is helpful in maintaining a good relationship with patients providing
the communication with the patient is well handled. At the same time, it also helps in gaining
support from your superiors to acquire new skills. I was once asked to perform a cervical smear
test. Unfortunately, I applied a little too much force as I rotated the spatula. On smearing the
sample onto a slide, it contained a little blood. I immediately explained to the patient what
had happened and apologised for any pain and inconvenience. She was very understanding
and agreed to visit in three months for another smear test. I reported the incident to my senior,
who suggested that I undertake further training in the test. Three months later, I successfully
performed the procedure on the same patient …”

“…A possible disadvantage of owning up to your mistakes is that the patient may lose trust
in you as a doctor when they learn the truth. I remember a particular example of a situation
where I had misplaced a blood sample for a patient and had to take a second one to replace
it. Because it was something that was very simple and harmless, I hadn’t felt it necessary to
tell the patient about the mistake. The patient later came to know about it from a nurse who,
as a gesture of goodwill, had asked the patient if she felt okay about the problem. Luckily the
patient was very understanding and let the matter go, but I could sense that I had bruised our
relationship slightly as a result of my lack of attention to detail. I have worked hard to ensure
this does not happen again.”

To have an effective answer, all you need are three or four points with a couple of good examples.
There is no need to give an example for every single point that you make; illustrating a couple of
your points is sufficient to provide a good balance. Don’t be afraid of examples referring to negative
consequences, but make sure they illustrate the point without presenting you as useless at your job
(see the last example above).

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8.20 How do you organise your workload?

At first glance, the question seems straightforward. However, like all questions relating to a generic
topic, there is a risk that everyone ends up giving the same answer and therefore you should personalise
it by giving suitable examples from your experience in order to stand out, even if the question does not
explicitly ask for examples.

ORGANISING YOUR WORKLOAD

Before you can answer the question effectively, you must identify the different ways in which you
organise yourself at work. Don’t try to be theoretical and second-guess a list of ways in which one
might organise oneself. Simply think about what you do every day at work (it will make it easier to find
suitable examples when you deliver the answer).

Here are a few examples that may be relevant to your situation and which you could describe:

• Making lists of patients and a list of tasks, whether patient related or not. Prioritising your tasks.

• Identifying whether you might require assistance from other people and ensuring they are briefed
early enough (and available!).

• Reviewing your list on a regular basis, updating patient details and reprioritising if necessary.

• Delegating tasks to the appropriate colleague/sharing the workload.

• Working efficiently by initiating investigations you need to do as early as possible in order to ensure
that the results are back in time for when you need them.

• Ensuring that you have the capacity to handle emergencies, first by building up some slack into
your schedule if you can do that. Should something happen, you will then have time to catch up on
the delay that occurs. Second, by identifying who is available for help if needed.

• Making sure you plan your work in advance as much as you can, for ex-ample by reserving slots
for specific matters (paperwork, teaching sessions, important meetings) as these may impose
constraints onto your schedule. Arranging for cross-cover when needed.

TOOLS THAT YOU MAY USE TO SUPPORT THIS

As well as discussing how you organise yourself, you could enrich your answer by mentioning the tools
that you use to manage your work. These may include:

• PDA to keep track of patients.

• Spreadsheet or word processor, e.g. for lists.
• Electronic diary.
• Secretary – this allows you to sell your team-playing abilities.

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FORMULATING AN ANSWER

A good answer will consist of three or four points discussed in separate para-graphs/sections, each of
which should contain a personal example in order to avoid simply listing the same items as everyone
else. For example, instead of saying “I make a list of patients and prioritise them. I delegate tasks to
nurses and juniors, etc.”, you can present a more developed and personal answer by saying something
along those lines:

“…Before each ward round I prepare a list of all patients containing their basic details, diagnosis
and summary management plan. After the ward round I have a short discussion with the other
team members to agree how we can share the work. Following this I prioritise my own tasks in
relation to their degree of urgency. I make sure that I request all blood tests and book diagnostic
tests straight after the ward round so that the results can come back as early as possible. I
update my job list throughout the day to take account of developments.

During my attachment in Elderly Care, I had to prepare a lot of paperwork for discharge plans
and found it useful to allocate a specific slot every day to carry out all administrative tasks,
usually before the ward round as I was least likely to be disturbed …”

You can discuss the tools that you use either as a separate section in your answer or by mixing the
information with your examples. Whenever you mention a tool, try to explain not just that it is useful
but also why it is useful. For example, “I regularly use a PDA” is informative but if many people say that
then there is little information to distinguish between all of you. You could re-phrase this statement as
follows:

“…I regularly use a PDA. As well as helping me keep the information in one place, it enables me
to have rapid access to all essential information without having to carry pieces of paper in my
pocket. It also helps me to be more efficient by giving me access to other forms of electronic
information such as drug dosages ...”

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8.21 How do you handle stress?

This is another generic question where there is a risk of giving the same answer as hundreds of other
candidates and, therefore, where you need to illustrate each point with personal examples in order to
stand out. The marking schedule for this question will typically be rewarding:

• The variety of ways in which you can deal with stress

• Your ability to identify that you are getting stressed
• Your ability to show the relevance of the information to your work (i.e. by bringing personal examples,
and, in the case of your hobbies, by explaining what you gain from them).

Many candidates fall into the trap of concentrating on their hobbies. In reality, interviewers will be
looking for a broad range of ways of dealing with stress, including in the workplace. Note that the
question does not explicitly ask how you recognise that you are stressed; however, it is a sad fact that
many marking schemes allocate marks for relevant information that is not always explicitly requested.
When in doubt, you should aim to provide an answer which is as complete as possible by looking
beyond the exact wording of the question and providing other relevant information. If your interviewers
are helpful, they may prompt you for that information; others have higher expectations and may not
be so kind.

HANDLING STRESS

There are different types of stress to which you may be exposed both at work and in your personal
life. Depending on the type of stress that you are facing, you will react and cope differently. This may
include:

For stress caused by busy situations (e.g. being overworked):

• Taking a step back.

• Remaining calm.
• Organising your work, prioritising and delegating.
• Trying to anticipate difficult periods and planning accordingly.
• Taking appropriate breaks.
• Breaking tasks off into smaller, more manageable chunks.
• Asking for help from your colleagues.
• Communicating well with others (e.g. maintaining momentum in a team to ensure full
coordination).
• Managing others’ expectations (for example, if you are prioritising, inevitably someone’s
main priority will become bottom of your list. Not managing their expectations would
potentially result in a conflict).

For stress of a more emotional nature (e.g. difficulty in dealing with negative issues such as
personality clashes, patient deaths, high expectations from others, feeling of powerlessness)

• Sharing your problems with colleagues.

• Discussing problems with your friends and family.

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 For general stress (e.g. accumulation of fatigue)

• Socialising with colleagues or friends.

• Having time for yourself, hobbies, centres of interest outside medicine.

Rather than simply list some of the above items, you should focus your answer on your personal
experience, explaining how you deal with a range of different situations that you commonly face in
the workplace. Since the question is not specifically relating to the workplace, you may also mix some
information relating to other settings if you feel that they are appropriate.

Example of an effective answer

“I deal with stress differently depending on the situation. For example, during my on-calls, I
often have to deal with multiple admissions on my own, some of which can take a long time to
handle. In such circumstances, I find it very useful to take stock of the situation once the most
urgent matters have been attended to. This ensures that I remain in control of the situation
and do not miss any important tasks. If I feel that an issue may cause problems later on, I
keep in touch with my Registrar so that he is aware of the situation and able to provide input
as needed. I also work closely with the nurses because they are invaluable in getting some of
the tasks done very efficiently and often provide very useful information that I can use to make
more informed decisions for our patients. When I am very busy, I try to take a short break to
have a coffee. I find that having regular breaks really helps to keep me focused.

When I worked in Elderly Care, I found many relatives had unreasonably high expectations;
this could be stressful at times. Although I could see that they had their family member’s
best interest at heart, I found they were often keen to blame the medical profession for a
patient’s lifestyle excesses, poor adherence to treatment or general poor health. This created
a sometimes very negative and stressful atmosphere. Generally speaking, I was able to deal
with this because I felt that they reacted in this way as a result of a natural concern for their
relative. If ever I feel that the tension is rising or that I am using a more aggressive tone of voice,
I take some time out to rethink my approach or to consult a colleague on the best approach.
It can be extremely useful to dis-cuss problems with colleagues as it provides an opportunity
to share the problem with someone else but also to understand how they deal with similar is-
sues. Often, we both learn from these conversations and I have found that, since I have been
talking to them in this way, they have started to do the same with me. This has led to better
team working, which has further reduced stress.

I think that the key to a stress-free life is to make sure that you are properly conditioned to deal
with problems. I have often found that I react much more calmly to problems when I have had
the opportunity to relax outside work. Personally, I enjoy playing sport with friends, particularly
cricket. I also enjoy reading books such as crime novels and history books. I find that, by
combining group and personal activities, I strike a good balance in my leisure time which then
makes it easier to deal with stress.

Friends and colleagues often comment that I am a relaxed individual but I know that stress
is beginning to affect me if I start to find it difficult to think straight or become irritable or
disorganised. When I recognise this I make sure that I set aside some valuable relaxation time,
usually in the evening, to stop letting the stress get to me.”

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8.22 How do you recognise that you are stressed?

Ways in which you can recognise that you are stressed include:

BEHAVIOURAL EFFECTS

• Feeling tired, tense, irritable or anxious.

• Tendency to drink more or smoke more (not to excess though!).
• Poor concentration. Becoming forgetful. Making small/silly mistakes.
• Difficulty in dealing calmly with everyday pressures.
• Loss of appetite/too much appetite.
• Working shorter or longer hours.
• Poor time management or punctuality.
• Shorter fuse. Increased tension and conflict with colleagues or patients.

PHYSICAL EFFECTS

• Lower resistance to infection.

• Raised heart rate.
• Aching neck and shoulder.
• Headaches.
• Insomnia.

Note: this is not a clinical question on the manifestations of stress, so there is no need to become
highly detailed by mentioning some recognised but less appealing symptoms such as “blurred vision”
or “dizziness”, which could impair your ability to be safe at work.

Avoid listing a number of points as this will make your answer bland. Draw upon real situations where
you became stressed in the past, explain how you identify that you were stressed and then briefly
explain how you dealt with that stress. The emphasis should be on stress recognition rather than
stress resolution here, though you should ensure that you mention both, as both are likely to appear in
the marking scheme.

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8.23 Give an example of a stressful situation in which you have been
involved

This question is testing your ability to deal with pressure and stress by means of an example. Through
discussing the example, you will be expected to ex-plain which demands were made on you personally
and how you coped/dealt with them.

WHICH EXAMPLES CAN YOU DISCUSS?

Try to choose a complex enough scenario where you were really stressed, otherwise you will struggle
to explain the issue convincingly and to demonstrate your full skills set. This may include situations
where you had to:

• Deal with several tasks at the same time, e.g. several emergencies, urgent requests or tasks with
tight deadlines.
• Do something that was unfamiliar and which you were under pressure to deliver quickly.
• Deal with a difficult or abusive patient who was taking your time, putting you behind in the rest of
your work.
• Work with a colleague who was difficult or unhelpful.
• Deal with the workload of one or several absent colleagues with little or no senior availability.
• Negotiate with a colleague who disagreed with your approach, when you had little time to argue.

DELIVERING THE ANSWER

Once you have settled on one example, identify the skills and behaviours that you exhibited to deal
with the situation and avoid/deal with your stress. For example, if you had to deal with a multitasking
situation then you will inevitably have to mention:

• How you prioritised the patients and shared the workload with colleagues to resolve the situation.
• How you ensured that you maintained good communication.
• How you gained support from seniors.
• How, maybe, you negotiated with colleagues to make room for small breaks for yourself and others.

If you had to deal with a difficult patient, you will talk about how you ensured you remained calm, used
all your communication skills to establish a rapport and deal with the patient, and maybe involved
other team members to help you out.

Don’t lose sight of the fact that the question is about the stress incurred during the scenario and not
just about the situation itself. This means that you must go into detail about what demands, pressure
and stress you faced, what you did, and how it helped resolve the problem and reduce your stress level.

CONCLUDING THE ANSWER

Conclude your answer by explaining what happened at the end and, if appropriate, how you relaxed
when you went back home (had a bath, relaxed with family, played table tennis with friends, etc.) to
provide a complete answer.

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If the situation provided an opportunity to learn from it and develop new skills and behaviours, then
you should mention it. For example, after dealing with a difficult patient, you might have debriefed with
a senior colleague and dis-cussed alternative approaches. You might even have agreed to develop
your skills further by going on a communication skills course. Similarly, after dealing with multiple
emergencies or a difficult on-call, you might have sought advice from senior colleagues and learnt
about other ways of working. Basically, if there is an opportunity to learn, make sure you mention and
present yourself as someone who is always trying to improve and develop.

If the stress was due to a systemic problem (e.g. an inefficient system, the absence of the right
equipment, the short-notice unavailability of staff) then you could also explain how you tried to change
the system once the event was over (e.g. introducing a new pro forma, arranging a team meeting to
discuss the problem) as a means to prevent the stressful situation from recurring.

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8.24 Describe a situation when you have used a holistic approach in
managing a patient

WHAT THE INTERVIEWERS ARE LOOKING FOR

The question asks you to discuss how you have used a holistic approach as part of a real-life scenario.
In your answer, you will be expected to describe, through the use of a specific personal example, how
you identified and ad-dressed the physical, social and psychological needs of a patient.

This may seem like stating the obvious but it frames the question and without considering the answer
in this way you will not score well. The key to this question is really to find a good example that enables
you to demonstrate your experience and ability to apply all three aspects in the management of a
single patient.

Note that the question asks for a clinical situation. It does not mean you have to go into vast clinical
detail but simply that it must be related to a patient at work, rather than, say, a friend whom you might
have dealt with.

EXAMPLES YOU CAN DISCUSS

Your example must describe your care of a patient and must include all of the aforementioned areas.
This could include:

• An elderly patient who needed to be discharged.

• A patient to whom you broke bad news.
• A patient whose lifestyle was being affected by their condition.
• A patient who was finding it difficult to cope with their diagnosis.
• A homeless patient.
• A patient with multiple conditions ranging from psychological to physical.

USE THE STAR STRUCTURE (SEE 5.2)

Situation/Task Describe the type of patient and how they presented to you.

Action Explain how you recognised and addressed the patient’s different
needs.

Result/Reflect Explain how the patient was helped with your approach (grateful, much
improved lifestyle, got a new job and sorted themselves out, etc.).
Explain what you feel you did well and, if prompted, what you could have
done better.

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Try to be as practical as you can, describing what you actually did to address the patient’s needs.
Too many candidates offer statements such as: “I identified the patient’s psychological needs and
addressed them appropriately”.

This only explains what needs you identified, but it would be interesting to know what those needs
exactly were and how they were addressed. For ex-ample, the patient may have had a need for
psychological support; consequently, you discussed support groups and gave the patient leaflets to
read and websites to visit.

THE DIFFERENT NEEDS

Physical needs
Describe the physical needs of the patient and how you addressed them. In this section try
to give just enough detail to clearly communicate that you were competent but do not overdo
it on the clinical detail – this is not the purpose of the question. In some cases, your answers
could even be as simple as refer-ring the patient to a specialist or to a senior colleague. All that
matters is that you have addressed the needs in a sensible manner.

Social needs
Describe the social needs of the patient. Did they live on their own? Did they have family? Could
their family cope with the burden? Did they need community support? What about financial
aspects? Did they need advice about claiming benefits? Were there charities that could help?
Did their home require special adjustments? Did you enlist the help of some members of the
multidisciplinary team to sort out some of the issues (care workers, occupational therapists,
community nurses, etc.)? Did you provide leaflets?

Psychological needs
Describe the psychological needs of the patient. Did they need support in coming to terms
with a difficult diagnosis or chronic illness? Did they need counsel-ling? Did they require a
referral to a psychiatrist? Did you arrange for the patient to get in touch with charities? Did
you spend some time counselling them yourself? Did you address this issue with the relatives?
Did the relatives need counselling too?

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8.25 Describe a time when you had to deal with a sceptical patient

This is another question asking for an example and which you will therefore need to answer using the
STAR approach (see 5.2). This question is primarily about communication, the respect of others and,
in some cases, teamwork (e.g. if you need to involve input from other people to help you resolve the
situation).

WHAT THE INTERVIEWERS ARE LOOKING FOR

The main criteria that the interviewers will be looking for include:

Communication
• Listening to the patient’s point of view, exploring the patient’s concerns and addressing
any underlying issues. For example, if they distrust conventional medicine, you should
investigate why.

• Communication with the patient in a way they can understand (basic English if needed,
interpreter, diagrams) and with sufficient time given so that they can absorb the information
and ask questions to you or others.

• Ensuring that the patient receives all the information that you can give them. This could be
through the involvement of other professionals (for example a colleague, a nurse or referring
to a suitable specialist) or by giving a leaflet.

Teamwork
Asking a senior colleague or other member of the team for advice on how you should manage
the situation or asking them to intervene if necessary.

Respect for patient’s autonomy

The patient has the right to make a decision for themselves. If, in your example, your patient
still disagreed with you despite your best efforts, don’t panic – this may be a powerful example;
what matters is how you dealt with it. It is a patient’s right to disagree and your duty to accept
that they can do so. In such cases, it is important to have demonstrated that they understood
what the consequences might be for them and what other options were available. It is also
important to mention that you documented the essence of the conversation and the decision.

EXAMPLES YOU CAN DISCUSS

There are many reasons for a patient to be sceptical. Here are a few examples that you may have
encountered recently:

• They do not trust you for one reason or another. Maybe they have read negative reviews on the
internet about you or your service.

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• They may have gained information from the media (for example, through TV, newspapers, websites,
social media) that gives them a different perspective.

• They may be medically aware, i.e. they are scientists or linked to the medical profession. They
require more information than your average patient.

• They may have personal beliefs (against conventional treatment for example) that contradict your
approach.

• They have a problem with you (e.g. a male patient being suspicious of a female doctor or vice
versa, a patient trusting older doctors only, etc.).

• Your explanations or proposed management options may be different to their expectations.

• There is a language barrier.

Once you have found the right example, describing the situation is fairly straightforward using the
STAR technique (see 5.2).

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8.26 Outline a time when you had to support a colleague with a
work-related problem

Although the topic raised by the question is that of a colleague in difficulty, this is not a question about
how to deal with a difficult colleague or an unsafe col-league. It is really a question about support, and
therefore communication and teamwork, so you should ensure that your answer focuses on these two
skills.

The type of situations where you may have needed to support a colleague with a work-related problem
may include:

A busy colleague who finds it hard to find time to study

You would discuss the situation with the colleague and perhaps offer to take on some of their tasks,
when appropriate, to relieve them from the pressure they face. If they are busy because they are not
very efficient, you may offer to help them out by showing them how they can plan and organise their
work better (making sure you are not patronising them in doing so). If you are also studying for exams,
you may consider supporting them by pairing up to revise together. If you have already passed the
exam they are studying for, you could organise informal teaching/support sessions to help them out.

A colleague who lacks knowledge or experience and struggles

First of all, you must make sure your colleague is not performing tasks beyond their level of competence.
You can encapsulate this in your answer by stating that your priority would be to ensure the highest
standard of patient care and safety. Many people have small knowledge-based sticking points that
they feel stupid asking about because they feel they should know them. If this is the case, you could
give a brief explanation or tutorial and then explain how you learned this and if there are good books
or web resources that you use when you are stuck. This encourages them to try to look things up
themselves the next time they are stuck.

If the issue is the need to learn a practical skill, see if it is something you can go over in a skills lab
together – you may find that there is a simple step that is being forgotten, and this is a very easy
environment to iron this out. If it is more complex, you could recommend the course that you did to
learn the skill or set up some ward-based mentorship for the skill. If you know that the task in question
is being performed then you could encourage your colleague to be there when it happens and ideally
adjust the rota so that they have an opportunity to reinforce their learning of that skill with practical
experience.

The basis of your answer is that you would support your colleague, making sure that they are not
exposed to situations where they feel stupid or dangerous, and encourage them to improve their
knowledge or skills to overcome any deficiency.

A colleague in a personality clash with another colleague

Dealing with personality clashes from an external perspective is always dangerous because you risk
making matters worse by appearing to take sides. Supporting your colleague may consist of listening
to them and allowing them to vent their frustration so they know that they can share their problem
with someone else. This may help your colleague put things in perspective and dis-cuss the issue
with their colleague directly. If the clash is with someone more senior then you may encourage your
colleague to discuss the problem with another senior colleague whom they trust (e.g. a consultant,
their educational supervisor). Essentially, you would ensure that you are there for them without
necessarily getting directly involved yourself in resolving the matter. You are supporting your colleague,
not replacing them.

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A colleague who finds it hard to remain motivated in their job

You must never lose sight of the fact that you are supporting your colleague and not seeking to
dictate a course of action to them. Supporting them may involve sitting down with them to help them
understand why they are not motivated. Perhaps they are not getting enough support from senior
colleagues, in which case you may want to encourage them to raise the issue with their educational
supervisor. Perhaps they are doing an attachment in a specialty that does not interest them, in which
case you may wish to discuss with them how they can make the attachment more interesting or help
them understand the importance or advantages of their current job in their long-term career plan;
perhaps you would encourage them to get involved in a project such as an audit to give them a sense
of purpose.

A colleague who is being bullied by a senior colleague

Bullying is not acceptable in any environment but, whilst you may want to try to resolve the issue
yourself, you should try to take the part of a supportive friend and aim to maintain an objective view.
Direct involvement on your part should be a last resort.

Your support should begin by simply listening to your colleague and helping them think about the
problem rather than getting involved yourself – it will help you to establish their side of the story. If you
felt that patient care was being compromised and that your colleague was unable to deal with the
problem then you would need to raise the matter with a senior colleague. If you can, avoid discussing
topics involving drink, drugs or bullying unless the interviewers specifically ask you about them (we
will see how to handle difficult colleagues later on) as this takes the attention away from the support
towards your col-league and it may lead to answers which are potentially controversial.

Note that the question is asking for a work-related problem and not a personal problem. However,
in some circumstances, the two will be inextricably linked (i.e. problems such as a sick child, marital
problems or even train delays may have an impact on work-related performance). You can therefore
mention in your answer how you sought to support your colleague in relation to more personal problems,
but only to the extent that they are impacting on their work and providing they do not form the main
thread of your answer; otherwise your answer will be off-topic and your score will be accordingly low.

DELIVERING THE ANSWER

Since the question is asking for a specific example, you should make sure that you do not speak
generically about how you would support a colleague but that you provide an example of a specific
situation.

You should structure your answer using the STAR approach (see 5.2), explaining first the nature of
the problem from your colleague’s point of view (i.e. set-ting out why your colleague was in need of
support), explaining how you sup-ported them, and how the story ended (hopefully your actions led to
a positive outcome).

Be prepared to answer a follow-up question on what you could have done better. There is no need to
volunteer this information unless they request it explicitly when probing.

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8.27 What skills or personal attributes do you possess that will make you
a good trainee in this specialty?

This is a very broad question which leaves many candidates perplexed simply because they don’t
know where to start.

WHERE ARE THE MARKS?

For this type of question, the marking scheme will reward:

• Your understanding of the specialty and the training.

• Your ability to list skills and attributes relevant to the specialty.
• Your ability to demonstrate, with full use of your personal experience, that you possess those skills
and attributes.
• The clarity of your answer (which will come from the structure of your answer and the concise
nature of your examples).

WHICH SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES CAN YOU MENTION?

The answer very much depends on the Person Specification for your specialty and grade. When
you face such a question, you can talk about pretty much what you want, providing you respect the
following rules:

• Ensure that the skills and attributes mentioned cover a wide enough spectrum. You should consult
the Person Specification to understand the requirements that your interviewers will be testing.

• Choose a maximum of four skills and attributes. Although the Person Specification may cover a
lot more than four, you cannot possibly talk about all of them in 2 minutes; otherwise you will remain
very superficial. Give priority to those for which you can more easily demonstrate your suitability,
experience, and strengths.

• Choose skills and attributes which are strongly linked to the specialty and order them in decreasing
order of importance. For example, being empathetic and a good listener are both important in
most specialties but, in some specialties, other skills are more prominently used. In Paediatrics,
Psychiatry and Oncology, empathy will therefore rank higher than in specialties such as surgery,
where empathy may be preceded in the list by the ability to work well under pressure or learn
new techniques. In medicine, empathy may be preceded by your problem-solving ability. A good
starting point to measure the relative importance of the different skills is to look at the order in
which they are listed in the Person Specification.

• Structure your answer on a skill-by-skill basis. Mention one skill/attribute and explain why it is
important for the specialty. Give examples from your experience to back up your claims.

• Make sure that you are specific in the description of the skills and attributes that you choose to
present. For example, “I am a good communicator” is vague. A punchier statement would be “I
am a good communicator and, in particular, I am very effective at dealing with conflict between
other team members or situations where I need to negotiate with others.” The more specific you

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 are, the more impact you will have and the easier it will be to find suitable examples to illustrate
your purpose.

• If you can, try to group several skills in one point if they are related. For example, you may want to
say that you are good at making decisions, that you call for help when necessary and that you are
a good team play-er. These could constitute three different points but you could also raise all of
them in one single point, with a sentence such as: “I am very good at making decisions when faced
with difficult situations and I am always pre-pared to ask for help, if required. I am also very good
at implementing my decisions by communicating with the relevant colleagues and delegating
responsibilities appropriately” (you can then follow this with an example). This approach gives
more body to your answer.

EXAMPLES OF STRUCTURES FOR DIFFERENT SPECIALTIES

Most surgical specialties (and specialties with procedures)

Example 1
• Good manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination.
• Good ability to keep calm under pressure and make sensible decisions (including seeking
help from others if necessary).
• Very good at engaging with patients, explaining procedures and providing reassurance
when necessary.
• Good team-working abilities, in particular: good relationships with all team members,
good ability to communicate with others to coordinate activities such as theatre lists and
teaching sessions, and good ability to deal with potential conflicts sensitively.

Example 2
• Patient, able to remain calm under pressure and to take initiative in challenging situations.
• Able to make decisions and resolve complex issues, calling for help if required
• Good at engaging with people at all levels, whether they are patients, junior colleagues or
senior colleagues.
• Committed to hard work, enjoy volunteering for new projects and willing to learn from own
experience.

Most medical specialties

Example 1
• Good communication skills, able to address a wide range of people with different levels of
understanding and different cultural backgrounds.
• Confident in addressing complex issues and able to think laterally to find solutions to
problems.
• Very organised, able to work well with others and to use the team appropriately in order to
get the work done.
• Able to deal with stress in difficult situations and to call for advice or help when required.

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 Example 2
• Relate easily to a wide range of people, whether they are patients or doctors, both in the
clinical and non-clinical environment.
• Caring and supportive. Able to show empathy towards patients but also towards colleagues,
volunteering to help when required.
• Good analytical skills and good ability to make decisions both independently and with
senior advice, if required.
• Organised and able to deal with difficult situations through teamwork, self-discipline, and
tenacity.

Anaesthesia
• Vigilant even in situations of low activity. Able to respond quickly and efficiently when a
problem occurs.
• Very organised and thorough. Able to work well under pressure, remain calm and make
appropriate decisions, calling for help if necessary.
• Good team player and, in particular, able to communicate well with col-leagues at all levels.
Not afraid to discuss problems if necessary, even with seniors.
• Empathic, good listener and able to engage quickly with patients.

Psychiatry
• Good ability to communicate and work well within a team, both with immediate colleagues,
and with members of various multidisciplinary teams .
• Able to cooperate with others to achieve results. Non-judgemental and aware of impact of
own actions on others .
• Empathic and supportive, particularly towards vulnerable people. Good at reassuring
people, dealing with difficult issues sensitively and managing expectations.
• Able to make safe decisions under pressure and to deal with stress. Good at planning and
therefore very aware of possible dangers and conflicts that may arise.

Obstetrics & Gynaecology / Paediatrics

• Good listener, able to engage with patients, to reassure and empathise.
• Good at dealing sensitively with difficult issues and breaking bad news.
• Quick thinking and able to deal well with pressure. Good at making safe decisions quickly,
asking for help from senior colleagues if required.
• Good at collaborating with a wide range of people. Sensitive to the needs of the various
members of the team.

DELIVERING YOUR ANSWER

You can see from the above that many of the same skills and attributes are common in different
answers. After all, there is only limited choice. You will not be judged on how different your answer
sounds (i.e. you don’t have to find some obscure skill to stand out) but on the completeness of your
answer and the way in which you illustrate the points you are making.

Once you have made a point (which may consist of several statements as shown in each bullet point
above), provide examples from your practice. It is best to avoid going into too much detail for the

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examples as you only have 20 to 30 seconds per point. This can be achieved either by sticking to one
example per point, which you briefly describe without going into too much detail (otherwise you won’t
have much time for other points); or by listing several situations where you may have demonstrated
the skill in question, explaining briefly afterwards how you handled the situation.

Example of an effective answer (partial – using one example only)

“I am patient, able to remain calm under pressure and to take the initiative in challenging
situations. For example, recently I was confronted with an angry patient during one my shifts. I
could see that he was becoming more agitated and, as he had verbally threatened staff, I was
concerned about the risk of him becoming violent. I made sure that a nurse went to get some
help whilst I talked to the patient to try and persuade him to calm down. It took a while, but by
involving other members of the team appropriately and communicating I was able to obtain a
positive outcome.”

The example is only briefly expanded upon, almost as a teaser for the inter-viewers. Their next question
is then likely to ask you to expand on the situation. Also, as this is only one point out of four, there is
no time to dwell on the detail too much. The communication and teamwork aspects are emphasised
just enough to make the point.

Example of an effective answer (partial – listing several examples)

“One of my strengths is the ability to deal sensitively with difficult issues. Over the past couple
of years, I have had to break bad news to mothers who had ectopic pregnancies, I have dealt
with sensitive private matters with patients who felt uncomfortable opening themselves up
to a stranger and I was even confronted with a case of child abuse. In all these situations,
I was able to remain non-judgemental and to take my patients through their situation step
by step, ensuring that I communicated empathically but efficiently, providing re-assurance
as appropriate and, if necessary, ensuring that they were supported by other appropriate
members of the team.”

There is no time to go into any detail. What you are trying to achieve here is demonstrate to your panel
where and how you use the skill stated. That is achieved here by listing several examples that relate to
a given skill. The examples given are specific but not detailed. If the panel is interested, they can ask
for more detail about any particular example.

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8.28 What are your main strengths?

This question is in fact the same one as 8.27. Your main strengths should be the skills and attributes
that make you suitable for the specialty and there is therefore no reason why you should be providing
a different answer. Other questions that can be answered in a similar fashion include:

• How would your colleagues describe you?

• What would your friends say about you?
• What would you like your consultant to write in your reference?
• If I looked at your multi-source feedback, what would it say? (Stay away from any negative
feedback unless they ask)
• What makes you a good doctor?
• What would you like written in your obituary?

WHAT IF THEY ONLY ASK FOR A SINGLE STRENGTH?

It may be that the question is worded in the singular, i.e. “What would you consider to be your single
biggest strength?” If this happens then the approach to the question is the same except that you will
need to place your entire focus on just one of the four points that you would normally mention.

There is one trick though that will enable you to sell a bit more than just one point: it is to simply list a
range of points in the first sentence before zooming in on the main point that you want to talk about.
It would give something like this:

“Well, I have many strengths including being organised, able to work well under pressure, being
a good team player and a good colleague. However, if I had to choose a single strength, I
would say that it is my ability to communicate well with people at all levels, even in conflicting
situations.” <then illustrate with examples>

Another trick is to select a skill that is very generic and that you can split into several sub-skills. One
such skill is leadership, for which the answer would look something like this:

“My biggest strength is the ability to show strong leadership. I have a strong track record in
managing situations and projects effectively. <then illustrate with examples>. The feedback
I have received from colleagues also shows that I am very good at motivating and supporting
others <then illustrate with examples>. And I have shown on many occasions that I don’t just
deal with current problems but am also able to find creative ways to make our systems stronger
in the long term <then illustrate with examples>.”

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8.29 What is your main weakness?

This question is often a worry for candidates, who fear that they may sound too clichéd or uninteresting
by using a weakness that the interviewers are likely to have heard several times that day.

WHAT IS THIS QUESTION ABOUT?

Contrary to some of the interview myths which circulate, this question is NOT about demonstrating
that you are perfect and that you have no weaknesses. Instead, the interviewers will be testing your
honesty, your insight, your ability to learn from your mistakes/problems and to develop as an individual.
Rather like the question on a mistake that you made (see 8.17), they expect you to talk openly about
your own failures: an honest doctor is a safe doctor whom patients and colleagues can trust. So, don’t
be afraid to be personal as this is the only way in which you can maximise your mark.

WHERE DO PEOPLE GO WRONG WHEN ANSWERING THIS QUESTION?

The problem does not lie so much in the weakness that candidates choose to mention in their answer
but in the way it is delivered. Most answers sound clichéd because candidates present the weakness
in a simplistic, almost black and white, manner. A common answer is of the format: “I can’t say ‘no’,
but I am aware of it and I am working on it.” In such an answer, there is no attempt to explain exactly
how they are dealing with it. This makes the answer very standard and totally uninteresting.

There is also no real attempt to explain in any detail what the impact of the weakness on the candidate
is, for instance by providing an example which would lift any ambiguity. The lack of example means that
the interviewers are left to extrapolate from the basic statement made by the candidate in any way
they like, and the candidate therefore loses control over the way in which their message is received.

For example:
• “I can’t say ‘no’” may give the impression that you are weak.
• “I have high expectations of others” may give the impression that you are a control freak
and unfriendly.

HOW TO CHOOSE A GOOD WEAKNESS

There are three parameters that you need to consider when choosing a suitable weakness:

• Make sure that it is one of your real weaknesses as you will be much more at ease talking about
it in detail than if you make it up (answers which are faked tend to sound rehearsed, vague, and
clichéd).

• Choose a weakness that, in different circumstances, can be considered a strength. The strategy
is to present the weakness as a strength which can sometimes become a problem.

• Choose a weakness that can be remedied. There are weaknesses which can be difficult to correct,
such as being disorganised, or getting frustrated at certain events. These are best avoided.

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EXAMPLES OF WEAKNESSES

There are numerous examples of weakness that you can use, some being more original and creative
than others. It is important that you choose one that you are comfortable talking about, as most of
the impact that you will have rests in your tone of voice and general confidence.

If you are unsure as to which weakness to choose, try different examples and see which one sounds
best. I have set out below a range of weaknesses that you may want to consider, listing their negative
and positive interpretations, together with some means of dealing with them. See if they are true to
your situation and, if they are, adapt them to match your situation and bring your own examples into
the answer.

Being a perfectionist
This answer is probably one of most quoted at interviews, and one which is least likely to make
you sound credible. By itself, it is not a bad weakness to mention but the interviewers will have
heard it so many times in one day that you may just be subconsciously penalised for your lack
of originality. If you want to use the “perfectionist” answer, I would advise you to find a more
specific slant to the weakness so that you do not present it under such a broad heading. Some
of the weaknesses have a “perfectionist” slant to them but sound less clichéd.

Finding it difficult to say “no”

This is also a commonly given answer, but perhaps a little less clichéd than the “perfectionist”
answer, primarily because it has more words to it and there-fore the impact is softened. If you
want to use this weakness, you will need to convey the meaning of not being able to say “no”,
without actually using that phrase. For example: “there are times where I take on so many
simultaneous projects that it can be difficult to juggle them all.” The meaning is the same, but
the wording is a bit more original.

Positive: You are a good team player, a good colleague, and always willing to help.

Negative: You may take on too much work and get stressed, or fail to deliver on some projects
(hopefully minor ones!).

What you can do about it:

• Learn to become more assertive (more experience, attend a course).
• Learn to manage colleagues’ expectations (so that they are okay about you saying “no”).
• Work with colleagues to help them find alternative solutions
• Be more realistic about your ability to deliver and more open with col-leagues about issues.
• Be more proactive in delegating to others so that you can say “yes” without having to take
on everything yourself.

Having high standards and a tendency to expect others to follow the same standards as you

Positive: Being driven, you have achieved a lot and you deliver results to your team above their
expectations. You have also encouraged others in your team to achieve and they did well as a
result. You are seen as a good motivator and a “doer”.

Negative: Some of your colleagues may not be able to follow your pace. You are trying to
impose methods and principles which they may not adhere to and this may cause friction at
times (i.e. you risk being seen as controlling).

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What you can do about it:
• Learn to be a bit more flexible with colleagues. Take the time to know them. It may give you
ideas about how you can approach them.
• Ensure that all team members have been trained in the skills you are ex-pecting them to
perform.
• Be more open-minded in your approach and accept that others may have ideas which are
as good as, if not better than, yours.

Having a direct style of communication

This weakness is not suitable for specialties where communication is an ultra-essential
skill (such as Paediatrics, Psychiatry and any fundamentally holistic specialty). However, if
addressed properly, it can be used successfully for a wide range of specialties, from surgical
specialties to general medical special-ties and even specialties such as Public Health.

Positive: People know where they stand with you; they know that if they ask for your opinion
they will get an answer which they can use towards their own thinking process. Generally, you
find it easy to be trusted because people know that, if there is an issue, you will discuss it
openly.

Negative: There are times when more subtlety and diplomacy is required, and you may
encounter situations where communicating too openly may cause friction.

What you can do about it:

• Learn to appreciate the impact of your communication on others.
• Learn to recognise when you can be yourself and when you need to soften your style.
• Seek guidance from seniors; perhaps go on a course.

Finding it difficult to delegate

This weakness often results from a lack of experience in working in a delegation environment.
This, coupled with the fear that you may lose control of the situation, leads you to take.
Sometimes it may also come from a mistrust of other people (How often have you thought: “It
will be done better and quicker if I do it myself”?)

Positive: You deliver consistently good results and, in an environment where most people rotate
frequently, it can be an asset not to overload new team members until they have established
their ability.

Negative: People may see you as someone distant. Also, by trying to do everything yourself,
you end up having too much on your plate, with a risk of get-ting stressed.

What you can do about it:

• Be more attentive to juniors and find opportunities to delegate.
• Get to know your colleagues early on so that you find it easier to trust them and therefore
delegate.
• Start delegating small tasks to see whom you can trust and whom you can’t.
• Discuss with your seniors and/or go on a course.

Tendency to take criticism or negative outcomes personally

This weakness can work well if you have the right type of personality. I would not recommend it
for surgical specialties however, as interviewers can be less forgiving about a lack of confidence
than in other specialties.

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Positive: Taking things personally pushes you to act on problems quickly.

Negative: Being over-negative may make you appear under-confident (and miserable).

What you can do about it:

• Discuss with colleagues and see how they deal with criticism, complaints, and negative
outcomes.
• Use every incident as an opportunity to learn.

Getting too involved with patients

This would refer to situations where patients have many issues and where you find it difficult to
put a stop to a consultation for fear of missing something out or upsetting the patient.

Positive: You are thorough and caring.

Negative: You can overrun and/or get stressed.

What you can do about it:

• Learn to become gently assertive.
• Discuss with colleagues to understand how they do it.

Getting too attached to patients

This refers to situations where you are struggling to maintain the professional barrier in your
dealings with a patient and push the empathy to a point where it personally affects you
psychologically.

Positive: You are caring and empathetic.

Negative: You get stressed.

What you can do about it:

• Learn through experience to keep the appropriate distance
• Discuss with colleagues/seniors.

Taking your worries home with you

This refers to situations where you finish your work and feel the need to double-check things
when you get home or keep worrying about whether your instructions will be followed once you
have left. In some cases, this may result in you having to call the ward once home, or even to
stay late to ensure that things are done properly.

Positive: You are thorough and conscientious.

Negative: You may get stressed and even irritate others, who feel you don’t trust them. It may
also interfere with your social/private life.

What you can do about it:

• Optimise your communication with colleagues so that you can be sure they know what
needs to be done.
• Discuss with colleagues how they deal with it.
• In the more extreme cases, call the ward once only when back home so that you then have
your entire evening clear afterwards.

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All these are examples that will work well if they are explained in a personal manner. There are other
approaches that you can adopt but, in my experience, they tend to be less successful. These include:

• Using a weakness which is not linked to personality but to something practical, such as lack of
research. Most marking schemes would be based around a personality-based weakness and
therefore using a more practical weakness may score lower. If you have any doubt, or if you are
really keen to talk about a non-personality-related weakness, then there is no harm in asking the
interviewers whether they want a personality-based weakness or whether you can use something
relating to your training.

• Using a weakness which is in the past and already resolved. This does not answer the question,
which is “What is your main weakness?”. Using an old weakness would not demonstrate that you
have any insight into your current behaviours and therefore may score lower. Under the current ST
interview system, experience shows that playing safe rarely pays off. There is a benefit in taking
risks.

STRUCTURE TO ANSWER THE QUESTION

There are many ways in which you can answer this question; however, having heard thousands of
people answering this question both in my experience of interviewing and in my coaching experience, I
have found the following structure to be one of the most effective:

Step 1: Quick positive introduction to place a positive context on the weakness

(this must be no more than 15 seconds or so, otherwise you will give the
impression that you are avoiding the question).

Step 2: State the weakness and explain the negative impact it has. In doing
so, ensure that you use words which do not make the weakness sound
awful. “I can’t delegate effectively” sounds bad, but “I sometimes
find it difficult to delegate, particularly when working with new junior
colleagues” is more specific and more realistic too.

Step 3: Give a specific example of a situation which illustrates the weakness.

Spend some time on this section. The purpose of the example is to
remove any doubt in the interviewers’ mind about the seriousness of
the weakness.

Step 4: Explain what you learnt from that situation. This will enable the
interviewers to visualise exactly how reflective you can be. This,
together with the next step, is one of the most important parts of the
answer.

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 Step 5: Explain how you attempt to deal with the weakness generally. This will
ensure that the interviewers tick the marking box which says: “Takes
concrete steps to remedy the weakness”.

EXAMPLE OF AN EFFECTIVE ANSWER

It would take hundreds of pages to illustrate how each weakness can be dis-cussed; however, once you
have read the following sample answer, you will get the idea of how the above structure can be applied
and you will have no problem adapting it to your own experience and circumstances. I have chosen the
weakness of “taking on too much” to demonstrate how you can build the answer using the different
steps stated above.

Step 1: “I have always been an ambitious person and, as a result, I always show
a lot of enthusiasm in getting involved in all sorts of projects. If you look
at my CV, you will see that I have achieved a lot, not only in terms of
clinical experience, but also in terms of audit and teaching experience.

Step 2: However, there are times where I have been a little too greedy and
became involved in too many projects at once. As a result, I sometimes
placed myself under too much pressure, or had to arrange an extension
of the deadline.

Step 3: One example that springs to mind is a situation which arose last year,
when, as well as doing 1:4 on-calls and studying hard for my Part 1
membership exams, I had agreed to de-liver quarterly lectures to
medical students, volunteered to do some number-crunching for my
consultant’s research project and also agreed to do two audits, one
of which I was keen to lead throughout. After two months, I could see
that I would never be able to complete all this before I moved to my
next post and so I had to go back to my consultant to explain that I
could only do one of the audits.

Step 4: I felt I had let down my colleagues in this particular instance, but it made
me realise how crucial it is to be aware of your own capacities and that,
although you may look good when you accept a project, it can cause
problems if you don’t de-liver. On reflection, I also feel that I could have
delivered as expected if I had thought about involving someone else
when there was still time to do so, such as a medical student, who could
have made a start on collecting the data.

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Step 5: I have become very aware of the problems associated with getting
involved in too many projects and the impact both on myself and on
other people. As a result, I try my best to think carefully before launching
into new projects (without curbing my own enthusiasm, of course). I also
try to involve others more when appropriate, which has the advantage of
getting juniors involved in new projects too.”

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9 | Academic & Clinical
Governance questions
Questions on academic activities (e.g. teaching, research) or on clinical governance are increasingly
common at CT and ST interviews. These can be generic (e.g. “What is clinical governance?”) or
specific (e.g. “How does risk management affect your daily practice?”).

They are generally easier to prepare for than the more personal questions ad-dressed in previous
chapters because they are factual and therefore rely, to a large extent, on information that you will
have learnt before the interview. However, to achieve a high mark, repeating information learnt by
heart will not be enough; you will be expected to reflect on your own experience and provide a more
personal slant to the issues raised. This chapter will provide you with essential information that you
may need at your interview.

In some academic and clinical governance stations, you may be asked to dis-cuss a paper that you
have read recently; I would therefore advise you to read the journals appropriate for your preferred
specialty before the interview so that you can approach such a question confidently.

On occasion, the interviewers may ask you to critically appraise a specific paper, which you will be given
a reasonable amount of time to read prior to the interview (anything between 20 and 60 minutes).
To perform well, you will obviously need to have your own process to critically appraise a paper; this
chapter will help you considerably with this task.

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9.1 Tell us about your teaching experience

This is a fairly straightforward question, where you can easily shine provided that you give an answer
which goes beyond the obvious day-to-day informal teaching experience that you may have. Indeed,
most marking schemes allocate very few marks for informal teaching experience and reward candidates
who show more initiative and enthusiasm towards teaching. To optimise your marks, you will need to
provide as much information as possible in each of the following sections.

SECTION 1: ACTUAL TEACHING EXPERIENCE

You can structure this section in two ways:

Structure 1 Structure 2
Different types of teaching Different types of groups taught
• Undergraduates
• Informal teaching • FYs & STs
• Lectures (big groups) • Others (e.g. nurses, GPs, paramedics,
• Workshops (incl. ALS) multidisciplinary)
• Presentations • Teaching outside medicine
- Departmental (if you do some)
- Grand round
- Regional
- National

Whatever structure you choose, you will need to describe the extent of your teaching experience,
covering:

• the types of groups you have taught.

• the teaching methods you used (e.g. simulation, role play).
• the types of topics that you taught (clinical knowledge/skills, procedures, history taking, breaking
bad news, etc.).

Most marking schemes allocate further marks if the candidate has organised teaching sessions and/
or written teaching material from scratch (as opposed to simply delivering teaching to a group of
people). Therefore, if you have shown initiative in organising teaching groups or in writing your own
lectures, make sure that you highlight it clearly.

Describe how you plan your teaching to meet the needs of the learners and how you use questions and
answers to monitor their progress and understanding. Do you use any form of MCQ/quiz at the end
to assess their learning? Do you evaluate the process of your teaching (i.e. how it went and what you
could do to improve)?

SECTION 2: TEACHING COURSES ATTENDED

If you have attended any teaching courses, mention them. They will form part of the marking scheme
and will reflect the care that you demonstrate in developing your skills.

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Do not limit yourself to stating that you went to a course; explain also what you gained from it and how
it helped you improve your teaching skills. Re-member: the more personal your answer is, the stronger
its impact.

SECTION 3: FEEDBACK

• Collecting feedback
The interviewers will want to know that you take teaching seriously and that you make
an effort to find out what others think of your performance. This will portray the image of
someone who is keen to improve constantly. In this section, you should therefore explain
how you seek feedback from those you teach. Hopefully, this will be through formal means
such as a questionnaire being distributed at the end of the teaching session. However, if
you have not collected formal feedback, then you can talk about how you collect informal
feedback from colleagues.

Generally speaking, introducing qualitative feedback into your answer (e.g. “The vast
majority of the students enjoyed it because …”) will have a better effect than presenting
quantitative feedback (e.g. “All of the medical students gave me 9/10”).

• Nature of the feedback

As well as explaining that you collect feedback, you can push the answer further by stating
what that feedback is (limiting yourself to the positive feedback). Sell yourself by stating
what others think of your teaching (e.g. that you are very organised, very good at expressing
complex ideas in simple terms, good at anticipating the audience’s needs).

SECTION 4: WHY YOU ENJOY TEACHING AND FUTURE PLANS

The marking schedule will allow for your enthusiasm and commitment. You should therefore emphasise
how important teaching is in medicine and explain what you enjoy about it (see question 9.2 for ideas).
If you have specific plans for the future, e.g. taking up a medical education degree or getting involved
with Royal College teaching and training initiatives, then you should mention them.

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9.2 Why do you enjoy teaching?

There are many things that one can enjoy about teaching and you will most likely be able to come up
with your own reasons. Generally speaking, you may wish to consider the following points:

• You get personal satisfaction from participating in the development of your colleagues and the
feedback that you have been getting certainly shows that people appreciate your input.

• It helps the team bond together. By spending time with your colleagues away from the pressures
of your daily routine, you can build better working relationships, which in turn translates into better
patient care and a good atmosphere at work (well, sometimes anyway!).

• You can learn a lot from teaching others. Not only do they force you to know your topic in depth
(they might ask all sorts of questions at the end of the session), but you also learn through the
preparation that you do. For example, to prepare for a teaching session, you may need to go over
your textbooks again, reading journals, looking up guidelines, etc.

Back up each of these points (and any others you may have decided upon) with personal examples.
For example, for the third point (learning during the preparation of the teaching session), take the
specific example of a recent talk that you prepared and explain what you learnt (or consolidated) as
a result.

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9.3 What are the qualities of a good teacher?

This is a general question (i.e. not explicitly asking about your own qualities) but, nevertheless, the
marking schedule will expect you to go beyond the general approach, to discuss your own skills and
experience. I suggest that you answer this question in two sections:

SECTION 1 – GENERAL ANSWER

Describe what makes a good teacher, explaining why each quality is important. To make the answer
more interesting, you can draw upon your experience, illustrating your answer by talking about how you
were particularly well taught or inspired by a specific consultant or speaker. Here are some of the key
qualities of a good teacher:

• Sets appropriate, specific and challenging goals.

• Has a clear plan to achieve their goal and has a clear delivery of the topic.
• Involves the students, continually assesses the learning and provides feedback.
• Is positive and encouraging.
• Is able to promote enthusiasm in their students.
• Is able to adapt to students and alter their methods accordingly.
• Is resourceful and adopts a problem-solving approach.
• Respects students.
• Gathers feedback and reflects on negative feedback.

SECTION 2 – PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Explain that these are qualities which you try your best to incorporate into your own teaching. Give one
or two examples of situations where you have been able to motivate and enthuse a group of students
about a given topic. Mention as a conclusion that you get good feedback from your teaching sessions
and state briefly what people appreciate about your teaching.

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9.4 How do you know that you are a good teacher?

Many candidates often rush to list the skills and attributes that make them a good teacher (i.e.
basically, they answer the previous question instead: “What are the qualities of a good teacher?”).
This question is not about whether you are good but about how you know that you are good. There are
many ways in which you may know that you are good, including:

• Positive feedback from colleagues. The feedback could come either from a form that you distribute
after each of your sessions, or from formal feedback at appraisals (360-degree feedback or MSF
– multi-source feed-back).

• Being asked to become an instructor on an ALS course (or another similar course).

• Being re-invited to teach at a course (thus indicating that the first time was successful).

• Objective measures of success, such as colleagues passing their exams as a result of your
teaching.

• Visible improvements on the shop floor, for example a junior becoming much more efficient and
safer doing a procedure that you taught them.

• The way in which your students interact with you during teaching sessions, i.e. the interest they pay
to the topic.

When you deliver your answer, do not simply list some or all of the above. Each time you bring up a
point, illustrate it with experience. For example, do not just state that your feedback was positive.
Describe what the feedback was (stick to the positive feedback). If you have been re-invited to teach
at a course, explain why this was the case. What did they like about you the first-time round?

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9.5 Which methods of teaching do you know?

This question is not too difficult but, again, the difficulty is in making it sound interesting and personal.
Most candidates limit themselves to listing a few teaching methods they have come across without
feeling the need to expand. The marking scheme will reward candidates who show an awareness of
different teaching methods, their advantages and disadvantages, and who relate their answer to their
own personal experience.

PRESENT A BROAD SPECTRUM OF METHODS

The question is asking about the teaching methods that you know, not just those which you use. Make
sure that you present not only the methods that you have encountered or used yourself, but also other
methods which you may not have come across. For example, most people know about the existence
of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) but have not necessarily experienced it first-hand because it is not
widespread outside the confines of some medical schools.

EXPAND ON EACH METHOD

The interviewers will be looking for awareness and understanding of the different methods. In your
answer, you should therefore present not only your own experience of these methods (to the extent
that you have any) but also what you know of the pros and cons of each method. No need to go into
massive detail: a brief explanation will suffice.

THE DIFFERENT TEACHING METHODS

There is a wide array of teaching methods. I have set out below those which you may encounter more
commonly:

One-to-one interactive teaching

• Pros: you can tailor the teaching to the needs, strengths and weaknesses of the student. It
encourages maximum participation from the student and therefore optimises the learning
experience. One-to-one teaching also offers flexibility because there is only one person to
worry about.

• Cons: It is time-consuming and the student does not have the opportunity to learn from
listening or watching his/her peers.

Small group interactive teaching (workshops, tutorials)

• Pros: interaction between different group members can raise the quality of the teaching
(i.e. students feed off one another). The teaching can benefit from the experience of the
various students rather than just one. It is easy to gauge the mood and understanding of
the group and for the teacher to deviate from the prepared material if there is a need to
do so during the session. One particular type of teaching is known as Interprofessional
Learning (IPL). This is defined as learning with, from and about other professionals (e.g.
doctors and pharmacists) to improve collaboration in practice and quality of care for the
patient.

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 • Cons: if the group is not homogeneous, some members may feel that they are struggling
whilst others may feel that they are not being stretched enough. If you are teaching a
group of individuals, it is therefore important that you enquire beforehand about their level
of knowledge and, if possible, that you circulate material so that those who have lesser
knowledge are able to raise their game before the teaching session. This is particularly
important for IPL where the students need to be at the same level (e.g. similar clinical
exposure if undergraduate) and secure in their professional identities.

Formal (didactic) lectures

• Pros: you can reach a big audience quickly.

• Cons: the communication is mostly one-way. It can be difficult to give everyone in the
group what they expect from the lecture. The structure is usually fairly rigid and there is
limited allowance for questions and interaction. It is difficult for the lecturer to gauge the
level of understanding of the students, which may result in loss of attention. Many people
rely on very poor slide presentations.

Computer-based teaching (CBT)/ E-learning

• Pros: the students can take the modules at their own pace and can under-take the teaching
at a time when they are the most receptive. CBT can also enable learning by repetition
without boring the teacher. It is also possible to learn at a distance, even internationally.

• Cons: only works if well structured, since the students have no opportunity to address a
human being.

Within each of the above settings, there are different ways of delivering teaching such as:

• Interactive discussion
• Practical simulation
• Role play
• Observation followed by repeated practice under assisted supervision and silent supervision (e.g.
to learn clinical procedures)
• Problem-based learning (increasingly used at medical school: see next question for full details)
• Lecture followed by assessment.

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9.6 What is Problem-Based Learning (PBL)?
What are its pros and cons?

Problem-based learning is a teaching method based on a small group of students (typically six to ten),
who are working together with the help of a tutor. The process is best described by the Maastricht
“seven jump” process, BMJ ABC of learning and teaching in medicine: Problem based learning (2003),
as follows:

Step 1 Identify and clarify unfamiliar terms presented in the scenario; the
“scribe” lists those that remain unexplained after discussion.

Step 2 Define the problem or problems to be discussed; students may have

different views on the issues, but all should be considered; the scribe
records a list of agreed problems.

Step 3 “Brainstorming” session to discuss the problem(s), suggesting possible

explanations on basis of prior knowledge; students draw on each other’s
knowledge and identify areas of incomplete knowledge; scribe records
all discussion.

Step 4 Review steps 2 and 3 and arrange explanations into tentative solutions;
scribe organises the explanations and restructures if necessary.

Step 5 Formulate learning objectives; group reaches consensus on the learning

objectives; tutor ensures learning objectives are focused, achievable,
comprehensive, and appropriate.

Step 6 Private study (all students gather information related to each learning
objective).

Step 7 Group shares results of private study (students identify their learning
resources and share their results); tutor checks learning and may assess
the group.

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In PBL, the tutor is a facilitator (and not necessarily a doctor or clinician), i.e. they do not participate
actively in the discussions. The tutor’s role is to motivate and guide the team, helping it define and
reach its objectives. This is in stark contrast to the traditional teaching methods, where the teacher
has a very active role. In PBL, students are discovering for themselves, under remote supervision and
guidance.

ADVANTAGES OF PBL
• It is a flexible way of learning, doing away with the rigidity of traditional lectures.

• Being self-directed, students think for themselves and discover the information by themselves.
This tends to lead to better retention.

• PBL does not simply promote learning the topic. It encourages students to develop other skills
such as problem solving (they are confronted by a problem they have never faced before),
communication (they need to argue their case to the rest of the team) and teamwork (regardless
of personal opinions, it is the team as a whole which needs to resolve the problem).

• PBL allows students to make mistakes and to learn from them (the worst that can happen is
wasting time). This may create broader-minded and more adventurous individuals, who can
simultaneously adopt a reflective approach and not hesitate to ask for help.

• PBL promotes initiative, focus on specific goals and research.

• Because the learning is problem-based, PBL is good at helping students place problems in the
overall perspective and from a practical point of view. Students are not just learning information
which could be useful to them in the future; the scenario actually shows them how the information
and knowledge could be used in a concrete situation.

DISADVANTAGES OF PBL
• PBL calls for more resources than traditional teaching methods because the groups cannot be
too large.

• The preparation that the tutor needs to undertake can be extensive. For example, they may need
to prepare extensive reading lists and web-based resources. The tutor may also need to make
themselves available outside of the normal workshops, in case queries arise.

• Many students are not used to PBL and may feel disorientated when con-fronted with such an
unfamiliar method. This can be stressful.

• PBL relies on good teamwork and therefore may not function well in less homogenous groups (e.g.
if one member of the team does not contribute).

• If not facilitated properly, the group may easily diverge and waste time.

• The information accumulated by students is the result of their research. There is a danger that
students retain information which either they do not need to know or is too advanced for their level.

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9.7 You have been asked to organise a weekly educational meeting for
your colleagues. How would you approach this task?

Many of the doctors who have been asked this question have found it difficult to answer because they
had “never organised a meeting before”. In reality, if you think carefully about the skills that are being
tested and use your logic, you should be able to provide a complete answer without much of a problem.

WHAT IS THIS QUESTION ABOUT?

As mentioned, this question is about your organisational skills, i.e. your ability to manage resources,
time and information appropriately. It is also about your ability to work with others and communicate
appropriately to achieve a positive outcome.

If you have never organised such meetings, think logically about what this would involve. Much of the
content can be derived using common sense. Think about the type of meeting that you would like to
be invited to:

• What would you like to learn?

• Who would you like to hear from?

• What is your objective? To organise a meeting that people will want to go to (otherwise you are
wasting your time).

• It is a weekly meeting. You will need to make sure that your colleagues want to attend every week.
To achieve this, you will need to organise events of quality and make participants feel involved.
You cannot achieve this without ensuring that you understand what your colleagues are expecting
from the educational meetings.

• As it is a weekly meeting, you cannot do all the work by yourself. You will need to arrange for
different speakers; you will need to get the logistics sorted out (booking a room, photocopying the
handouts, drinks, maybe sponsorship). All this takes time and you will need to get help from some-
one.

• You will need to make sure people can attend; therefore your meeting will need to be at a convenient
time.

Much of your success will depend on your ability to communicate and work with others. You should
therefore make sure that this is explicit in your answer.

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STRUCTURING THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION

There are many ways in which you can structure your answer. Here is a suggestion:

Defining the meeting

• Because it is a weekly meeting you will need to find new topics every week as well as new
presenters. In order to ensure the success of your project and to ensure that your colleagues
get as much as they can out of the meetings, you will need to approach them and ask what
type of topics would interest them, when is the most suitable time for them and whether
there are topics that they may wish to present themselves. This can be done either face to
face or via a simple questionnaire that they can complete.

• Subjects can include:

- Topics on the ST curriculum
- Topics defined by available local speakers
- Topics on the previous timetable
- Risk management/patient safety
- Journal club
- Case of the week
- Medical management/leadership
- Quality improvement.

• You will also probably need to involve some of your senior colleagues who may have their
own ideas about what can be achieved through these meetings. They may also have ideas
that would make your life easier.

• Once you have gathered some basic information about the type of topics your colleagues
want to discuss and what your seniors are aiming for, you can start putting together a
document that summarises your findings and that you can discuss with your consultant.
The two of you can then settle on a format and an appropriate time.

• You may also wish to discuss with your seniors whether you should limit the meeting to your
immediate colleagues or whether it should be open to other departments, and even other
professions (nurses, secretaries, etc.) in the team.

Sorting out the practicalities

• Once the meeting has some shape, you will need to ensure that people can attend it. You
should probably have a discussion with the rota manager so that they can ensure that the
time is protected and that all bleeps are covered appropriately.

• You should also liaise with a secretary to ensure that the meeting is advertised appropriately,
that a room is booked and that all speakers have been notified of their engagement.

• You should be in touch with the speakers regularly to ensure that they are on track (otherwise
you will have no meeting) and to arrange for any mate-rial to be given in advance (using the
secretary for photocopying).

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Running the meeting

• Ensure that the meeting is chaired appropriately, either by you or by someone else.

• Make sure you know how to use the computer and projector (if used) as this is the easiest
way for things to fail.

• Ensure that the session is well paced so that the meeting is not too rushed or too slow.

• Ensure that those who attend have opportunities to ask questions so that they fully benefit
from the meeting.

Learn from the experience & improve

• Collect feedback at the end so that you can improve from one session to the next.
Remember to include space for free text:
- What went well (and why)?
- What should we do differently next time?

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9.8 Tell us about the feedback that you have received for your teaching

AIM OF THE QUESTION

This question’s aim is not just to see whether you are any good at teaching (the interviewers will need
to take your word for it). It is also to determine whether you have any insight into your own strengths
and weaknesses, and whether you are able to build on the feedback that you receive and improve as
a result of action taken.

The question does not explicitly state whether you should limit your answer to the positive feedback
or also discuss the negative feedback that you have received. However, the marking scheme will
definitely require both to be presented and you should therefore do so without waiting to be prompted.

GETTING THE POSITIVE-NEGATIVE BALANCE RIGHT

Whenever you face a question asking you for both positive and negative aspects of yourself, you
should aim to present slightly more positive points than negative. Here you ought to aim to present
two or three positive points and one negative point. There are two reasons for this:

• You obviously want to emphasise your strengths more than your weaknesses.

• When talking about the negative feedback, you will need to some spend time explaining how
you learnt from it. Overall, you will find that discussing one weakness will take as much time as
discussing two strengths.

The positive points should come first, followed by the negative point. This has the advantage of
enabling you to start the answer in an enthusiastic manner, and to conclude it with the reflective part
of the negative feedback which will leave an impression of maturity. Starting with the negative point
without setting out a positive context will leave a gloomy impression.

Example of an effective answer

“The feedback that I have obtained from colleagues and students has always been very
positive and encouraging. One of the points, which people often mention, is that my teaching
sessions are well structured and that, as a result, I am able to maintain the audience’s attention
for long periods of time. Medical students also very much appreciate the attention that I pay
to making my sessions interactive. They find that they retain the information much more easily
and many of them have actually obtained good results in their finals as a result.
On the less positive side, there was a specific workshop for which I had not anticipated the
diversity of backgrounds the students came from. In particular, I had not taken account of the
fact that half of them already had experience of the specialty, whilst the other half had not. At
the time, this caused some problems with comprehension.

Since this particular incident, I take much greater care to discuss with the students before the
session what they know and what they seek to gain from the session, and I have not had any
more issues.”

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This answer is effective because:

• There is a good balance between positive and negative. The two para-graphs are of equal length.

• The negative feedback is well presented, with an element of personal reflection, which emphasises
the candidate’s willingness to learn.

• The negative feedback is specific and refers to a temporary error of judgement rather than lasting
incompetence. It has also been remedied.

Example of an effective answer (partial – negative paragraph only)

“… As far as negative feedback is concerned, there have been a couple of occasions where
people commented on the fact that my slides were too wordy. It is an issue which I think is quite
common and to resolve this I at-tended a presentation skills course at the Royal College, as a
result of which I have learnt to make better use of pictures and diagrams. I have also become
more conscious of the fact that you don’t need to put everything down on your slides and that
it can be just as effective to address the audience directly, with the slide showing just the key
headings. It makes the speaker more engaging.”

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9.9 Tell us about a bad (or your worst) teaching experience that you have
had as a teacher (i.e. not as a delegate)

Whether you are asked about a bad or your worst teaching experience makes no difference at all. As
always, when asked about something negative, you will be expected to explain how you have dealt
with it and how you learnt from it; therefore, what matters most is that you choose an experience that
enables you to sell yourself effectively.

EXAMPLES YOU CAN MENTION

Since the emphasis is on the reflective process, you should choose an example which has potential for
this. This may include situations where:

• your teaching session was too complicated or too easy for your audience.

• your audience was made up of people who had very varied backgrounds.

• you had to deal with disruptive students in your audience.

• you failed to prepare adequately (e.g. unable to answer questions).

• one of your trainees consistently failed to understand what you were trying to teach them and you
struggled through multiple alternatives.

Note that you don’t have to mention your actual worst experience if you really messed up. No one will
know what the truth is. Simply choose any negative experience on which you reflected meaningfully.

STRUCTURING YOUR ANSWER

To answer this question, you can follow the STAR structure (see section 5.2):

Situation/Task Explain what type of teaching session it was and why it went wrong

Action Demonstrate the initiative that you used at the time to correct the
problem. How did you communicate? How did you alter your plans to
adapt to the changing circumstance?

Result/Reflect What happened at the end? What did you learn from the situation?
How has it helped you improve your teaching abilities?

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9.10 What is clinical audit?

With this question, the interviewers will be testing your understanding of the audit process and
therefore you will need to go well beyond giving out a simple definition. They will be expecting you to
raise two points:

• A clear explanation of what an audit is, i.e. a definition in your own words.
• A description of the audit cycle.

DEFINITION OF CLINICAL AUDIT

There are several definitions of clinical audit, some of which date back to 1989 and 1983. However,
the most recent is published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in
Principles for Best Practice in Clinical Audit (2002):

“Clinical audit is a quality improvement process that seeks to improve patient care and
outcomes through systematic review of care against explicit criteria and the review of change.
Aspects of the structure, process and outcome of care are selected and systematically
evaluated against explicit criteria. Where indicated, changes are implemented at an individual,
team, or service level and further monitoring is used to confirm improvement in healthcare
delivery.”

At an interview, beware of trying to regurgitate definitions. Most are lengthy, use words which are not
natural to you, and sometimes are deliberately vague to cover wide areas. Your task is therefore to
transform this definition into something more easily digestible. For example:

“Clinical audit is a review of current health practices against agreed standards, designed
to ensure that, as clinicians, we provide the best level of care to our patients and that we
constantly seek to improve our practice when it is not matching those standards”

or

“Audits are a systematic examination of current practice to assess how well an institution or a
practitioner is performing against set standards. Essentially it is a method for systematically
reflecting on, reviewing and improving practice.”

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THE AUDIT CYCLE

Some of the marks for this question will relate to your understanding of the audit cycle. Make sure that
you can discuss each of the following steps with-out hesitation:

Step 1: Identify an issue or problem

The aim of an audit is to ensure that your clinical practice is in line with best practice. Doctors
should continually audit their practice, ideally doing frequent rapid audits (e.g. the last five
patients with diabetic ketoacidosis) and making changes. This is much more useful than a
larger audit as it is unlikely that there will be many more learning points from reviewing 100
patients than from reviewing five, and the benefit still comes from improving the system and
re-auditing it. Primary target topics for audits may include:

• Any area of clinical practice where problems have arisen; this could have been identified
through a rising level of complaints, the occurrence or recurrence of mistakes.
• The need to check compliance with national guidelines.
• Areas of clinical practice where there are clear risks either because they deal with a high
volume of patients or because there are high costs associated with these procedures/
practices.
• Any obvious areas where improvements can be brought in (often identified through
observation or experience).

Step 2: Identify a standard

Clinical practice will be assessed against a standard which needs to be defined at the
outset. Standards should be drawn from the best available evidence and in many cases are
set by NICE, the relevant Royal Colleges, or other specialty-related associations (e.g. British
Orthopaedics Association). When standards are not readily available, a Trust may define its
own local standards. A Trust may also want to impose on itself standards which are more
stringent than those available.

Step 3: Collect data on current practice

The data should be collected in respect of a pre-agreed period of clinical practice (e.g. period
between date 1 and date 2) for a specific group of individuals (e.g. all asymptomatic patients
who presented to clinic for the first time). These criteria will have been agreed at the outset. In
collecting data, care should be taken to ensure that any patient identifiable data is removed.

Note that there are clinical audit departments in hospitals that exist to support your audits!
As such, they will help design proformas, collect notes, possibly even do any statistical analysis
required, and then help present the data. The important thing is to start early and communicate
with them.

Step 4: Assess conformity of clinical practice with the standard

Once the data has been summarised and analysed, the result is compared to the standard to
determine how well it has been met.

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More importantly, if the standard is not met, the reasons for non-compliance should be
identified so that they can be remedied. Although identifying non-compliance is relatively easy,
identifying why there is a problem may take more time. In some cases, it may be necessary to
carry out a study of the problem to understand the causes of the underperformance.

Step 5: Implementing change

This is the step that justifies the whole process i.e. improving practice so that the standard is
matched. Examples of changes may include:

• Altering protocols (especially simplifying them).

• Reorganising service, altering roles and responsibilities.
• Providing further training to key staff.
• Raising awareness of guidelines with staff (e.g. regular teaching sessions, creation of an
intranet).
• Improving documentation.
• Altering a labelling system.
• Changing equipment.

Step 6: Closing the loop: re-audit

Once all changes have been implemented, the dust should be allowed to settle. After an
agreed period of time, once the changes have had a chance to make an impact on clinical
practice, clinical practice should be audited again to measure their impact. To be effective and
meaningful, a re-audit should use the same sample, methods and data analysis. Hopefully, the
re-audit will show that the standard has been matched. If not, further changes will be required
and further re-audits should be carried out.

Carrying out the re-audit is commonly referred to as “closing the loop” or “completing the
audit cycle”. This is by far the weakest point of the process, partly because of turnover of staff
and partly because the process of audit still re-mains poorly understood.

Note: it may be that, in the meantime, the standard has changed (e.g. in view of new research).
In this case, the re-audit will constitute a new audit and it can be referred to as the “audit
spiral”.

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9.11 Tell us about an interesting audit that you did

STRUCTURING YOUR ANSWER

This question is designed to test your understanding of the audit process/cycle through the description
of one example. To demonstrate that you understand clearly the principles of audits, you should
therefore aim to address explicitly the following points:

• Why the audit was deemed necessary (i.e. what was the problem which led to the initiation
of an audit?).

• The standard used. Typically, this would be guidelines from a Royal College or some other
association; but it may be that you had to derive your own standard by doing a literature
search for example. If this is the case, be sure to mention it.

• The result of the audit (i.e. did clinical practice match the standard and if not, why not?)

• What proposals for change you made and which were implemented.

• Whether you did a re-audit or not. If you did not do the re-audit (which will be the case for
the vast majority of candidates), make sure that you demonstrate your understanding of
this crucial step by saying something such as “Since this was the end of my attachment,
I did not have time to be involved in the re-audit, but we planned it for 6 months down the
line”. If you have taken the trouble to check the results of the re-audit with the local team
then this would be to your credit, because it would demonstrate the effectiveness of the
changes that you had proposed and implemented.

Consider doing a re-audit as your audit. This will save all the planning and thinking and show
that you understand the process. Even better, start with a re-audit (doing just five sets of
notes), make changes to the system as needed and audit again with another five case
records.

• What your role was (i.e. initiated, devised a pro forma, collected the data, analysed,
discussed with senior colleagues, identified ideas for change, wrote report, presented to
local team/audit meeting).

• Presentation/Publication. If the audit was presented outside the local environment, or

even published either as such or as an abstract, make sure that you mention it.

CHOOSING AN “INTERESTING” AUDIT

The question uses the word “interesting”. However, it is possible that the audit which you personally
enjoyed the most is not the audit which will help you score the most points.

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Your main criterion for the choice of an example should be the extent of your involvement in the project
and the strength/complexity of the audit, as these are the factors that will influence the marking the
most.

If you can, focus on an audit which is relevant to the specialty to which you are applying. Not only might
some marks be allocated for the relevance of the example to the specialty, but, even if this is not the
case, the interviewers will be naturally drawn towards an example they can relate to. Of course, if you
find that you have no specialty-related audits which are of any interest but that another audit would
make a far more powerful answer then use the latter.

CONCLUDING YOUR ANSWER

The use of the word “interesting” in the question means that you ought to ex-plain why you feel that
the audit you chose to describe is “interesting”. It could be because of the topic itself, or because of
the potential for change that it offered. It may also be because it gave you an opportunity to develop
new skills such as delegation and management, and perhaps IT skills too. Whatever your reasons,
make sure that you explain them (albeit succinctly).

You may also emphasise how much this experience taught you about the audit process and how it
gave you an impetus to become involved in other audit projects. You can then name a project in which
you are currently involved (name, not describe, otherwise it will take too long).

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9.12 Tell us about your audit experience

HOW THIS QUESTION IS MARKED

The marking schemes for this question vary widely between deaneries, specialties and grades. Some
deaneries will simply assess on the number and quality of the audits that candidates have done,
whilst others will use much more complex criteria, even at the most junior levels. Since you will not
have access to the marking scheme before you answer the question, include as much information as
possible in your answer. With this question, the inter-viewers will assess you on the following criteria:

• The number of audits in which you have been involved. This will be judged in relation to the
expectation at your level. Most junior doctors are expected to complete one audit per post
or at least two a year.

• Your role in the audit process. If you have been involved simply in collecting data, you are
most likely to score fewer points than if you have initiated and/or led an audit.

• The complexity of your audits. You will need to explain what the audits were about and
what standards you were testing clinical practice against. A minor audit will impress less
than a complex audit. Not all deaneries allocate marks to complexity, but those that don’t
still account for it subconsciously because the answer will sound more impressive if the
audits are complex. Any audit that makes a change and is then re-audited will score well,
however simple.

• The usefulness of your audits, i.e. the extent to which they identified variation from the
standard and led to change. Some deaneries allocate extra marks to candidates who have
formed evidence-based guidelines as a result of their audits.

• Whether you understand the audit process/cycle.

• Whether or not you completed the loop. This is unlikely to be relevant for most trainees, as
many of you will have moved on before you could perform a re-audit. Nevertheless, some
deaneries allocate marks for this.

• Whether the audit results were presented and at what level (i.e. just local, or regional, or
even national)? Some marking schemes provide further marks for abstracts. In order to
prepare for this question, you would therefore be well advised to draw a list of your audits and
to establish for each of them whether you can gain marks in any of the above categories.

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DELIVERING YOUR ANSWER

If you have done more than two audits, you can introduce your overall experience with a sentence of
the type:

“I have carried out five audits over the past 4 years, including three which I led personally from
initiation to conclusion. Two of these audits were extremely useful in improving clinical care.”

or

“Over the past 4 years, I have conducted five audits, including three which are specifically
related to <specialty that you are applying for>. The most interesting audits were …”

You would then develop the two audits in question in line with the marking criteria set out on the
previous page and the structure set out in 9.11.

If you have done one or two audits, then you can simply take them one by one, ensuring that you limit
yourself to a total time of 2 minutes. Simply detail your experience using the points described in the
previous section.

If you have not completed an audit but you have been partially involved, be honest about it but do not
make a negative judgement on your experience such as “Unfortunately my audit experience is very
poor because I did not have the opportunity to be involved”. Not only does this tell the interviewers
how they should interpret your lack of experience (i.e. negatively), it also does not present you as a
proactive individual who seeks the experience they need. Simply concentrate on the facts, explain
whatever you have been involved with and how this has given you a better understanding of the audit
process (see 9.10 for more detail).

If you have done no audit at all then you probably won’t score anything, but you might as well try to
gain some credit by explaining your understanding of the audit process, trying to relate it to your own
experience (see 9.10), which you might have gained by attending departmental clinical governance
meetings or training sessions.

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9.13 Why are audits important?

This question is very factual and, unless you have reflected on the audit process by yourself, you will
simply need to learn a few lines to make sure that you provide a sensible answer.

Here are some of the key benefits of audit:

• As one of the key pillars of clinical governance, audit ensures that quality of care is maintained at
an agreed standard. It enables the identification of problems and, through the audit cycle, ensures
that solutions are implemented until the desired standard of care is reached.

• Audits encourage services to make better use of resources and therefore become more efficient.

• The data gathered during the audit process can be used:

- To inform patients about the standard of care that they receive (fol-lowing a range of new
reforms, including the emphasis on patient choice, providing information to patients has
become a key priority).

- To feed the appraisal and assessment process which forms a key part of the new revalidation
process.

- To demonstrate to your Trust, its managers and other authorities that you are working
efficiently and providing a quality service. This will encourage them to help you develop the
service further.

- To share information with other Trusts on local practices and their efficacy in meeting standards
and providing quality care.

• The audit process is a good exercise to train and develop juniors. In an era where the training of
doctors in management is often criticised, audits of-fer a good platform to learn about service
improvement and quality of service provision.

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9.14 What are the problems associated with the audit process?

To answer this question well, you may wish to distinguish between problems associated with audits
generally and problems associated with audits carried out by junior doctors (in fact, some deaneries
ask about the problems associated with junior doctors’ audits).

If you have done one or more audits yourself, you must have identified at least one or two of the
problems listed below. In delivering your answer, feel free to use your own audit experience to illustrate
your answer in order to give it a more personal, less didactic, slant.

PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH AUDIT GENERALLY

• Audits are most often a local process. Though they are useful at improving local practice, they
may not be so transferable to other Trusts or units. Other Trusts may not be able to replicate the
same approach and, if similar problems are identified, the resolution methods which worked well in
one Trust may not achieve the same results when applied in a different Trust.

• Audits are often based on retrospective data (usually patient notes). The data available in the notes
was not collected for the specific purpose of the audit. Therefore, there may be discrepancies in
the way it was recorded and, in some cases, the data may be missing.

• Audits identify that there is a problem or a lack of compliance with a given standard; identifying
a solution to that problem may not be so easy. Further studies may be required, which can be
lengthy.

• Although there are audit departments in most Trusts, those who actually carry out the audits
are most often the clinicians, who have many other responsibilities and therefore may not focus
entirely on the process. They are also often inexperienced in that activity. This may lead to delay
in the implementation of change.

• Unless there is a strong departmental policy of rationalisation of the audit process, topics are
not always chosen in the order of priority. As a result, important areas might be neglected, whilst
clinicians take on audits which are affordable in terms of resources and less time-consuming.

The following two points are problems associated with the consequences of the audit process (though
not specifically about the audit process itself):

• Audits may identify that non-compliance is linked with the under-performance of specific members
of the team or the criticism of certain practices. This makes audit a useful tool but may also lead
to the demotivation of parts of the team if some people feel more targeted than others.

• One of the outcomes of audit is the implementation of change in order to improve standards of
care. This change may lead to resistance from some members of the team.

These problems are particularly acute when audits are conducted across boundaries, e.g. the transfer
of patients, post cardiac surgery, from the intensive care unit back to the ward. It is easy to criticise
another team (e.g. their discharge summaries), but it is difficult to change and can in fact inflame the
situation. The way to overcome this is to jointly audit the patient pathway and keep the focus on what
is best for the patient.

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PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH AUDITS BEING CARRIED OUT BY JUNIOR DOCTORS

• Junior doctors rotate frequently and, if they are around long enough to carry out an audit, they
are most likely to leave before a re-audit can be per-formed. From their own perspective, they are
unable to see the impact of the changes that they have helped introduce. From the departmental
perspective, it may be more difficult to find someone to do the re-audit (less glamorous, and they
would not benefit from the input of the junior who originally carried out the audit).

• In some cases, the audit analysis is either not completed or the recommendations are not taken
to implementation stage, thus defeating the whole purpose of the exercise.

• Junior doctors may not command the respect that seniors would have. They may find it more
difficult to obtain data or gain support for their audit project.

• Junior doctors tend to choose audit topics which are easier and take shorter periods of time.
These topics may not be aligned with depart-mental strategy or may not be of great importance
in the overall scale of things (i.e. the audit is a box-ticking exercise to look good on the CV).

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9.15 What is the difference between audit and research?

This is a question that most candidates have heard about and the interviewers know it. There is
therefore no excuse for being unprepared. If you have been involved in audit and research activities
then you will be able to draw upon your experience to illustrate your answers.

THE FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE

The term “audit” is often confused by clinicians, who describe as “audits” projects that are actually
research projects. This is fairly common on CVs and application forms, which is why they are keen to
test your understanding at the interview. Your application form and CV will be reviewed at the portfolio
station. There is nothing more embarrassing than to describe perfectly the difference between audit
and research, only to discover that your own documents contradict your words.

Audit is a process which compares clinical practice against set standards, i.e. you are simply
trying to determine whether your practice matches the level of care expected of you. Are you
following the established guidelines or your own guidelines? Are you aligned with best practice?
How much variability is there within your care processes? Are you a learning organisation? Are
you doing what you think you are doing?

Research does not check whether you are complying with standards. Instead, its aim is to create
new knowledge that can then be used to develop new standards of care. Research determines
whether new treatments work and to what extent they do. It is also used to determine which
treatments are better than others so that appropriate recommendations can be made.

So, essentially, research helps establish best practice whilst audit checks that best practice is being
applied.

EXAMPLES

If you are trying to establish:

• Whether x, y and z are correctly recorded in patients’ notes; or

• Whether test X is being offered to a specific type of patients, or;
• That the complication rate for a specific procedure is less or equal to the percentage specified in
the XYZ Association guidelines,

then this is an audit because you are trying to establish that your current practice is in line with what
would be expected.

If, on the other hand, you are trying to establish:

• Whether procedure A gives better outcomes than procedure B; or

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• Whether sending patients advance information improves the take-up rate of a specific procedure; or
• Whether systematic hand washing decreases infection rate,

then it is research, because you are trying to discover new information, which may then be used to
implement new guidelines.

OTHER DIFFERENCES

• Research is based on a hypothesis, whereas audit measures compliance against standards.

• Research is theory-driven and a one-off process. Audit is practice-driven and a continuous process.

• Results from research can be generalised. Audit results are mostly relevant locally.

• Research is not always conducted by those involved in service provision. Audits most often are.

• Research may involve experimentation, whereas audits never involve experimentation. Audits are
mostly a data-gathering exercise.

• Research may involve trying out new treatments, whereas audits never involve new treatments or
interference with the management of the patient.

• Research involves strict selection of candidates, allocating these candidates between different
treatment groups and validating sample size. In audit, the sample of patients used is not put
together scientifically, sample size is not validated and patients are never placed into different
treatment groups.

• Research requires ethical approval. Audits rarely do (ethical issues in audit mainly revolve around
confidentiality or collection of that data).

Many audits morph into pseudo-research where lots of data is collected and a new proforma is
designed. However, in such cases there is no gold standard, no change to the service and often no
uptake or spread within the department (particularly after the enthusiast has left).

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9.16 Tell us about your research experience

This question can be asked in all specialties and at all grades, even at grades where many candidates
are unlikely to have had any substantial involvement in research. There are easy ways to score points,
even if your experience is limited.

THE BOXES YOU NEED TO TICK

Though the question asks for your experience and nothing more specific, most marking schedules will
in fact include much more than that. In order to provide an answer which is as complete as possible,
you will need to address the following points:

• The number, type and quality of research projects undertaken.

• The outcomes of projects, including publications and presentations.

• Your role, including any experience of recruiting patients, seeking ethical approval or grant
applications.

• Research-related skills that you gained from your experience, e.g. literature review, critical
appraisal, statistics and general understanding of re-search principles.

• General skills gained from your experience, e.g. writing skills, negotiation, communication,
teamwork, planning, time management, etc.

• Any relevant courses attended such as research methodology, critical appraisal or statistics
courses.

• Your future plans with regard to research.

ANSWERING THE QUESTION

• If you have substantial research experience, you will not have the time to describe all of
it. You should aim to summarise the extent of your experience first “I have been involved
in four research projects including one randomised controlled trial, two studies and one
national trial over the past four years as part of the PhD that I am currently completing”.
You could then summarise one or two of your projects (those you are most proud of) before
discussing the extent of your publications and presentations. End the answer by mentioning
the courses that you attended and discussing your future research aims and interests.

• If you have been involved in a small number of research projects, describe each project
briefly, setting out your role, the courses you at-tended, the publications and presentations
which originated from your experience and the skills that you gained, as well as your future
research aims and interests.

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• If you have no research experience at all, think carefully first about any project in which you
have been involved and which is not an audit. Can this project be considered research, even
if it was informal? If yes, then you can present whatever you did in line with the principles
explained so far. If not, then don’t panic. Many people will be in your situation, and you can
still score marks by mentioning some of the following:

- Literature reviews undertaken (which gave you an insight into research principles).

- Case reports published. Strictly-speaking, case reports do not constitute research

because they are simply reporting how a specific patient presented or was managed.
However, by sharing your experience with others, you are helping them change or improve
their practice. Other benefits include the literature search you will have completed, the
rig-our of having to write concisely and the overall experience of how to construct a
paper and bibliography. Case reports are part of the pool of evidence used in evidence-
based medicine and therefore they are relevant to the “spirit” of the question. Some
marking schemes make specific allowance for case reports, so make sure you mention
yours.

- Attendance at journal clubs (which will have given you critical appraisal skills and an
understanding of the research process).

- Attendance at conferences (where you have gained an appreciation of research

methodologies).

- Research-related courses.

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9.17 Why is research important?

FUNDAMENTAL IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH – THE OVERALL PERSPECTIVE

Essentially, the aim of research is to drive medical advancement by developing a pool of knowledge
which can then be translated into better patient care. Re-search therefore can benefit patients directly
through improved treatments and procedures. Translation of the key messages from the literature to
routine medical practice is, however, very slow.

IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH TO A TRUST

• The Trust’s reputation may be enhanced. Not only might this attract more patients (and therefore
more income), but also higher quality staff and more trainees.
• A Trust involved in research through clinical trials can provide some of its patients with early access
to the latest technologies for diagnosing and treating disease.

IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH TO A JUNIOR DOCTOR

• It enables them to understand the evidence on which decisions are based. In particular the
treatments and procedures they are using in their every-day practice would have greater meaning
to them.
• Nurturing a practice founded on evidence-based medicine (EBM - see 9.20) involves an ability
to critically appraise current medical evidence. Having an insight into what constitutes good and
bad research as well as the structure of levels of medical evidence and statistical concepts is an
excellent basis to develop EBM for the future. This can be gained by undertaking research or even,
more simply, by attending journal clubs.
• Since medical practice is constantly evolving, it is essential to keep up to date with current
published research. This is one component of continuous professional development (CPD)
• A good grounding and insight into the ethics and procedures of medical research is important.
Many trainees will have future roles in experimental therapies or managing patients who may be
involved in clinical trials.
• Advances in medicine are inextricably linked to research. Giving trainee doctors inspiration at an
early stage may encourage further advancements in the future.
• It provides a good insight into a specialty and often leads to career progression within that field,
even if that had not been the previous intention.
• It enables them to gain a number of skills such as organisational skills (working to deadlines,
organising data, planning a project, notation, integrity, etc.) and writing and presentation skills.

DELIVERING THE ANSWER

If you have been involved in research, make sure that you illustrate the above points with some of
your experience. If you have limited experience of re-search, then you can simply hold an intelligent
discussion using some of the above points.

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9.18 Do you think that all trainees should do research?

INTERPRETING THE QUESTION

This question is often misunderstood. Many candidates say, “Yes everyone should do research
because research is important”. There is no doubt that re-search is important but it does not mean
that everyone has to be involved in it. In popular specialties, research is often done to develop a
competitive ad-vantage over peers. This is again a poor reason for doing it.

With this question, the interviewers are testing:

• Your understanding of the pros and cons of undertaking research at a junior level.

• Your appreciation of the importance of research to a junior doctor (which we have addressed in
9.17).

KEY POINTS:

• If “research” means time being taken out to undertake a PhD, MD, MPhil, or other degree, then it
is probably not necessary for all trainees to be-come involved. That is because:

- A lot of research achieves little and/or does not get published.

- Many research projects do not get completed through lack of time or lack of funding.

- The limited funding and resources are best saved for those with real enthusiasm or ability.

- Some trainees may not particularly like research. Making such a big commitment might
demotivate them and be counterproductive.

- Taking time out to do research means moving away from clinical duties and therefore creating
greater difficulties in continuing clinical training. If the research period is too great, there is a
danger of deskilling.

- Formal research is probably best left to those who enjoy it and feel that they can fruitfully
contribute. In fact, special academic posts have been created for those who want to develop
a research interest. The training system therefore recognises that not everyone needs to have
a formal research interest.

• Even if they are not formally involved in research, trainees need to under-stand the principles of
research in order to be safe and effective clinicians. In the context of evidence-based practice,
trainees will need to understand how research is conducted, and what makes bad and good
research. They will need to be able to critically analyse papers in order to determine their validity
and how the findings can be interpreted to help clinical decision makings (for more details, see
9.17 – paragraph on the importance of re-search to junior doctors). Although first-hand research
experience would be useful to gain such understanding, it can also be gained through other means,
such as:

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 - Attending journal clubs.

- Attending conferences and relevant courses (statistics, critical appraisal, research

methodologies).

- Getting involved in smaller, ad hoc, or informal research projects (e.g. one afternoon per week),
which will not distract from clinical training.

- Doing literature searches, for example to set a standard for an audit or as part of evidence-
based practice.

ANSWERING THE QUESTION

Debate the issue rather than rush into giving a strong opinion. There is no harm at all in having a
strong opinion, but you need to ensure that it is put into perspective. You should demonstrate your
understanding of research, its importance to clinicians and the issues raised by introducing research
in the training curriculum.

If you have any meaningful experience of research, then make sure that you talk about it in your answer.
Rather than discussing the usefulness of research to a trainee from a general perspective, you will gain
marks for relating your arguments to your own experience (i.e. discussing how you benefited from your
own research experience).

Similarly, if you have little research experience, but feel that you have gained appropriate competencies
through other means, then you should state this, confidently.

Your experience is more valuable than any general statement.

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9.19 What do you understand by the term ‘Research Governance’?

This question has been asked mostly at ST3 level, though a few unfortunate candidates were
quizzed on it at ST1 level (e.g. Ophthalmology). Although you will not be expected to have an in-depth
understanding of this concept, being able to put together an intelligent answer would set you apart.

Whenever you hear the word “governance”, it refers to a set of rules that govern the way a particular
activity should be undertaken. For example, clinical governance sets out the principles that doctors
should follow to provide the best clinical care for their patients and continuous quality improvement.

“Research governance” is a framework setting out principles of good practice in the management
and conduct of health and social care research in the UK. The full extent of these principles and
regulations is set out in a document published in 2017 by the Health Research Authority (HRA).¹ The
guidance revolves around the following 19 principles, which serve as a benchmark for good practice
that the management and conduct of all health and social care research in the UK are expected to
meet:

PRINCIPLES THAT APPLY TO ALL HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE RESEARCH IN THE UK

1. Safety: The safety and wellbeing of the individual prevail over the interests of science and
society.

2. Competence: All the people involved in managing and conducting a re-search project
are qualified by education, training and experience, or otherwise competent under the
supervision of a suitably qualified person, to perform their tasks.

3. Scientific and Ethical Conduct: Research projects are scientifically sound and guided by
ethical principles in all their aspects.

4. Patient, Service User and Public Involvement: Patients, service users and the public
are involved in the design, management, conduct and dissemination of research, unless
otherwise justified.

5. Integrity, Quality and Transparency: Research is designed, reviewed, managed and

undertaken in a way that ensures integrity, quality & transparency.

6. Protocol: The design and procedure of the research are clearly described and justified in a
research proposal or protocol, where applicable conforming to a standard template and/
or specified contents.

¹ [Link]
framework-health-social-care-research/

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7. Legality: The researchers and sponsor familiarise themselves with relevant legislation
and guidance in respect of managing and conducting the research.

8. Benefits and Risks: Before the research project is started, any anticipated benefit for the
individual participant and other present and future recipients of the health or social care
in question is weighed against the foreseeable risks and inconveniences once they have
been mitigated (A formal, structured risk assessment is only expected where identified
as essential. The risk: benefit ratio will normally be sufficiently described and considered
as part of review processes such as research ethics commit-tee review.)

9. Approval: A research project is started only if a research ethics commit-tee and any
other relevant approval body (i.e. the HRA, the Administration of Radioactive Substances
Advisory Committee (ARSAC), the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority
(HFEA) or the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)) have
favourably re-viewed the research proposal or protocol and related information, where
their review is expected or required.

10. Information about the Research: In order to avoid waste, information about research
projects (other than those for educational purposes) is made publicly available before
they start (unless a deferral is agreed by or on behalf of the research ethics committee).

11. Accessible Findings: Other than research for educational purposes and early phase trials,
the findings, whether positive or negative, are made accessible, with adequate consent
and privacy safeguards, in a timely manner after they have finished, in compliance with
any applicable regulatory standards, i.e. legal requirements or expectations of regulators.
In addition, where appropriate, information about the findings of the research is available,
in a suitable format and timely manner, to those who took part in it, unless otherwise
justified.

12. Choice: Research participants (either directly, or indirectly through the involvement of data
or tissue that could identify them) are afforded respect and autonomy, taking account
of their capacity to understand. Where there is a difference between the research and
the standard practice that they might otherwise experience, research participants are
given information to understand the distinction and make a choice, unless a research
ethics committee agrees otherwise. Where participants’ explicit consent is sought, it
is voluntary and informed. Where consent is refused or with-drawn, this is done without
reprisal.

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13. Insurance and Indemnity: Adequate provision is made for insurance or indemnity to
cover liabilities which may arise in relation to the design, management and conduct of
the research project. Special provision is not expected unless existing arrangements
(e.g. professional insurance, membership of NHS Litigation Authority schemes) provide
inadequate cover.

14. Respect for Privacy: All information collected for or as part of the re-search project is
recorded, handled, and stored appropriately and in such a way and for such time that it
can be accurately reported, interpreted and verified, while the confidentiality of individual
research participants remains appropriately protected. Data and tissue collections are
managed in a transparent way that demonstrates commitment to their appropriate use
for research and appropriate protection of privacy.

15. Compliance: Sanctions for non-compliance with these principles may include appropriate
and proportionate administrative, contractual, or legal measures by funders, employers,
relevant professional and statutory regulators, and other bodies.

PRINCIPLES THAT APPLY TO INTERVENTIONAL HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE RESEARCH

16. Justified Intervention: The intended deviation from normal treatment, care or other
services is adequately supported by the available information (including evidence from
previous research).

17. Ongoing Provision of Treatment: The research proposal or protocol and the participant
information sheet explain the special arrangements, if any, after the research intervention
period has ended (e.g. continuing or changing the treatment, care or other services that
were introduced for the purposes of the research).

18. Integrity of the Care Record: All information about treatment, care or other services
provided as part of the research project and their outcomes is recorded, handled, and
stored appropriately and in such a way and for such time that it can be understood, where
relevant, by others involved in the participant’s care and accurately reported, interpreted
and verified, while the confidentiality of records of the participants remains protected.

19. Duty of Care: The duty of care owed by health and social care providers continues to
apply when their patients and service users take part in re-search. A relevant health or
social care professional retains responsibility for the treatment, care or other services
given to patients and service users as research participants and for decisions about their
treatment, care or other services. If an unmanageable conflict arises between research
and patient interests, the duty to the participant as a patient prevails.

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9.20 What is ‘Evidence-Based Medicine’?

DEFINITION OF EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE

In 1996, evidence-based medicine (EBM) was defined as “the conscientious, explicit, and judicious
use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. The practice
of evidence-based medicine means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available
external clinical evidence from systematic research.” ²

In 2000, the definition was revised as follows: “integration of best research evidence with clinical
expertise and patient values.” ³

THE STEPS INVOLVED IN EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE

• A question arises regarding the care of a particular patient.

• The physician constructs a well-defined clinical question from the case in order to resolve the
problem.

• For treatments, the PICO formula can be used to make Medline searches more specific
(Population, Intervention, Comparison and Outcome).

• The physician conducts a search of the existing literature by using the most appropriate resources.

• The evidence is then appraised for its validity and applicability. The physician then determines the
best available evidence.

• The physician integrates the evidence with their clinical practice and the patient’s preferences to
find a practical solution to the original problem.

• The result is then evaluated with the patient.

² (David Sackett et al., Evidence Based Medicine: What It Is and What It Isn’t, BMJ 312, no.7023
(1996))

³ David Sackett et al., Evidence-Based Medicine: How to Practice and Teach EBM (New York:
Churchill Livingstone, 2000), 1

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ANSWERING THE QUESTION

Step 1: Define briefly what evidence-based medicine is

You should be wary of using ready-made definitions (the same applies to the classic definition
of clinical governance) as they simply demonstrate your ability to regurgitate ready-made
answers and do not highlight any personal under-standing of the underlying issues.

The above definitions also use words that are unfamiliar to many people and which are
best avoided (for example, people may not know that “judicious” means “based on sound
judgement”).

Try to build your own practical definition, showing that you have a good under-standing of what
EBM entails. EBM is essentially a combination of the best available research evidence with
your own clinical expertise and judgement. This is then applied to a specific case, taking into
account patient values.

Step 2: Explain the different steps involved

Step 3: If you have one, give a brief example of a situation where you used evidence-based
medicine

This might include:

• Having had to deal with a patient for whom normal guidelines did not fit.

• A situation where the existing guidelines were out of date and where you needed to derive
your own approach using more recent evidence.

• A situation where national guidelines were not suitable for the local pattern of disease.

• Situations where there are new, controversial treatments which are not yet in routine
practice. You would then evaluate the evidence with your col-leagues to devise a local
strategy.

• Situations where a patient may have read about a drug in the press and may have a
particular interpretation. You would need to review the evidence before presenting your
personal or departmental perspective.

• Situations where you have to guide the patient to make an informed decision. This would
involve presenting the relevant evidence and the efficacy, benefits and risks of the different
options according to the literature.

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9.21 What are the different levels of evidence available?

There are three different ways to describe the levels of evidence. The easiest classification system is:

LEVEL DESCRIPTION

Ia Systematic review or meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Ib At least one randomised controlled trial

IIa At least one well-designed controlled study without randomisation

IIb At least one well-designed quasi-experimental study, such as a cohort study

III Well-designed non-experimental descriptive studies, such as comparative studies,

correlation studies, case–control studies and case series

IV Expert committee reports, opinions and/or clinical experience of respected authorities

In my experience, many candidates have learnt the above table and know it well (particularly in surgery).
I would therefore encourage you to try to remember it if you can. If you struggle to remember this,
particularly at interview, don’t panic. It is important you remain confident and explain what you can.

A simple answer such as: “I cannot remember the exact detail of each level; however, I do know that
the different levels of evidence range from the strong-est level which is a systematic review all the way
to the weakest which is rep-resented by the opinion of experts”, may not sound much but it is better
than waffling desperately through a confused list.

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9.22 In evidence-based medicine, why does a clinician need to take account
of his/her own clinical expertise?

This is a question which is often asked as a follow-up to test the candidates’ understanding of the
fundamentals of evidence-based practice.

David Sackett (the author of the definition of clinical governance) states:

“External evidence can inform, but never replace, individual clinical expertise. [This] expertise
will assist the practitioner in deciding whether the external evidence applies to the individual
client at all, and, if so, how it should be integrated into the clinical decision”4

There are several reasons why evidence alone is insufficient, and why clinical experience matters. Here
are a few:

• The study or trial that constitutes the best available evidence may not be directly relevant to the
patient and may need to be adapted. For example, the patient may be in a different age range or
ethnicity to those used in the study.

• There may be evidence that the administration of a given treatment has a positive impact on
some patients. Judgement is needed to determine whether, for this particular patient, the benefits
outweigh the risks.

• The patient may have co-morbidities which may influence the decision.

4
David Sackett et al., Evidence-Based Medicine: How to Practice and Teach EBM (New York:
Churchill Livingstone, 2000), 1

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9.23 Is evidence-based medicine applicable to all specialties?

This question has come up several times in Psychiatry, though there is no reason why it could not be
asked in others.

IS EBM APPLICABLE TO ALL SPECIALTIES?

The answer to this question is that evidence-based medicine is applicable to all specialties but to
varying degrees. The reasons are as follows:

• Different levels of research activities

Some specialties are very strong on research (either because there is more of a research
culture or because research can be more easily carried out due to the sheer number and the
homogeneity of the patients the specialty deals with). These specialties therefore have a
greater body of evidence than others. In areas where research is lacking, the clinician needs
to rely principally on their own judgement to make a decision.

• Lack of high-level evidence available

In some specialties, it may be difficult to find high-level evidence. By it-self, this is not
a problem since the clinician would then look for lower levels of evidence. However, such
evidence may not be widely published.

• Individuality of patient
The impact of social and environmental factors may be so strong that each decision should
very much be taken at an individual level and no evidence (which is likely to be anecdotal)
could be reliably used to make decisions.

• Little historic information on older treatments

Some of the long-standing treatments may not be backed up by much evidence despite
the fact that they are deemed to be effective. This may make it more difficult to compare
their efficacy in relation to other treatments.

ANSWERING THE QUESTION

If you have an example or two (preferably from the specialty you are applying for) then use them to
illustrate your answer.

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9.24 Can you describe what clinical governance is?

A WELL-KNOWN DEFINITION THAT YOU SHOULD AVOID

The most widely used definition of clinical governance is as follows:

“A framework through which NHS organisations are accountable for continually improving the
quality of their services and safeguarding high standards of care by creating an environment in
which excellence in clinical care will flourish.”

Although you should of course familiarise yourself with this definition, there is no need to memorise it.
Under pressure, most candidates remember the be-ginning and the end, and mess up the middle part.
Even if you remembered it perfectly, you would only demonstrate that you have a good memory and
not that you understand the concept. Instead, you should derive your own practical and down-to-earth
definition.

HOW CAN YOU DEFINE CLINICAL GOVERNANCE?

Anything which avoids the word “flourish” and can be delivered in your own natural words will do,
providing it addresses the concepts of quality and accountability. For example:

Clinical governance is a quality assurance process, designed to ensure that standards of care
are maintained and improved, and that the NHS is account-able to the public.5

Clinical governance is an umbrella term that encompasses a range of activities in which

clinicians should become involved in order to maintain and improve the quality of the care they
provide to patients and to ensure full accountability of the system to patients.

THE 7 PILLARS OF CLINICAL GOVERNANCE

Traditionally, clinical governance has been described using 7 key pillars. Although it has been refined
over the past few years, this approach remains the easiest to remember and to describe at a trainee
interview level. It is also the approach that your interviewers are most likely to expect from you since
this is what they would have learnt too.

5
G Scally and L J Donaldson, Clinical governance and the drive for quality improvement in the new
NHS in England, BMJ (4 July 1998): 61-65

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The 7 pillars are as follows:

Clinical Effectiveness & Research

Clinical effectiveness means ensuring that everything you do is designed to provide the best
outcomes for patients, i.e. that you do “the right thing to the right person at the right time in
the right place”. In practice, it means:

• Adopting an evidence-based approach in the management of patients.

• Changing your practice: developing new protocols or guidelines based on experience and
evidence if current practice is shown to be inadequate.
• Implementing NICE guidelines, National Service Frameworks and other national standards
to ensure optimal care (when they are not superseded by more recent and more effective
treatments).
• Conducting research to develop the body of evidence available and there-fore enhancing
the level of care provided to patients in future.

Audit
See 9.10 for full details on clinical audit. The aim of the audit process is to ensure that clinical
practice is continuously monitored and that deficiencies in relation to set standards of care are
remedied.

Risk Management
Risk Management involves having robust systems in place to understand, monitor and minimise
the risks to patients and staff, and to learn from mistakes and near misses. When things go
wrong in the delivery of care, doctors and other clinical staff should feel safe admitting it, be
able to learn and share what they have learnt. This includes:

• Complying with protocols e.g. hand washing, discarding sharps, identifying patients
correctly, etc.
• Learning from mistakes and near misses (informally for small issues, formally for the bigger
events – see next point).
• Reporting any significant adverse events via critical incident forms, looking closely at
complaints, etc.
• Assessing the risks identified by likelihood of recurrence and the severity of impact if an
incident did occur. Implementing processes to reduce the risk and its impact (the level of
implementation will often depend on the budget available and the seriousness of the risk).
• Promoting a blame-free culture to encourage everyone to report problems and mistakes.

Education & Training

50% of medical knowledge changes every 5 years and so education and training are essential
for clinicians to keep up to date. Further, professional development needs to be driven by self-
directed lifelong learning. In practice, for doctors this involves:

• Attending courses and conferences (commonly referred to as CPD – Continuous

Professional Development).

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• Taking relevant exams.
• Regular workplace-based assessment, designed to ensure that doctors have the
appropriate competencies.
• Appraisals (which are a means of identifying and discussing weaknesses, and opportunities
for personal development).

Patient and Public Involvement (PPI)

PPI ensures that the services provided are effective, that improvements are made from the
patient’s perspective, and that patients and the public are involved in the development of
services and the monitoring of treatment out-comes. This is being implemented through a
number of initiatives and organisations, including:

• Local patient feedback questionnaires.

• The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS): resolves patient concerns
• National patient surveys organised by the Healthcare Commission, which then feed into
Trusts’ rankings.
• Local Involvement Networks (LINks), which have been introduced to enable communities
to influence healthcare services at a local level (these used to be called “Patient forums”).
• The Foundation Trust Board of Governors, elected by members of the local community.
It has a say on who runs a hospital and how it should be run, including the services it can
provide.

Using Information & IT

This aspect of clinical governance ensures that:

• Patient data is accurate and up to date.

• Confidentiality of patient data is respected.
• Data is increasingly used to measure the quality of outcomes (e.g. through audits) and to
develop services tailored to local needs.

Staffing & Staff Management

This relates to the need for:

• Appropriate recruitment and management of staff.

• Ensuring that underperformance is identified and addressed.
• Encouraging staff retention by motivating and developing staff
• Providing good working conditions.

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 From the above explanations, you may have noted that some of the pillars are more directly
related to the day-to-day responsibilities of a junior doctor:

- Clinical Effectiveness
- Audit
- Risk Management
- Education & Training
Whenever you discuss clinical governance in an answer, you may prefer to discuss these in
more depth and simply mention the other three. You can re-member these 4 key pillars with
the mnemonic CARE.

MNEMONICS

If you are the type of person who likes to remember information through the use of mnemonics, here
are a couple which will enable you to remember all the components of clinical governance:

Patient & Public Involvement Staff management

Information & IT Patient & Public Involvement
Risk Management Audit & IT
Audit Risk Management
Training / Education Effectiveness (Clinical)
Effectiveness (Clinical) Information & IT
Staff management Training / Education

ANSWERING THE QUESTION

When asked to talk generically about clinical governance, a good structure for your answer would be
as follows:

• Brief definition of clinical governance in your own words.

• State and define the four CARE pillars.
• List the other three pillars (with brief explanations if you have time).
• Give brief examples where you have practised clinical governance.

Alternatively, you could bring examples within each of the four CARE pillars instead of bringing them
in at the end of the answer. Whatever you do, do not attempt to describe each of the pillars in detail.
Discussing an introduction to clinical governance and 7 pillars in two minutes would allocate only 15
seconds per section. Not only are you unlikely to remember everything in the right order, but you will
also find yourself speeding through your answer. It is better to talk knowledgeably and confidently
about 4 pillars than to waffle about all 7.

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9.25 What is your experience of clinical governance?

Be careful with questions on clinical governance because it is easy to regurgitate its definition and
the 7 pillars without really answering the question. This question does not ask for a description of
clinical governance, but for your own experience of it. The examiners will judge you on your overall
understanding of governance, and the relevance and clarity of your examples. In order to achieve this,
you must choose the pillars which are the most relevant for you, i.e. those which you are most likely to
have had experience of. These would typically be the CARE pillars (see previous question).

Here are some questions which will help you think about your experience in each area of clinical
governance:

CLINICAL EFFECTIVENESS

Have you:
• Played a role in implementing new guidelines / protocols in your department?
• Played a role in facilitating the use of guidelines in your department, for example by creating
proformas or checklists?
• Initiated a change to an established protocol because you felt that it was inappropriate?
• Collated a set of guidelines (whether in hard copy or online)?
• Needed to do a literature search or read up on guidelines to determine the best care for a patient?
• Gained any research experience?
• Published case reports or papers?

AUDIT

Have you:
• Participated in an audit?
• Had opportunities to improve clinical practice with one of your audits?
• Supervised others doing audits?
• Completed an audit, including making changes and re-auditing?

RISK MANAGEMENT

Do you:
• Double-check that you are doing the right thing (labels, dosages, etc.)?
• Seek help or advice from others appropriately?
• Encourage your juniors to contact you if they have problems or if they have made mistakes?
• Show support towards juniors (rather than blame them) when they get things wrong? When this
happens, do you consider how the system can be improved to ensure that mistakes do not happen
again?
• Know what Root Cause Analysis is? This is a thorough investigation into the background surrounding
a serious untoward event (critical incident), examining protocols, actions, personnel. One technique
is the Five Whys: Why did that happen? And why did that happen? Etc.

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Have you:
• Identified a problem with some aspects of care in your team and raised the issue with seniors (i.e.
a protocol out of date, a widespread practice that is not wholly appropriate)?
• Reported any significant issues or near misses?
• Made a mistake or had a near miss that you then reported and discussed with colleagues (and /
or formally recorded through a critical incident form)?
• Dealt with a patient’s complaint and ensured that practice changed as a result?

EDUCATION & TRAINING

Do you:
• Have a personal development plan?
• Attend courses on a regular basis?
• Identify your weak areas and find ways of improving your skills?
• Read about cases you have seen, when you get back from work?
• Observe senior colleagues to learn from their practice?
• Ensure that you teach and train junior colleagues when the opportunity arises (and take the
initiative to do so without being asked)?
• Read journals regularly?

PATIENT / PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

Have you:
• Done an audit of patient satisfaction?
• Designed a questionnaire to obtain patient feedback?
• Sought informal feedback from patients on your department’s performance or your own?
• Been involved in responding to patient concerns about your service?
• Involved patients in the design of either a service or some teaching?

USING INFORMATION & IT

Do you:
• Anonymise data when you use it for audit or other purposes?
• Correct patient records when they are found to be inaccurate?

Have you:
• Queried data to identify trends and subsequently suggested changes to practice (maybe as part
of an audit project)?
• Gained IT skills relating to data handling (e.g. databases, web)?

STAFFING & STAFF MANAGEMENT

Have you:
• Had to discuss performance issues with a colleague or had to report underperformance to senior
colleagues?
• Taken steps to improve working relationships within a team in which you worked?

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• Developed ways of improving relationships with other teams (nurses, other departments, etc.)?
• Made efforts to involve others in projects, when you felt they would benefit from such an
involvement?

DELIVERING YOUR ANSWER

Once you have identified the extent of your experience, all you need to do is list each of your
experiences using the pillars as your structure. For each experience, explain how this contributed
towards governance and helped maintain or improve standards of care.

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9.26 In your Trust, who is responsible for clinical governance?

This question is becoming more and more common, and usually comes as a probing question to a
more substantial question on governance.

There are two levels of responsibility that you need to discuss:

• The legal responsibility

• The practical responsibility.

LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY

Since 1999, it is the Trust Board that is responsible for the quality of care provided by the Trust. That
responsibility is exercised through the implementation of clinical governance. As head of the Trust
Board, the Chief Executive of the Trust is ultimately the person who is accountable. Every year, each
Trust must prepare an Annual Review of Clinical Governance. This summarises the quality of care and
the implementation of good clinical governance.

PRACTICAL RESPONSIBILITY

Although the Chief Executive and the Trust Board are responsible, they obviously cannot do all the
work by themselves. Their role is therefore to make sure that there are structures in place to ensure
that clinical governance is fully embedded at all levels. The responsibility for clinical governance is
delegated to the Medical Director, the Nursing Director, Clinical Directors, consultants and ultimately
all staff. In fact, in an environment where infections such as MRSA and [Link] are causing so many
problems, the cleaners play a role which is as important as anyone else’s. Ultimately, everyone in the
hospital is responsible for ensuring that standards of care are constantly maintained and improved.

ANSWERING THE QUESTION

When you answer the question, discuss the two levels of responsibility. Make sure that you include your
own role in implementing clinical governance, using examples.

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9.27 What is the difference between a standard, a guideline and a protocol?

This is another common question, which interviewers sometimes narrow down to the difference
between a protocol and a guideline.

A standard is a defined level of quality that must be achieved. Standards are used to ensure
that quality of care is maintained at the best possible level. Through the process of clinical
audit, clinicians compare their own practice to the standards set by NICE, Royal Colleges
or other associations and make appropriate adjustments to their practice to ensure that
any underperformance that has been identified is remedied. Targets are also standards. For
example, “by December 2004 all patients requiring emergency admission via the Emergency
Department are admitted to a bed in the hospital, within four hours of arrival.”

A guideline is a statement which is designed to assist clinicians in making decisions. Guidelines

are recommendations for clinical practice based on evidence and the local infrastructure. They
must be interpreted in the light of the particular patient and settings, as well as the strength of
the evidence on which they are based.

A protocol is a step-by-step approach to dealing with an issue such as managing a patient, checking
that the right patient/side is being operated on, dealing with a complaint, etc. Protocols must normally
be followed exactly (unlike guidelines, which are subject to interpretation). Their purpose is to ensure
that there is a systematic approach to dealing with important issues. For example, in Paediatric
Oncology, almost all of the conditions have nationally-agreed protocols. These specify diagnostic
criteria, investigations for diagnosis and monitoring (what and when), and treatment of the disease
and any complications (again, what and when).

When you answer this question, give examples of each type based on your practice. As much as
possible, choose examples from the specialty to which you are applying (if you don’t, they will most
likely ask you to quote some, so be prepared).

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9.28 How do you critically analyse a paper?

WHAT IS CRITICAL ANALYSIS?

The purpose of evidence-based medicine is to determine how a patient should be managed based
on best available evidence, the clinician’s own clinical judgement and patient values (see 9.20). To
determine what constitutes best evidence, it is essential to understand the papers which are published,
the value they add to the pool of evidence, the flaws they present, their validity and their applicability
to your patient. The critical appraisal process (i.e. the systematic analysis of a paper) is designed to
enable clinicians to draw appropriate conclusions about the usefulness and validity of the published
evidence.

HOW DOES CRITICAL ANALYSIS FEATURE AT INTERVIEWS?

At the interview you may simply be asked how you would critically analyse a paper. You may also be
asked to critically appraise a real paper. In such cases, you will be asked to come early in the day and
will be given time to pre-pare. Typically, preparation time is 45 to 60 minutes and you will have 10 to
20 minutes to present your critical appraisal. Once you have presented your critical appraisal of the
paper, the interviewers may ask questions on the paper itself and the issues it raises. You may also be
asked questions on the different types of research and on statistics.

Everyone has their own technique to critically appraise papers, the easiest approach being to go
through each section from top to bottom, addressing relevant points as you go. Whichever process
you follow, your aim will be to ad-dress the key issues which are set out below:

GENERAL BACKGROUND

Title:
• Is the title relevant in relation to the content?

Journal:
• Is it peer-reviewed?

Impact factor of the journal:

The impact factor is a measure of how frequently articles in the journal are cited. A higher
impact factor suggests that the journal is more learned and has higher quality content. One
needs to remember, however, that it is also related to the specialty. Most specialist journals
are likely to have lower impact factors than general medical journals, and subspecialty journals
will have lower impact factors again.

Authors:
• Which institution are they from? Is it a noteworthy academic institution?
• How many authors are there, e.g. is it a multicentre study with a lot of academic influence?
• Who are the authors? Are they renowned or credible in their field? Are there any non-
academic or renowned statisticians in the list?
• Are the authors associated with drug companies?
• Has the research been sponsored by an institution with a vested interest?

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Submission:
• How much time elapsed between original submission date and publication? In some papers
the date of original submission is shown. A very long time between original submission and
acceptance would suggest a lot of re-working.

INTRODUCTION

• Do the authors clearly lay out the background to the study as being worthy of investigation?
• Is the study particularly novel in comparison to what has already been published in the
literature?
• Are the aims and hypothesis clearly set out?

METHODS

Researchers may say this is the most important part of the paper since this is the basis of the
scientific approach that was used. This will vary depending on whether it is a case-controlled
(snapshot) or cohort study (following up people over a period of time).

• What is the overall study design: case study, case-controlled, cohort study? Is this an
interventional study where a treatment or procedure is applied to one or more groups and
results are measured subsequently?

- For a review, was it systematic or a meta-analysis?

- For a drug treatment, was it a randomised controlled trial?
- For study of prognosis, was this a cohort study?
- For study of causation, was this a case-controlled study?

• Was data collected prospectively or retrospectively? If retrospectively, it has greater

chance for error if one is relying on data recorded prior to the conception of the study.

Although expert opinions exist in the literature, the main studies to be appraised would be
those involving numerous subjects, i.e. case-controlled or cohort. In addition, the best form
of evidence comes from meta-analyses where randomised controlled trials (cohort) are
compared. However, this involves complex statistics or calculations to ensure that studies of
often similar designs are presented in a comparable fashion. If you are required to comment on
these, it would be more in terms of the suitability of the individual studies to be compared as a
group and for you to interpret the final analysis, e.g. the combined odds or hazard ratios of an
intervention or risk on final outcome.

Case-controlled studies
• Was this a single-centred or multicentre study?
• Were there few or multiple study investigators?
• Were the case definitions and outcome measures accurately and appropriately defined?
• Were the clinical measures appropriately reproducible by all study measurements?
• Were cases appropriately matched to the controls? You may wish to look at subject
characteristics such as demographics and other biometric values – are they explicitly
documented in the report?

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Randomised controlled trials (RCTs)
These are likely to form the majority of articles that you would be asked to appraise. Usually
they involve two or more study groups, followed up over time and differing only in the intervention
(procedure or drug therapy they receive).

It is important that the study is well controlled and the groups differ only in the intervention. So:
• How were the subjects recruited? Was this random or consecutive?
• Are there any possibilities of bias in the recruitment process? Were measures added to
specifically remove human choice and bias?
• What were the inclusion criteria? Did they include individuals who would innately bias the
results of the intervention?
• What were the exclusion criteria? Did they exclude individuals for whom you would wish to
know the impact of this intervention?
• Are the study groups large enough? The strength of any association will be measured
statistically and this will depend on the size of the studies sampled. Often a “power”
calculation is made before the study is undertaken, which guides the researchers in
determining the optimum size of the study groups needed to reach a desired strength of
significance.
• Was each of the study groups treated in the same way, with the exception of the
intervention? This may include follow-up visits, number of measurements/investigations/
scans, centre in which they receive their care, personnel they were in contact with, etc.
• Are the groups well matched for baseline characteristics? Often a table is shown detailing
demographics and other biometric values – are there any characteristics missing from this
table that you feel relevant, e.g. smoking, BMI, etc.
• Was length of follow-up adequate? Some outcome measures are rare and a long follow-up
is required to await their manifestation.
• What were the study’s end points (outcome measures): were they appropriate for the
question being asked? For example, coronary events measured by clinical symptoms or
ECG or cardiac enzymes – was this the same for both groups? This may not be the case
in a multicentre study.
• What was the dropout rate? Was this unacceptably high thereby reducing the statistical
power of those remaining in the study groups?
• How are dropouts and missing values accounted for statistically, i.e. was this an “on-
treatment analysis” where only the results of those still on treatment at the end are
evaluated or is this an “intention to treat” analysis where every subject’s results are noted
whether they continued with the intervention or not? In this case the researchers have to
decide what they do with subjects who changed intervention (switched drugs) or dropped
out or died. This has to be clearly stated. A common example is “missed drug = failure”.
So, the number of dropouts will be relevant when studying the overall supposed effect in
that study arm.

RESULTS

• Are the results for all of the end points stated clearly (tabulated or graphically represented)?
• What statistical methods were used? Were they appropriate for the type of data collected,
i.e. for continuous or discrete data – parametric or non-parametric methods?

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• For data points in text, tables or graphs, were adequate confidence intervals calculated,
i.e. to the 95% level? How wide are these confidence intervals? Is there overlap with the
comparator groups?
• What is the p-value? This is the chance (between 0 and 1) that the observed event
occurred by chance. By convention, a p-value less than 0.05 (i.e. a 1 in 20 chance) is
deemed significant.

CONCLUSIONS

The conclusion section should only discuss the findings stated in the results section. The
authors must not present any new data in the conclusion section.

• The conclusions should be discussed in terms of association of the intervention or risk

factor with the outcome measure. This association is only confirmed if the odds ratios of
p-values are significantly strong, i.e. the usual cut-off for a p-value is less than 0.05 with the
smallest p-values giv-ing the greatest strength of association. Authors sometimes discuss
“trends” where there is an apparent association in the data, yet the p-value is close to but
not smaller than 0.05. It is acceptable for authors to state this, but one should be wary if
most of their conclusions hang on trends of relatively large p-values.
• Some reviewers negatively critique papers in which many factors are analysed for
association. These may be colloquially termed “fishing exercises”, the criticism being (i)
some of the positive findings were not the primary objectives of the study and (ii) the more
variables that are analysed from a data set, the greater the likelihood that an association
may be found purely by chance.
• Where associations are strong, the authors will suggest a possible causation between
intervention or risk factor and outcome measure. Are these causations scientifically
plausible? Are they justified by putative mechanism of action or appropriate time
relationship between cause and effect? Does this agree with findings of other research in
this field?
• Do the authors make claims which you feel are appropriate or inappropriate regarding the
evidence they have presented?
• Do they translate these findings to be applied to situations/populations which you feel are
reasonable or unreasonable?
• Are study limitations discussed? Are suggestions for future study refinement or extension
work mentioned?
• Have appropriate plans been made for future study?

AND FINALLY

• Have the authors accepted or rejected their hypothesis, i.e. has this paper proven something
to you? And crucially:
• Does any of this apply to the populations or individuals you care for?
• Will this change your management in any way?

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9.29 Systematic review, meta-analysis & randomised controlled trials (RCTs)

Whilst discussing a paper you may be asked probing questions about the different possible designs
for research studies, such as “What is a randomised controlled trial?” or “What is a meta-analysis?”.
In this section, we set out the different types of designs and their key features.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW & META-ANALYSIS (EVIDENCE LEVEL IA)

A systematic review is a review and summary of the existing high-quality re-search evidence relating to
a given topic. Systematic reviews constitute the highest level of evidence for evidence-based medicine
purposes. There is a standardised method for conducting systematic reviews. Researchers will seek
to include all relevant material, including non-English work, unpublished papers and research from
different databases. They will contact lead re-searchers and ask if they know of other publications
that should be included.

Relevant studies are often combined using meta-analysis. The best-known collection of systematic
reviews is the Cochrane Collaboration.

A meta-analysis is a way of combining the results from several related studies into some form of
standardised measure of effect size. By combining and adjusting the results from a collection of
studies, giving appropriate weighting to the various studies involved, a meta-analysis will produce
stronger evidence. On the negative side, the end result will only be as good as the material used for
the meta-analysis: good meta-analysis of flawed research studies would result in flawed results.

RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL (EVIDENCE LEVEL IB)

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are studies in which the interventions are randomly allocated
to patients in order to ensure that known and unknown con-founding factors are evenly distributed
between treatment groups. The word “controlled” refers to the fact that patients are not studied
in isolation, but by reference to a “control group”. The control group is given the old (or standard)
treatment, a placebo that looks similar to the new treatment or no treatment at all.

Different types of control groups

• No-treatment concurrent control groups – subjects are randomly allocated the test
treatment or no treatment.

• Placebo concurrent control group – subjects are randomly allocated the test treatment or
a similar-looking treatment which does not contain the active element.

• Active control group – subjects are randomly allocated the test treatment or another form
of treatment. This type of control group tends to be used to demonstrate the superiority
of one treatment over another.

• Dose response control group – subjects are randomly allocated to different doses of the
test treatment (this may include a zero dose, i.e. a placebo).

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• External control and historical control – the test group is being compared to a group of
patients who are external to the study. This may be a group of patients from an earlier
study, or a group of patients treated contemporaneously but in a different setting.

• Crossover trials – the two treatments are switched between the two groups (after a
washout period) to see which one has a better effect on any particular patient, i.e. the
patient is the control.

Open vs. blind trials

• Open trials are trials where both the researcher and the patient know which treatment the
patient has been allocated. It is difficult to remove bi-as since the patient knows whether
they are being given a placebo or not. However, there are situations where the patient
needs to know what treatment is being administered, as does the doctor (for example, in
the case of surgical procedures).

• Single-blind trials are trials where the researcher knows which treatment is being given to
which patient, but where the patient does not know. The main drawback of this approach is
that the researcher may subconsciously affect the outcome for the patient, treating and
informing patients slightly differently..

• Double-blind trials are trials where neither the researcher, nor the patient, knows which
treatment the patient has been allocated. Whenever there are viable alternatives, double-
blind trials are the preferred option because they remove any bias. When the person
administering the treatment is al-so unaware of which group the patient is in, this may be
termed “triple-blind”.

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10 | Difficult colleagues
WHAT THE INTERVIEWERS ARE TESTING

The interviewers will use these questions to test a range of skills and behaviours, including:

• Being safe: patients should be your first priority and the interviewers will want to know that you are
not placing yourself or your colleagues before patient safety.

• Your understanding of the dilemmas that the situation presents. These questions are difficult
because there isn’t always a single answer. For ex-ample, let’s say there are rumours about a
colleague taking drugs in their spare time. You could argue that it is none of your business if it
happens in their spare time; however it may develop into something more serious and start placing
patients at risk. You will need to demonstrate that you understand the different perspectives and
that you are able to decide on an appropriate course of action.

• Your approach to the problem: many candidates think that informing the clinical director will resolve
the problem. There are often times, however, when the problem can be resolved without going to
senior colleagues (e.g. if someone has only been late a couple of times). In any case, seniors will
generally prefer you to “bring solutions, rather than problems”. There are times too where it is
necessary to involve a senior colleague, and this should be handled sensitively. The interviewers will
be looking at the thought processes that you demonstrate.

• Your communication skills and empathy: some scenarios may contain a more human element,
i.e. where the behaviour exhibited by the colleague is potentially linked to a personal problem. In
other scenarios, the situation could be very delicate and seriously backfire if communication is not
handled properly. The interviewers will be keen to know that you can handle these matters sensibly
and communicate appropriately.

• Your team approach: it is unlikely that you will be able to sort out the problem by yourself. The
interviewers will therefore want to determine to what extent you involve other people from the
team, and how appropriate that involvement is.

ANSWERING THE QUESTION

Questions on problem colleagues may look different on the surface but once you have learnt to answer
a few of them you will know how to approach pretty much any scenario thrown at you. In order to make
best use of the material contained in this chapter, it is important that you familiarise yourself with the
SPIES structure (see 5.3). It will form the backbone of your answer. In order to provide an effective
answer, you will also need to follow the following principles:

Avoid providing answers that are too robotic and algorithmic

Although ready-made structures are extremely useful to ensure that you don’t forget any
salient points, it is also crucial that you use your common sense whenever you answer any
question relating to practical situations. You do not handle a drunken consultant in the same
way that you would handle a junior colleague who is often late. Keep things in perspective and
use your common sense.

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Explain the “how” and the “why”, not just the “what”
Most candidates “know” the answers to all these “difficult colleague” questions. However, not
many deliver answers which are interesting to listen to. After 15 candidates, the interviewers
will be bored of hearing the same thing time after time. In order to provide an answer which is
different and highlights your maturity, you will need to mention all the essential steps and why
you would act that way.

For example, you may feel that the situation needs to be escalated to the clinical director. Why
is that and how would you handle that process?

• Will you discuss the matter with the problem doctor first or not? If not, why not? And if yes,
what will you be achieving by doing this?

• Is the clinical director the best person to contact? What about the col-league’s educational
supervisor or another consultant? Which is better and why?

• Will you actually be formally discussing the matter with a senior colleague or will you simply
raise it informally with them? Why? What are you seeking to achieve?

• You will no doubt need to demonstrate that you can support the colleague in question as
well as your team in dealing with the problem. How will you do that and why?

My experience is that candidates take an approach that is far too theoretical when answer
questions on difficult colleagues. To ensure that your answer is natural, try to imagine what
you would do if this were a real situation. In other words, stop thinking of the question as an
“interview” question and start picturing yourself in a real-life scenario. Use your common sense.

If possible, highlight the dilemmas at the start of your answer

Once you have been given a scenario, you should be able to determine very quickly what
problems the situation poses. If possible, you should present these at the very start of the
answer so that your interviewers know how you are approaching the problem.

For example, if you have to deal with the “drunk consultant” question, you could start your
answer with a statement such as “There are two problems that this scenario poses. I will need
to make sure that patients are safe but I also need to make sure that the problem is handled
sensitively so that the consultant does not suffer any more embarrassment than they have
already caused.”

This will give an idea of the direction that you are taking and will also reassure the interviewers
that you are thinking rationally about the problem rather than just regurgitating some standard
answer.

Avoid providing specific examples in the main body of the answer

Some of you may have had experience of dealing with problems similar to the scenario that
the question is addressing. If this is the case, do not mention them before you have dealt with
the generality of the question. If you go straight into a specific example, you will spend all
your time on it and will miss out some vital parts of the answer, which may not have featured
prominently in the real-life situation that you dealt with.

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10.1 One of your consultants arrives on the ward drunk one morning.
What do you do?

WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO ACHIEVE?

Your main objectives in dealing with this situation will be to ensure that:

• Patient safety is assured.

• The consultant is safe.
• Seniors are aware so that action can be taken to prevent the problem from recurring and to ensure
that the issues which led the consultant to become drunk are being addressed.
• The consultant is supported in dealing with these issues.
• The whole situation is handled sensitively.

APPLYING THE SPIES STRUCTURE (SEE 5.3)

Seek information
There is little information you need to gather if you are actually present when the consultant
comes in. The question is telling you that the consultant is drunk so there is no information
you can gather which would make a difference to the way in which you handle the matter. The
outcome of the investigation may, however, be altered if they have been affected recently by
a divorce or bereavement, but that is beyond your remit.

Patient safety
If the consultant is drunk, then there is a danger to patients and the consultant should be
moved away from the clinical environment. In this case the clinical area is the ward, but the
question could equally refer to a theatre.

There are many ways in which you could remove the consultant from the clinical area but,
however you do it, you must make sure that you do it in the quickest and most sensitive manner
to minimise the impact on patients and the embarrassment to the consultant and to the team.

You may want to try the following approaches (in decreasing order of suitability):

• Talk to the consultant and convince them to leave and go home.

• Involve another senior member of the team (another consultant or even a senior nurse)
who may have more influence than you on the consultant. Remember that you are trying
to handle the matter sensitively, therefore you would need to involve someone that the
consultant trusts in order to minimise conflict.
• A senior member of an adjacent team. Typically, this would be another consultant.
• Security (as a very last resort – hopefully you will have found someone to help you before
you reach that stage).

Once the consultant has left the clinical area, you will need to make sure that any actions or
decisions made by that consultant are reviewed and that any patients they were seen are
followed up appropriately.

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Initiative
Is there any action that you could undertake by yourself (i.e. before you in-volve anyone else)
to resolve or help the situation at your level? In the case of a drunken consultant, it would be
inappropriate for you to attempt to resolve the entire problem by yourself; however, there are
useful steps you can take, such as:

• Making sure that the consultant is safe, i.e. that they go home safely by taxi or sleep it off
in the doctors’ mess. Make sure they don’t drive home and check that they have arrived
safely.

• Informing the person in charge that the consultant was unwell and needed to go home so
that appropriate cover can be arranged.

• Volunteering to cover some of the consultant’s duties, which might other-wise be neglected.
At a junior level, you might not be able to take on all the responsibilities that the consultant
would have handled, but you can work with the team to share the workload and ensure that
patient care is being appropriately provided.

Escalate
If the consultant turns up drunk, there is no doubt that this shows a lack of insight – despite
being drunk, they failed to realise that they could constitute a danger to patients. Their
judgement is questionable and they therefore pose a risk to patients, not only in the present,
but also in future if they have or if they develop an alcohol dependency.

As a result, you are expected to raise the matter with an appropriate senior colleague. You
should avoid contacting too many people so as not to spread rumours and undermine the
reputation of the problem consultant. You really need to contact someone who is likely to
have some influence over the situation; this would typically be the clinical director or a senior
consultant who can take the problem on board and start dealing with it.

From then on, you have effectively transferred the responsibility of dealing with the problem to
senior colleagues. However, although your input will likely no longer be required to deal with the
core of the matter, you still have a responsibility to raise the alarm if you feel that the senior
response is inadequate.

Support
The consultant’s behaviour is likely rooted in some kind of personal problem. In addition, the
incident is likely to have consequences, if not on their career, at least on their credibility. You
should therefore show as much support as you can towards them (more so if you know them
well). You should also ensure that you support your team in dealing with the consequences of
the problem; for example you may need to take on extra duties temporarily until the consultant
gets better.

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FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS

Interviewers often ask follow-up questions to test your understanding of your responsibilities and duties
as a doctor. Follow-up questions typically include:

• “Once you have reported the problem to the clinical director, what is likely to happen?” (see 10.2)
• “What would you do if the drunken consultant asks you not to mention anything to anyone, because
it was the first time that it happened and they promise it won’t happen again?” (see 10.3)

• “If, after reporting the matter to the clinical director, you find that they are not responding
appropriately, what do you do?” (see 10.4).

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10.2 Once you have reported the problem to the clinical director, what is
likely to happen?

This is a question which can be asked in many ways, either generally (i.e. according to the wording
above) or more specifically (such as “Which external bodies is the clinical director likely to involve in
order to resolve the situation?”).

Seek information
The clinical director will want to gather information about the incident from you, from other
colleagues who may have been present at the time and also from the consultant who was drunk.
They will also want to learn, from others, whether similar incidents have occurred in the past.

Patient safety
The clinical director will need to make a decision as to the extent to which patient safety is
endangered by the consultant and will need to take appropriate steps. This may include
removing the consultant from certain duties or suspending them during the investigation. This is
a decision that will need to be taken at Trust level following discussion with the medical director.

Initiative
The clinical director will need to ensure that patient care is covered adequately whilst the
problem is being resolved. They will need to discuss with other col-leagues how the team should
be reorganised to deal with the consultant’s en-forced absence.

The clinical director will also seek to understand the reasons behind the consultant’s behaviour.
In particular, they should establish whether the behaviour is linked to some form of personal
problem, stress at work or any other problem for which the consultant can be supported.

Escalate
In view of the seriousness of the incident, its potential impact on patient safety and on the
reputation of the Trust, the clinical director will most likely engage in a discussion with the
medical director (i.e. their direct superior, who represents the clinical side on the Trust’s Board).
They will together, perhaps in consultation with the chief executive, decide how they should
proceed. They may decide that the incident can be closed with a simple (but final) warning, or
they may move for suspension and reporting to the GMC.

Support
The level of support provided by seniors to the consultant will depend on the nature of the
problem:

• If the drinking has nothing to do with an ongoing alcohol misuse problem, senior colleagues
may be less understanding than if there is a real person-al problem.

• If the drinking has a personal cause (e.g. personal problems, stress at work) the clinical
director may wish to offer support to the colleague to help them cope. This may include
simply giving them additional time off or even restructuring the way they work.

• If the drinking is a habit, then the clinical director should encourage the colleague to seek
help from appropriate support groups. In some cases, this may even be a condition of the
consultant’s return to work.

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10.3 What would you do if the drunken consultant asks you not to mention
anything to anyone because it was the first time that it happened
and they promise that it won’t happen again?

YOUR DUTY

The fact that the consultant has turned up drunk raises concern about patient safety. Even if they
have not touched a single patient that day, the fact that they lacked insight about their own fitness
to practise is worrying by itself. They should have recognised that they were unfit to go to work that
day, called in sick and stayed at home. You therefore have no choice. You must report the matter to a
senior colleague.

COMMUNICATING WITH THE CONSULTANT

You are facing someone who is obviously trying hard to limit the damage that they have caused to
themselves and you must be empathetic towards their situation. Whilst you should be firm in asserting
that you have no choice, you should also try to be supportive and convey the message that, ultimately,
if they have some form of problem, it will be best resolved with everything in the open. The best you
can offer is your support and understanding.

THINK OF THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO

Some candidates argue that “it is harsh to report someone if it is the first time they have made a
mistake”. If you think this, consider what would happen if the consultant came in drunk again later,
but this time harmed or even killed a patient. An investigation would be launched and it would quickly
be established that it had happened before, but that you kept quiet. This would get you into serious
trouble. Therefore you cannot take the risk and you should report it to a senior colleague.

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10.4 If, after reporting the matter to the clinical director, you find that they
are not responding appropriately, what do you do?

A SIMPLE ANSWER

If the clinical director is failing to act, then they may be unfit to practise be-cause they are letting other
doctors potentially harm patients. Therefore, in accordance with the GMC’s Good Medical Practice,
you will need to report the matter to an appropriate senior colleague: in this case, the medical director.
If the medical director fails too, you will need to go to the chief executive and after that to the GMC.
This is the answer that most interviewers would be looking for and which, in most circumstances, would
give you the maximum mark for this question.

However, although this would be an absolutely correct answer to give, some candidates have received
feedback that the interviewers were looking for a “more refreshing answer”. To provide a more
comprehensive answer you can use the SPIES structure.

A MORE COMPREHENSIVE ANSWER

Seek information
Accusations must be based on objective information. For example, you may have observed
further patterns of unsafe behaviour. Make a note and enquire with other colleagues if need
be (discreetly).

Patient safety
If there are further unsafe episodes, then you must ensure that patient safety is preserved.
This may involve confronting the consultant about the recurrent problem. You may also have to
discuss the problem with other senior col-leagues.

Initiative
The fact that you believe that the clinical director is not responding appropriately does not
actually mean they have been completely ignoring the problem. They may have tried to resolve
the problem but struggled to deal with that consultant and are currently working on alternative
plans. You should not jump to conclusions. If you remain concerned about the perceived lack
of progress, it would be appropriate to return to the clinical director first and ask what has
happened. The clinical director might then explain to you how they are handling the situation. If
you feel that your concerns are not being taken seriously, then you should escalate.

Escalate
If you feel that you are being ignored or that the action taken is insufficient, then you need to
take your concerns to the medical director and, if necessary, to the chief executive.

Whatever you do, never escalate without having first exhausting discussions at each level.
For example, if you have a problem with the clinical director, raise it with them first before
going to the medical director. Also never raise your concerns with people like the media as you
would undermine the authority of your superiors (those who genuinely care) and you may also
undermine patient confidence in their local Trust. This would be counterproductive and you
may in fact make things worse overall.

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 If you do not know how to manage the issue, then you can seek advice from your defence
union, Practitioner Performance Advice6 (formerly NCAS), or even the GMC.

Support
Ultimately, patient care is what matters most; so you should continue to sup-port your team in
dealing with patients, despite all the problems that are taking place. You should also continue
to support the problem doctor.

6
[Link]

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10.5 One of your junior colleagues has been late for 20 minutes every day
for the past 4 days. What do you do?

This is another question about a problem colleague, and therefore we suggest using the SPIES
structure (see 5.3).

Seek information
There may be different reasons why the colleague is late. Maybe they dis-cussed this with a
senior colleague previously but simply failed to inform you of it. Maybe they are having personal
problems which they don’t wish to share with others. Maybe their train is late due to engineering
works. Maybe they are new to the hospital and are travelling long distances. Or maybe they
have an attitude problem.

With a lot of “maybes”, you really need to seek some information about the nature of the
problem. This can be done by approaching the colleague and gently asking whether there is
anything you can help with. You can add that you have noticed they have had trouble getting
to work on time.

Patient safety
A delay of 20 minutes is unlikely to cause major concern towards patient safety. In most cases,
it will have an impact on the team without necessarily impacting on safety. However, there may
be cause for concern if:

• The colleague is missing handovers and provides substandard care.

• The colleague is carrying the crash bleep and is not always available.
• The colleague rushes jobs to make up for their lateness.

If this is the case, then you should raise these concerns with a clinic or ward manager or any
senior colleague so that they can take action. You should also ensure that patient safety is not
affected. This may mean ensuring that you take on some of your colleague’s jobs or place at
handovers.

Initiative
It is possible that the lateness is due to a temporary problem such as family issues or train
delays. If the problem is likely to be very short term and you are reassured that your colleague
has tried their best to sort things out, then you may wish to show a little flexibility by covering
for them for the period of the delay and also by recommending that they should discuss his
problems with a senior colleague or a manager so that they can arrange a more flexible working
pattern temporarily. Whatever you agree with your colleague should be shared with someone
more senior. The manager may suggest a contract which makes expectations transparent for
both parties.

Escalate
If you feel that the problem is affecting patient safety, that there is a lack of insight or that it
is likely to persist, you will need to involve a consultant more formally.

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 Support
If the issue is linked to something more personal such as a family problem, stress, or motivational
issues, then your colleague will appreciate your person-al support during this difficult period.

The answer to this question requires more consideration than for the underperforming colleague. Due
to the strong likelihood that the delay is linked to personal issues, your answer should place the same
emphasis on flexibility and support as it does on raising the matter with senior colleagues.

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10.6 Whilst in the mess, you see a bag of what looks like cocaine drop from
your Registrar’s pocket. What do you do?

This question works along a similar line to the others i.e. you can answer it using the SPIES structure
(see 5.3) except that, this time, you only have a suspicion rather than actual proof.

DEALING WITH THE LACK OF CERTAINTY

When you deal with a drunken colleague, the impact on patient safety is clear and, once you have
ensured that patients are safe, you need to report your concerns. However, in the case of a bag of
cocaine falling out of your Registrar’s pocket, there are some unknowns, for example:

• Is it actually cocaine? You could of course enquire with your colleague but they are unlikely to own
up to it.
• Assuming it is cocaine, is your colleague actually taking any? They could be carrying it for someone
else. They might even be selling it on.

You don’t know whether / how this matter is impacting on patient care and your colleague’s safety/
integrity as a doctor. For this reason, you can’t take the risk of letting the matter go and, on the basis
that you are not the best person to investigate this issue, you need to report it to senior colleagues. If,
after investigation, the matter is nothing to worry about (maybe it was just sugar!) then everyone will
just move on. However, if the matter is serious then your senior colleagues will be able to manage it
accordingly because you have brought it to their attention.

“RAISING THE MATTER WITH SENIORS SEEMS HARSH”

Some may argue that reporting the matter with seniors is harsh. It may be the case (particularly if it
was not cocaine after all), but you need to weigh this against the alternatives. Sorting this out directly
with the colleague will most likely lead you nowhere (they will undoubtedly deny it) and, in any case, it
would only lead to a temporary solution (you can’t keep an eye on the col-league every single day – it’s
not your job).

Doing nothing would actually be unsafe. Not only might they be under the effect of cocaine at work, but
the drug misuse may actually be linked to stress or personal problems. These may also be affecting
your colleague’s performance. Your success in handling the matter well will rest in the sensitivity that
you demonstrate in your communication with everyone involved.

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10.7 You wrote a case report for publication and asked one of your
consultants to review it. After 2 weeks, they returned it to you with
two more names as authors: two members of their family, both of
whom are doctors. What do you do?

ISSUES RAISED BY THE QUESTION

However unlikely it may seem, there is a slim chance that the two new authors may have contributed
in some manner to the case report. So you will need to enquire about what their contribution might
have been. If it transpires they have contributed nothing at all, this raises the following concerns:

• The consultant lacks integrity by adding the names. The fact that those two people are related
to the consultant is a side issue as it would be wrong to include them even if they were not related.
The point is that these people have not contributed to the case and should not be named as
authors.

• There are two doctors out there who have a CV with potentially fake in-formation and may be
getting jobs under false pretences. The fact that it is only a case report may not seem a big deal,
but this indicates a certain frame of mind and they may be falsifying other aspects of their CV.
This does not reflect well on those individuals’ integrity as doctors.

• Having more authors undermines your own efforts and dilutes your involvement.

Patient safety is not immediately affected, i.e. there is no reason to act that very minute, but it does
raise some important questions. The best way to deal with this is as follows, using the SPIES structure
(see 5.3):

Seek information
Discuss with the consultant why the two names were added. Raise your concerns and try to
get a sensible explanation from them. It is possible that the two new authors have contributed
in some capacity to the case report, if only by reviewing its content, providing advice on the
statistics etc. You will need to establish the nature of their contribution. If they have indeed
contributed then they can legitimately be named.

Patient safety
No immediate action required. Patient safety is not immediately affected.

Initiative
If the other two ‘authors’ had no involvement, make it clear to the consultant that this is wrong.
You should stand your ground and insist that the names are taken off. If the consultant has
already given you the corrections back, then you may take the initiative to send the case report
off to the journal without the two names in question.

Escalate
If the situation is not easily resolved, or if you feel that this is part of a general pattern of
behaviour, consider raising the issue with another consultant or the clinical director. If you feel
this is going nowhere, you may consider contacting the trust’s medical director and/or the
GMC.

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 Support
Not relevant here.

FOLLOW-UP QUESTION

A common follow-up question is: “The consultant is your referee and may give you a bad reference if
you contest. How do you handle the situation?”

If you are really worried about your reference, you need to discuss the matter with someone else at a
senior level. They should arrange for another referee to take over. If there is no time to arrange another
referee, they should discuss the reference with the consultant in question beforehand to make sure
that you do not suffer from the consequences.

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10.8 Your consultant is managing a patient against the recommendations
of the established guidelines. What do you do?

This question looks like a question on a difficult consultant but combines it with your knowledge of
evidence-based practice and more specifically your understanding of the definition of a “guideline”
(see 9.27)

Seek information
Before you jump to conclusions, you need to understand why the consultant is making the
decision to go against the guideline. After all, they have several more years’ experience than
you and, on balance, their decision is more likely to be correct than not.

The process of evidence-based medicine involves more than just the guideline. In particular,
the consultant’s clinical judgement and the patient’s values have to be taken into account.
Consequently there are many reasons why the consultant may have taken such decision. For
example:

• The guideline may not be suitable for that particular patient (age range, comorbidities, etc).
• The consultant may be aware of recent evidence that would supersede the guideline (and
the guideline was not revised to allow for that evidence).
• The guideline is suitable but the patient has refused the recommended treatment.

Whatever the situation, the consultant should be in a position to educate you about their
decision. The easiest way to approach them without sounding confrontational is to explain
that you are struggling to understand the deviation from the guideline and would like to discuss
it from an educational perspective.

Hopefully, by that time, you will feel reassured that the consultant is making the right decision.

Ensure patient safety at all costs. Escalate if necessary

If, after obtaining further information from the consultant, you feel uncomfortable about the
proposed management, you must raise your concerns more explicitly: in the first instance with
the consultant who made the decision, and, if needed, with another consultant. If you cannot
get hold of another consultant, talk to the clinical director or another colleague.

Don’t forget that you could also be wrong. So, if you have doubts, you always have the
opportunity to discuss the issue with colleagues at your level or look things up. Remember also
not to contradict the consultant in front of patients. You should raise any disagreement away
from patients.

If the situation is an emergency and you don’t have time to ask for a second opinion or engage
in a discussion, you will have no choice but to let the consultant go with their decision; but you
must record your disagreement in writing in the patient notes without delay. This way, if there
is a problem, it will be clear that you took steps to resolve the initial problem.

Learn from the situation

If the consultant ended up being correct, you must take steps to learn from that situation. You
might want to read up on related matters or discuss the case at a teaching session.

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10.9 Your consultant has made a mistake as a result of an error of
judgement and is asking you to alter the patient’s notes to match
their version of events. What do you do?

There is no possible motive that could justify the consultant’s behaviour. By not reporting the matter,
you would not only help the consultant cover up for their mistake but, by not ensuring that action is
taken against the consultant, you would also expose other patients to harm.

Seek information
There is no information to gather here as the nature of the problem is obvious.

Patient safety
Ensure that whatever mistake has been committed has been resolved and that the patient is
safe (if the mistake did not result in death).

Initiative
Refuse to comply with the consultant’s request and explain that it is unethical. You should
also make a written record of the conversation that you are having with the consultant as your
testimony may be required if any further action is taken.

Escalate
This issue is too serious for you to manage on your own. The consultant’s behaviour is placing
patients at risk and poses questions about their integrity. You should report the matter to the
clinical director at the first opportunity. If the clinical direction is not available or refuses to
deal with the issue, escalate the matter to the medical director and thereafter to the chief
executive.

Support
There is no support to give here, other than maybe towards the team in dealing with a situation
where a consultant has gone (since they will most likely be suspended if your claims prove true).

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10.10 During a ward round, your consultant shouts at you in front of a
patient for getting an answer wrong. What do you do?

This is the type of question where it can be easy to get into automatic mode without thinking about
the depth of the question, with an answer such as “This is bullying and therefore I will need to report it”.

Yes, technically it is bullying and yes, it is unacceptable. However, your reaction will much depend
on who the consultant is, whether they make a habit of it, or whether it was just a normally pleasant
consultant who became irritated on that day because of stress.

In your answer, you will therefore need to ensure that the unacceptability of the event is addressed, but
also place the whole event into perspective and use your common sense.

Seek information
It is best not to allow the situation to escalate to full conflict, particularly in front of patients.
In the first instance, you should simply keep quiet and arrange to meet the consultant after
the ward round so that any discussion can be held in private. This will ensure that patients do
not become witnesses to more conflict and also that an adult discussion can take place away
from the emotions of the argument that happened in front of others. Once you are with the
consultant, you must insist on an explanation for the shouting.

Patient safety
There is no patient “safety” issue as such, but the patient’s confidence in their medical
care may have been undermined by the argument that they witnessed. You have also been
embarrassed by the incident. In such circumstances, it would be appropriate for the consultant
to talk to the patient themselves to apologise and reassure them. If the consultant does not
want to do this, then you should take the initiative to do so yourself. If you feel uncomfortable
about the whole idea or you feel that you may make things worse, you always have the option
to talk to another consultant about it, who may be able to assist in the process.

Initiative
During the discussion with the consultant, if they have identified areas of concern about your
performance, you should ask them how they think you can resolve this. However, you should also
remind them that it is never acceptable to put someone down in public, and even less so in front
of patients. If you feel that you cannot do this, perhaps because the consultant is aggressive
generally anyway, and that raising the matter directly with them would be counterproductive,
then you still have the option of asking another consultant for advice (such as your educational
supervisor, or any other consultant).

Escalate
If you feel threatened by the consultant or if this incident has become a bit of a habit, then
you have to ensure that you discuss the problem with senior col-leagues. In the first instance,
the most obvious port of call would be your educational supervisor for advice, but you really
ought to go straight to the clinical director, as they are the person who could most influence the
situation in terms of finding a lasting solution.

If this fails, refer to the section in your employee manual/booklet dealing with bullying. That
section will most likely tell you to report the matter in confidence either to the medical director
or to someone from HR (each Trust is likely to have its own policy).

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However, one thing is for sure: before you escalate the matter outside your team, you must take
all possible steps to demonstrate that you have attempted to resolve the problem amicably
within your team.

Support
This is not so relevant here. If anything, you are the one who needs to be sup-ported. However,
if the shouting was linked to stress or personal problems on the consultant’s side then you
should show some understanding (which is different to accepting the bullying!).

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10.11 Your consultant does not seem interested in providing you with
appropriate teaching. What do you do?

This question is perhaps more subtle than any other because it has nothing to do with clinical
underperformance and immediate patient safety. Although the consultant is obviously not fulfilling
their duties, the resolution of the problem will be a test of your communication skills and initiative more
than your willingness to report the consultant quickly.

Seek information
There are two main reasons why the consultant may not be providing appropriate teaching:
lack of interest of a busy schedule that makes it hard to fit everything in. Your first step will
therefore be to determine their reasons for not providing teaching. This is best addressed
directly with the consultant.

Because this is a teaching matter, you may first want to get together with other trainees to
discuss the problem so that one of you approaches the consult-ant with a mandate on behalf
of the others. It may prove counterproductive to approach the consultant as a group because
this may leave the consultant feeling that you are ganging up.

Patient safety
Patient safety is not directly affected by the lack of teaching (in fact you probably spend more
time with patients than you should) so there is no action needed on that front.

Initiative
Once you have organised a discussion with the consultant, you need to explain what you
perceive the problem to be. This could be a simple lack of teaching time, a lack of protected
time, or the fact that the teaching is there but lacks depth. During the discussion, you must
acknowledge the constraints placed upon the department in relation to teaching (for example,
lack of time due to European Working Time Directive) and avoid being over-critical. You must
show a willingness to engage with the senior team to find a solution to the problem. Never
forget that your aim is to find a solution, not to engage in confrontation for the sake of it.

In parallel to all this, you must show appropriate initiative to compensate for the lack of
teaching by organising teaching with other consultants if you can, and by getting together
with other trainees to organise study groups (if you are studying for exams, for example). It is
of course important to get the problem consultant to provide teaching, but you cannot afford
to wait until the problem is resolved to start training as you will waste your entire attachment.

So until the situation improves, make sure that you organise your own solutions too. In doing so,
you will need to involve other Registrars or consultants anyway, which may provide a wake-up
call to the team about the problem consultant.

Escalate
If, despite your best (and constructive) efforts, the situation is not evolving then you should
broaden the discussion by involving your educational supervisor and perhaps other consultants.
One idea may be to raise the matter of teaching in general at a team meeting (e.g. clinical
governance meeting), avoiding mentioning the consultant in question but trying to get all
seniors to agree on a training structure which is compatible with the level of service that needs
to be provided to patients.

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If the matter is stalling then you should also involve your clinical director, either directly or,
preferably, through your educational supervisor (they are responsible for your education and
also are a consultant, which makes them an ideal person to deal with other consultants).

Support
There is no real support that needs to be brought to the consultant here, unless the lack of
teaching is due to the fact that the consultant being over-stretched in other areas. If that were
the case, you may consider helping the team restructure its work so that the consultant’s
workload is alleviated.

In answering this question, the emphasis should be on discussion and negotiation. Make sure
that you don’t escalate until you have tried every step to make the situation improve with the
consultant first and then your educational super-visor.

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10.12 You see one of your colleagues looking at child pornography on the
mess’s computer. What do you do?

This question can be dealt with successfully using the SPIES structure.

Seek information
Child pornography is illegal and your colleague also represents a possible danger to patients.
Because of the seriousness of the situation, the issue will certainly need to be discussed with
a senior colleague. Before you go down that route, you ought to discuss with the colleague
in question what you saw. It may be a misunderstanding (i.e. perhaps it was simply a spam
email that they received and opened, or perhaps a pop-up that could not be avoided) but it
is difficult for you to investigate. Either way, you should really let someone senior look into the
issue.

Patient safety
There is an obvious paediatric patient safety issue here, though it may not be immediate if the
colleague is often working supervised or with other healthcare professionals. To ensure patient
safety, for the immediate future, you should reassure yourself that the doctor is never alone
with patients. You should also ensure that the matter is reported to a senior colleague as soon
as possible so that further measures can be taken appropriately (e.g. suspension).

Initiative
So far, you have taken as much initiative as you could. Many candidates know that, for this
question, the police need to be involved (since it is criminal) but this will really be a matter
for the Trust to handle rather than you. By calling the police yourself, you may cause more
harm than good in the short term (imagine the impact on your team and on patients if the
police turned up on the ward to arrest the doctor!). The approach needs to be thought through
properly and it best to let the Trust take the matter over from then on.

Escalate
Based on the above, your main responsibility will be to report the matter to a consultant or
the clinical director as soon as possible. If the colleague is a consultant, then you should go to
the clinical director. If the colleague is the clinical director then you should talk to the medical
director. The seniors will deal with the matter, including ensuring that the police are called.

Support
You may provide personal support to your colleague through this ordeal and you should ensure
that the matter is handled sensitively and confidentially.

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10.13 A female patient, who saw one of your male colleagues last week,
mentions in passing that the colleague in question examined their
breast. This seems odd to you as there is no mention of such an
examination in the notes and you see nothing that would justify a
breast examination. What do you do?

This question was asked at Cardiology ST3 interviews but could be asked in more or less any specialty
at any level using different types of unrecorded seemingly inappropriate behaviour.

The difficulty of the question lies in the uncertainty, i.e. whether your colleague simply forgot to
document a genuine examination or whether he actually assaulted the patient. Once you have
identified the nature of the problem, the course of action is fairly straightforward. Use the SPIES
structure:

Seek information
There are different possible reasons for this situation and you should avoid jumping to
conclusions:

• Your colleague may have had a genuine concern about the patient’s breast, perhaps based
on a comment she made or something he observed. If that is the case, the examination
may have been justified but it should have been recorded. There is nothing that indicates
that the patient found it a problem but you may want to ask the patient whether she re-
member the circumstances behind the examination. This will give you an indication as to
whether foul play was involved or not.

• Talking to the patient alone may not yield enough information, particularly if the patient
does not know the reason behind the examination. You should try to talk to the colleague in
question and also to anyone present in the room at the time. Hopefully, he would have had
a chaperone. If no chaperone was present, then this is another issue to address.

Essentially, you are trying to assess:

• Whether the breast examination was justified.
• Whether the patient consented to it.
• Why it was not recorded in the notes.
• What the patient’s feelings are about the situation. When talking to the patient, you should
be careful not to express your concerns too openly as you may worry her unnecessarily. If
anything needs to be communicated to the patient, this should be done once the situation
has been clarified.

Patient safety
The safety of this particular patient is not immediately compromised since she is relating a
past incident, though you may want to ensure that this particular patient is not seen by your
colleague until further notice. You may also want to ensure that your colleague is appropriately
chaperoned during examinations. See also the “Escalate” section.

Initiative
If the problem turns out to be a simple recording issue (i.e. the examination was genuine, the
patient has consented but for whatever reason the examination was not recorded, perhaps

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because everyone was busy that day), then you may simply want to remind the colleague
of the importance of recording as, in this particular incident, this could have had serious
consequences.

If the examination was genuine but there was a problem in the communication with the patient,
leading to the patient feeling confused after the event, then the issue is slightly more serious
as the patient has effectively been examined intimately without consent. This may not be
such a problem to resolve though, providing the patient is collaborating. The easiest thing to
do may be to en-courage your colleague to go and see a consultant with you so that you can
all discuss the matter and find a solution. That solution might simply be to organise a meeting
with the patient, your colleague and the consultant to explain the rationale behind the breast
examination and to provide an apology, ensuring that the patient is okay about the whole
incident. You should also encourage your colleague to contact his defence union in case the
patient complains formally later.

In addition, it may be constructive to use this incident to remind the team of the need for good
note keeping and the requirement to seek explicit consent, to be chaperoned and to check
that the patient understands what is happening when consent is being sought. You could raise
this in an email to the team, at a team meeting or a teaching session.

Escalate
If the problem turned out to be inappropriate behaviour by your colleague then you should
report the matter to a consultant or the clinical director as soon as possible so that they can
deal with the colleague. He would then most likely be suspended pending investigation.

Support
You should ensure that your colleague is supported throughout the situation.

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11 | Confidentiality, consent and
other ethical principles
Occasionally, you may be asked questions relating to general ethics and its application to concrete
scenarios. These questions could relate to issues as varied as difficult patients, complex consent
issues or the management of an emergency with which you are unfamiliar.

The range of possible questions has no boundaries and your knowledge of ethics can be tested in
different ways:

• By asking you factual questions about a key issue:

- “What do you understand by the words ‘Gillick competence’?”
- “In which circumstances do you think it is acceptable to breach patient confidentiality?”

• By asking you how you would handle a specific situation, for example:
- A 14-year-old girl asking for a termination of pregnancy.
- An epileptic taxi driver who refuses to stop driving.
- An unconscious Jehovah’s Witness who requires a blood transfusion.

• By engaging you in role play, with the patient being played by an inter-viewer or a trained actor.

Whatever the format, it is helpful to remember that all issues relate to four key principles. Therefore,
rather than learn the management of individual situations by heart, concentrate on understanding and
applying those key principles.

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11.1 The four ethical principles of biomedical ethics

The following four principles are those used in biomedical science to guide decisions:

• Beneficence
This word comes from the Latin “Bene” = Good and “Facere” = To do.
Essentially it means that you must act in the patient’s best interest.

• Non-maleficence (also, but rarely, called non-malfeasance)

From the Latin “Male” = Bad and “Facere” = To do. You must not harm your patients. It is
important to remember that many treatments may actually harm the patient (e.g. through
side-effects) but what you need to keep in mind is the balance between benefit and harm.

• Autonomy
From the Greek words “Auto” = Self and “Nomos” = Law, Custom.
The patient has the right to choose what they want (i.e. whether to accept or refuse
treatment).

• Justice
Patients must be treated fairly. This principle deals mainly with the distribution of scarce
resources and is particularly relevant when dealing with expensive drugs or procedures. It is
the principle that may be applied to justify not giving a patient an expensive treatment if
it means that a large number of patients then cannot benefit from other treatments as a
result. However, in medicine, it is rarely used by doctors as decisions on drug availability are
often taken at PCT/SHA level.

Whenever a dilemma occurs, it is because two or more of these principles clash. For example, a
Jehovah’s Witness refusing a blood transfusion will cause a clash between:

• Beneficence – transfusing is the best option to manage the patient

• Non-Maleficence – not transfusing may result in the patient’s death
• Autonomy – the patient can choose what they feel is best for them.

Note: If the patient is competent, Autonomy always prevails over Beneficence and Non-Maleficence,
i.e. the patient can do what they want with their body whether you think it will benefit them or harm
them.

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11.2 Confidentiality

THE PATIENT’S RIGHT TO CONFIDENTIALITY

The right to confidentiality is central to the doctor-patient relationship. It creates trust which makes
patients feel safe to share information, without fear of that information being used inappropriately.

There are a number of simple measures that you can implement to ensure that patient confidentiality
is protected (some of which may be discussed at inter-views in specific patient-based scenarios).
These include:

• Not leaving computers with patient records unattended

• Not leaving patient details showing on screen where they can be viewed by others
• Not letting patient notes lie around and not taking notes home with you unless they have been
anonymised
• Not leaving handover sheets where they can be seen by patients and families
• Ensuring you check the identity of patients, particularly if you are discussing matters over the
phone
• If the patient comes accompanied, asking the patient if they are comfortable with a third person
sitting in on the consultation
• Not using the public as translators, even if they offer (e.g. unaccompanied, non-English speaker
in the Emergency Department). There are a number of commercial interpreters available via
telephone (e.g. Language-Line)
• Carefully considering your reactions to questions asked by relatives or outside organisations
(police, social services, etc.) when directed towards you.

BREACHING PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY

Although patient confidentiality should be protected, there may be instances where it needs to be
breached, some of which may be relevant to your daily practice.

The situations where breaching confidentiality is appropriate include:

• Sharing information with other healthcare professionals or others involved in the care of
the patient
As a doctor, you constantly breach patient confidentiality by passing on in-formation to other
healthcare professionals. This may include sending a discharge summary to the patient’s
GP, or sending a referral letter to an-other doctor. It is accepted that such breaches are a
routine aspect of patient management, providing the information is restricted to essential
in-formation. The patient is deemed to have provided implied consent. How-ever, you must
make sure that the patient understands that such disclosure of information is being made
and, if the patient objects to the disclosure, you must take every possible step to comply
with their wishes.

• Using information for the purpose of clinical audit

In order for the results of clinical audits to be meaningful, they include a representative
sample of the patient cohort. It is therefore in the interest of good quality healthcare for

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 patient data to be used for clinical audit. Providing patients have been informed that their
data may be used internally for the purpose of audit and healthcare improvement, and
providing they have not objected to its use, then you may use their data for the purpose
of audit. This is a form of implied consent since you are not actually asking the patient to
agree; you are simply informing them and allowing them to disagree, which rarely happens.
If data is being given to external organisations for audit purposes, then the data must be
anonymised. The data protection act also governs the way data is stored. Patients need to
be informed which personal details are being held for audit or research purposes.

• Disclosures required by law

There are a number of statutory requirements such as reporting a notifiable disease. This
includes measles, meningitis, mumps, tetanus and many others. The full list is available
from UK Government website7. As always, you should make every effort to inform the
patient, but their refusal cannot discharge you from your legal obligations.

• Court order
You must disclose any information requested through a court order.

• Disclosures to a statutory regulatory body

When investigating the fitness to practise of a health professional, regulatory bodies may
require information about specific patient cases. Whenever possible you should discuss
the disclosure of the information with the patients concerned. If discussing consent is not
practical, or the patient refuses to give consent, then you need to discuss the situation
with the regulatory body in question (e.g. GMC). They may judge that the disclosure is
justified even without patient consent.

• Disclosure in the public interest and to protect the patient or others from risk of serious
harm or death
There may be cases where the benefit to society far outweighs the harm to the patient
caused by the release of information:

- In extreme cases of HIV patients knowingly infecting others

- An epileptic driver who continues to drive, despite advice from the DVLA
- Any case of very serious abuse where the victim is at serious risk of harm or death, even
if they are a competent adult
- Notifying the presence of a sex offender
- A patient who is a doctor placing patients at risk through a medical condition (e.g. a
surgeon with Hepatitis C).

• Treatment of children or incompetent adults

This may happen when a child comes to see you, is not competent enough to make a
decision, but is asking you to keep their visit confidential (the same would apply to any
incompetent adult). In the first instance, you will need to negotiate with the patient to
convince them to involve an appropriate person. If they refuse, then you may need to
involve a third party anyway but only if you consider that the treatment is essential and in
the patient’s best interest. The patient should be aware of your intentions at all times.

• Abuse or neglect of an incompetent person

The most common cases would be child or elderly abuse, or abuse of a patient with a
mental illness. If disclosure is in the best interest of the patient then you should do so

7
[Link]

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 promptly. If you decide not to report, you should be able to justify your decision. In fact, with
child abuse, there is a duty to share information with other agencies, such as social care
and the police. Therefore, if you suspect a child is about to make a disclosure, you should
inform them that you will keep information confidential, unless they tell you something that
you would need to share in order to protect their best interests.

INVOLVING THE PATIENT

Whenever you need to breach confidentiality, you should always discuss it with the patient beforehand,
obtain their consent and inform them of your plan. Although potentially a difficult conversation, it
would certainly be easier than having to explain the breach afterwards. Being open and honest is
generally appreciated by patients, even in challenging situations.

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11.3 Competence and capacity

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMPETENCE AND CAPACITY

Consent can only be taken from patients who are deemed to be “competent”, i.e. who understand
the information and are capable of making a rational decision by themselves. Competence is a legal
judgement.

Doctors also frequently talk about “capacity to consent” or “mental capacity”. This is a medical
judgement. Capacity is formally assessed by doctors and nurses who must be sure that a patient is
able to understand the proposed management, to comprehend the risks and benefits and to retain
that information long enough to make balanced choices.

Because “competence” and “capacity” have similar meanings (in effect, a judge would rule as
“competent” someone who has the capacity to make medical decisions), most doctors use them
interchangeably.

Both competence and capacity are situation and time specific, i.e. they are determined at a particular
point in time, in relation to a given treatment or procedure. So, for example, a patient may be competent
enough to decide whether they agree to have their blood pressure taken, but not whether they should
go ahead with a limb amputation.

DETERMINING IF SOMEONE HAS CAPACITY TO CONSENT / IS COMPETENT

Before you can obtain consent from a patient, you must ensure that they are competent, i.e. that they
have the capacity to make the decision to go ahead with the proposed treatment or procedure.

The assessment of mental capacity should be made in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act
2005 (or the Adults with Incapacity Act 2000 in Scotland, or the Mental Capacity Act (Northern
Ireland) (2016) for Northern Ireland). Essentially, patients are considered to have capacity if they:

• Understand the information provided in relation to the decision that needs to be made.
• Are able to retain the information.
• Are able to use and weigh up the information.
• Can communicate their decision, by whatever means possible.

EVERY ADULT IS PRESUMED TO HAVE CAPACITY

English law dictates that every adult should be assumed to have capacity to consent unless proven
otherwise. Essentially, this means that patients retain full control of decisions affecting their care (i.e.
their autonomy) unless some-one challenges this assumption and conclusively proves otherwise.

A SEEMINGLY IRRATIONAL DECISION DOES NOT IMPLY LACK OF CAPACITY

If a patient makes a decision that you consider irrational (such as refuses life-saving treatment), it
does not mean that they lack capacity. Similarly, you should not presume that someone is incompetent
because they have a mental illness, are too young, can’t communicate easily, have beliefs that go
against yours or make decisions with that you find illogical / irrational.

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IF YOU ARE UNSURE ABOUT YOUR ASSESSMENT

There may be situations where you are unsure as to whether a patient should be considered to have
capacity to consent or not. In such cases, you should:

• Ask the nursing staff who know the patient about their ability to make decisions.
• Involve colleagues with more specialist knowledge such as a psychiatrist or a neurologist.

Some hospitals have a clinical ethics team who can consider the particulars of the case and advise. If
you are still unsure you should seek legal advice as a court may need to make that decision.

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11.4 Seeking informed consent from a competent patient /
The Montgomery case

DEFINITION OF INFORMED CONSENT

Informed consent is the agreement, granted by a patient, to receive a given treatment, or have
a specified procedure performed on them, in full consideration of the facts and implications. The
following sections summarise the key issues that you need to be aware of for your interview.

Before the Montgomery case (which was finalised in 2015), a doctor's duty to warn patients of risks
was based on the Bolam test i.e. did that doctor act in line with a responsible body of medical opinion.
The Montgomery case changed that view.

THE MONTGOMERY CASE

Nadine Montgomery’s son was born with cerebral palsy as a result of shoulder dystocia during birth.
Mrs Montgomery was 5ft tall and diabetic, a combination that often results in a larger-than-normal
foetus. As a result she had expressed concerns about a vaginal delivery but had not enquired about
the exact risks.

Evidence shows a risk of 10% of dystocia when a woman with diabetes gives birth vaginally. Shoulder
dystocia can cause severe complications, but that the risk of cerebral palsy was low (0.1%). Mrs
Montgomery was not warned of the risk of shoulder dystocia, nor was she offered a caesarean section.
The consultant obstetrician who was treating her thought that, if Mrs Montgomery was informed
about the risk of dystocia, she would opt for a caesarean section, which they didn’t believe would be
in her best interest.

Mrs Montgomery sued for negligence. She argued that she should have been told of all the risks and
was awarded £5m in damages. The court ruled that if she had been told of the risk of dystocia, she
would have opted for a caesarean section. The ruling means that doctors must provide information
about all material risks; they must disclose any risk to which a reasonable person in the patient's
position would attach significance.

Although Montgomery changed the legal position, the principle of involving patients in their treatment
and sharing information with them about risks has been in place for some time. In its guidance Decision
making and consent (2020), the GMC advises that doctors must try to find out what matters to
patients so they can share relevant information about the benefits and harms of proposed options
and reasonable alternatives, including the option to take no action. The GMC advises that doctors
tailor the discussion about potential benefits and harms to each individual patient, being guided by
what matters to the patient and sharing information in a way they can understand.

Paragraph 23 of the guidance states that you should usually include the following information when
discussing benefits and harms:

a. Recognised risks of harm that you believe anyone in the patient’s position would want to know.
You’ll know these already from your professional knowledge and experience.

b. The effect of the patient’s individual clinical circumstances on the probability of a benefit or harm
occurring. If you know the patient’s medical history, you will know some of what you need to share
already, but the dialogue could reveal more.

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c. Risks of harm and potential benefits that the patient would consider significant for any reason.
These will be revealed during your discussion with the patient about what matters to them.

d. Any risk of serious harm, however unlikely it is to occur.

e. Expected harms, including common side effects and what to do if they occur.

With regard to materiality of risks, the following came out of the Montgomery judgement:

• The doctor is under a duty to take reasonable care to ensure that the patient is aware of any
material risks involved in any recommended treatment, and of any reasonable alternative or variant
treatments.

• The test of materiality is whether, in the circumstances of the particular case, a reasonable person
in the patient's position would be likely to attach significance to the risk, or the doctor is or should
reasonably be aware that the particular patient would be likely to attach significance to it.

• Whether a risk is material does not only depend on how frequently it occurs.

• Your advisory role involves talking to the patient to make sure they under-stand the risks and
benefits of their treatment, so that they can make an informed decision.

• Simply providing the information or getting a signature on a consent form may not be enough to
evidence proper consent, but can be helpful as part of the consent process.

BASIC MODEL TO OBTAIN INFORMED CONSENT FROM COMPETENT PATIENTS

When the patient is competent, seeking informed consent is a relatively straightforward process, as
follows:

Step 1: The patient and the doctor discuss the presenting complaint. During
the consultation, the doctor gauges the level of understanding of the
patient, takes account of their views and values, and presents a range
of possible management options.

Step 2: The doctor describes the available options, including:

• Diagnosis and prognosis, including degree of certainty and further
investigations required.
• Different management options available to the patient, including
the outcome of receiving no treatment. It is likely that the doctor
will recommend a preferred course of action, but should in no
circumstances coerce the patient.
• Details of any necessary investigations/treatments and/
or procedures, including their purpose, their nature and which
professionals will be involved.

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 • Details of the risks, benefits, side effects and likelihood of success.
The doctor should inform the patient of any serious possible risks
(e.g. death, paralysis, etc.) even if the likelihood of occurrence is
very small. The patient should also be informed about less serious
side-effects or complications if they occur frequently. In addition,
the doctor should take into account the patient’s individual
circumstances to gauge whether there are any other relevant risks
that this patient may consider important in making their decision.
• Whether the procedure or treatment is part of a research pro-
gramme or innovative treatment, as well as their right to refuse to
participate in research or teaching projects.
• Their right to a second opinion.
• Any treatment which you or your Trust cannot provide, but which may
be of greater benefit to the patient. This may include procedures
for which no one has been trained in your hospital, or treatments
not provided by your Trust on grounds of cost, but which may be
provided elsewhere.

The information should be provided using terms that the patient can
understand and the doctor should check the understanding of the
patient, answering the patient’s questions as appropriate. When
asked questions, the doctor should endeavour to respond in the most
informative manner, avoiding coercion. If necessary, the doc-tor should
use all necessary means of communication, including visual aids,
leaflets, and models.

Step 3: The patient weighs up the benefits and risks and determines whether
to accept or refuse the proposed options. If the patient refuses, then
the doctor should explore their reasons and continue the discussion as
long as the patient wants to. There may be concerns which were not
identified or addressed previously. The doctor should inform the patient
that they have the right to a second opinion and the opportunity to
change their mind later on, if they so wish.

WHO SHOULD SEEK CONSENT FROM THE PATIENT?

The responsibility to seek consent from the patient rests with the doctor who is proposing the
treatment or will be carrying out the procedure. It is possible to delegate the task to someone else,
but only if the person seeking the con-sent is suitably trained and qualified and they have appropriate
knowledge of the treatment/procedure and the associated risks. Although the task of consenting is
delegated, the responsibility still rests with the doctor who is proposing the treatment or doing the
procedure.

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VERBAL V. WRITTEN CONSENT

The importance of recording consent is to demonstrate that the process took place with due
care and diligence and that both parties had a shared vision of the proposed procedure and any
key complications. In many cases, implied or verbal consent is sufficient. For example, if a patient
undresses so that you can examine them, their compliance constitutes consent. For simple or routine
procedures, investigations or treatment, verbal consent may be sufficient. However, you must make
sure that the patient has properly understood the information provided and has taken an informed
decision. You should also en-sure that their consent is duly recorded in their notes, together with the
information on which it was based.

You should get written consent:

• For complex or more involved procedures.
• If there are serious risks involved.
• If there are potential consequences for the patient’s employment, social or personal life.
• When providing clinical care is not the primary purpose of the investigation or procedure.
• When the treatment is part of a research or innovative programme.
• For procedures where written consent is required by law (such as organ donation or fertility
treatment).

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11.5 Dealing with a patient who lacks capacity

When a patient lacks capacity, the doctor must provide care that is in the patient’s best interest. It is
preferable for the patient to be as involved as they can be in any discussion about their care.

Whatever decisions are being taken by the doctor, the patient should be treated with respect, dignity
and should not be discriminated against. In making decisions on behalf of the patient, the doctor
should take account of a wide range of issues, including:

• Whether the patient has signed an advance directive stating how they want to be treated in
situations when they can’t give informed consent

• The views of any individuals who are legally representing the patient or whom the patient has said
they wanted to involve

• The views of any individuals who are close to the patient and may be able to comment on their
beliefs, values and feelings (e.g. their relatives)

• Whether the lack of capacity is temporary (e.g. the patient may be temporarily unconscious) or
permanent.

Unless the patient has signed an advance directive, the management decisions will rest with the
doctor. Legally, relatives and others only have an advisory role. In practice, the doctor should try to
seek a consensus around the care of the patient by involving all relevant parties in the discussions.

Sometimes there are disagreements, either between the doctor and the rest of their team, or between
the medical team and those close to the patient. In situations such as these, it is important to seek
conflict resolution through negotiation. Useful resources could include consulting more experienced col-
leagues, using mediation services or independent advocates. In cases of more severe disagreements
then legal advice should be sought and a court decision may be needed.

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11.6 Competence/capacity in children

CAN CHILDREN GIVE INFORMED CONSENT?

All children aged 16 or above can be assumed to be competent, i.e. essentially they can be treated
in exactly the same way as an adult. Children under the age of 16 can give consent to a treatment,
procedure or investigation if they are deemed to be Gillick competent, in reference to a famous House
of Lords ruling on the ability of children under 16 to consent – see 11.7 for details on the Gillick case.

A child is deemed Gillick competent if they can understand, retain, use and weigh the information
given and their understanding of benefits, risks and con-sequences.

INVOLVING THE PARENTS

Even if a child is competent enough to make a decision to consent to a given procedure or treatment,
you should make every effort to encourage the child to involve their parents. Whatever their involvement,
parents cannot override consent given by a competent child.

CAN CHILDREN REFUSE TREATMENT?

In Scotland, the situation is simple. Children can refuse treatment and the child’s decision cannot be
overridden by the parents. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, no minor can refuse consent to
treatment, when consent has been given by someone with parental responsibility or by the court. This
applies even if the child is competent and specifically refuses treatment that is considered to be in
their best interest. This is a rare event and you should seek legal advice through your Trust and your
defence union. Enforcing treatment on a child against their will poses risks which need to be weighed
up against the benefits of the procedure or treatment. You will also undoubtedly need to involve other
members of the multidisciplinary team and an independent advocate for the child.

The above is the essential information that you will be required to know for most interviews. If you are
applying for Paediatrics or Obstetrics and Gynaecology, or want further detail on children’s consent,
you can consult the GMC booklet 0-18 years – guidance for all doctors online at [Link].

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11.7 Gillick competence & Fraser guidelines

In specialties where children are involved, questions are sometimes asked that require some basic
knowledge of Gillick competence and Fraser guidelines.

These two concepts both relate to the ability of children to give consent for treatment, without the
need for parental consent or knowledge. However, many candidates misunderstand or confuse the
two concepts. In reality, although linked, they are slightly different. The purpose of this section is to
ex-plain what they mean and how they differ.

GILLICK COMPETENCE – THE HOUSE OF LORDS RULING

In 1980 the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) advised doctors that children under
the age of 16 could be prescribed contraception, without parental consent.

Mrs Gillick, the mother of ten children including five daughters, sought a declaration from the House
of Lords that the DHSS guidance was unlawful and adversely affected parental rights and duties. Her
main arguments were that the decision was the same as administering treatment to a child without
consent (which should rest with the parents), and that this encouraged others to commit the offence
of having sexual relationships with a minor. Although she had won 3:0 in the Court of Appeal, she lost
2:3 in the House of Lords.

In 1985, the House of Lords panel, led by Lord Fraser, ruled that parental rights did not exist and that,
if a minor was competent, they could consent to treatment without the parents being able to veto
that decision. It was also ruled that the test of competence for minors should be the same as the
test for competence for adults. This is now referred to as “Gillick competence”. Although the Gillick
case was originally solely about contraception, the ruling was general and applies to any treatment,
investigation or procedure.

FURTHER RULING

In 1990, a further ruling stated that a “Gillick-competent” child can prevent their parents from viewing
their medical records. Consent must be sought explicitly.

FRASER GUIDELINES

Following on from the Gillick case, Lord Fraser released further guidelines specifically relating to
contraception (which can also be extended to abortion).

These guidelines state that a doctor or other health professional providing contraceptive advice or
treatment to someone under 16, without parental consent, should be satisfied that all of the following
conditions are fulfilled:

• The young person will understand the advice.

• The young person will understand the moral, social and emotional implications.

• The young person cannot be persuaded to tell their parents or allow the doctor to tell them that
they are seeking contraceptive advice.

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• The young person is having, or is likely to have, unprotected sex whether they receive the advice
or not.

• Their physical or mental health is likely to suffer unless they receive the advice or treatment.

• It is in the young person’s best interests to give contraceptive advice or treatment without parental
consent.

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11.8 Mental Capacity Act 2005 (effective 2007)

Although no in-depth knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 is required, other than perhaps
for Psychiatry interviews at ST4 level, candidates will be expected to know its key points. Indeed,
candidates in many specialties have been asked what they know of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
Some have been given scenarios where some basic knowledge of the Act was required.

Many of the Mental Capacity Act 2005’s provisions have been described in previous sections on
consent. This section summarises the key components of the Act.

PURPOSE OF THE ACT

The Act formalises best practice and common law principles, in relation to the care of patients who
lack capacity, and those who make decisions on their behalf.

ASSESSING LACK OF CAPACITY

• No one can be assumed to lack capacity simply because they have a specific medical condition.

• Lack of capacity cannot be established in relation to someone’s age, appearance or behaviour

which may lead others to make assumptions. So, for example:
- Children are not lacking capacity simply because they are young.
- Someone who is unkempt does not lack capacity simply because they are not looking after
themselves
- Someone behaving eccentrically or making decisions which appear unusual or counter-intuitive
does not necessarily lack capacity.

• Any action or decision taken on behalf of someone who lacks capacity must be taken in their
best interest. Best interest can be assessed by asking the patient to write their wishes down (e.g.
advanced directive) and by consulting those who are familiar with the patient, e.g. relatives or
carers.

• Anyone providing care to a person who lacks capacity can do so without the risk of incurring legal
liability, provided that capacity has been properly assessed and that care is being provided in line
with the patient’s best interest.

• The use or threat of force (called “restraint”) is only permitted if the person using it believes that
it will prevent harm to the patient who lacks capacity.

MAKING DECISIONS ON BEHALF OF AN INCAPABLE PATIENT & LEGAL FRAMEWORK

• A patient with capacity is allowed to appoint an attorney to make health and welfare decisions
on their behalf, should they ever lose capacity. This is called “Lasting Powers of Attorney” (LPA).

• Deputies may be appointed by the courts to make decisions in relation to welfare, healthcare and
finances, though they cannot refuse consent to life-sustaining treatment. These court-appointed
deputies will be supervised by the newly-created post of Public Guardian.

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• A new Court of Protection has been set up to provide final rulings on matters of capacity.

PROTECTING VULNERABLE PEOPLE

• If a patient lacks capacity, but has no one to speak on their behalf, then an Independent Mental
Capacity Advocate (IMCA) can be appointed to represent them. The IMCA cannot make
decisions, but represents the patient by bringing to the attention of decision-makers (e.g. doctors)
the important factors that need to be considered, such as the patient’s beliefs, feelings and values.
The IMCA can also challenge decisions on behalf of the patient.

• Advanced decisions to refuse treatment: patients may provide an advanced statement that they
refuse to receive treatment should they lose capacity in the future (e.g. DNR orders). The Act
states that the advanced decision can only be valid if a proper process has been followed. In
particular, the statement must be in writing, signed and witnessed. For an advanced statement
to be valid in cases of life-threatening events, the document must state explicitly that it is valid
“even if life is at risk”.

USING INCAPABLE PATIENTS IN RESEARCH (THIS SECTION WOULD BE RELEVANT FOR

THOSE APPLYING TO ACADEMIC POSTS)

• Any research involving patients lacking capacity should be approved by a Research Ethics
Committee. One condition is that there is no other alter-native, i.e. that the research cannot be
carried out using patients who have capacity instead.

• Approval should be sought from carers or nominated third parties before the patient can participate
in the research. In particular, they should make a judgement as to whether the patient would have
wanted to be involved.

• If the patient concerned refuses to be involved or shows any sign of resistance, then they should
not be included.

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11.9 Consent when dealing with emergencies in the clinical setting

If you are dealing with emergencies in the clinical setting, then all the rules described in previous
sections apply.

If a patient is competent at that time and needs a procedure, you should seek consent, even if only
verbal.

If the patient is not competent and you cannot determine the patient’s wishes through the relatives
or other sources, then you can treat them without their consent, on the condition that the treatment
that you administer is limited to what is immediately necessary to save their life or prevent a serious
deterioration of their condition. The guidelines also specify that the treatment you provide must be
the least restrictive of the patient’s future choices. If the patient regains capacity, you should explain
what was done. For any other treatment beyond the strict minimum, you should seek consent from
the patient.

For children, the same applies. The guidance issued by the GMC in 0-18 years: guidance for all doctors8
states that “you can provide emergency treatment without consent to save the life of, or prevent
serious deterioration in the health of, a child or young person”. Of course, this does not preclude you
from involving the parents. If the parents disagreed with your emergency treatment, then you would be
entitled to proceed with what you perceived to be in the best interest of the child.

8
[Link]/guidance/ethical_guidance/children_guidance_index.asp

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11.10 Dealing with emergencies outside the clinical setting

Occasionally questions are asked about the behaviour you should adopt if an emergency takes place
outside the clinical setting (e.g. you are on a plane or on holiday).

DO YOU HAVE TO GET INVOLVED?

To answer this question, there are two principles to consider:

GMC guideline (Good Medical Practice 2013, article 26)

This describes your medical responsibility as a doctor as: “You must offer help if emergencies
arise in clinical settings or in the community, taking account of your own safety, your competence
and the availability of other options for care.”

Essentially this means that, providing you are safe (e.g. not in the middle of a busy motorway
or under physical threat by someone) and providing you will not make things worse, then you
are obliged to help.

Situations where a doctor may not be competent to help would include some-one who has
been out of clinical practice for a long time and may actually harm the patient by intervening
directly. In that situation they should ensure that the right people are called. In an emergency in
a completely different specialty, the patient may be better off being sent to hospital straight
away, rather than being treated on site.

You need to make a judgement based on the circumstances. If you are in the middle of the
jungle, there is no way the patient will ever get to a hospital, and the only alternative is death,
their best bet might be you, even if you feel shaky in your knowledge. Essentially you must
weigh up the different options and ensure that you choose the alternative which is best for the
patient.

The law
In the UK, unlike the US, there is no specific “Good Samaritan” law. In fact, under UK law, there
is no obligation for anyone (including a doctor) to assist another human who needs resuscitation
or emergency assistance, unless that person has caused the problem in the first place.

Therefore, from a legal perspective you can choose to ignore an emergency if you wish, BUT
from a medical perspective the GMC will require you to get involved as set out in the previous
paragraph. If you refuse to get involved or choose to ignore the matter, you won’t be sued, but
you would be in breach of the GMC’s duties of a doctor and may be reported to the GMC if
this is dis-covered.

WHAT IF YOU DO GET INVOLVED AND IT GOES WRONG?

As soon as you get involved with an emergency outside the clinical setting, then you have a duty of
care towards the patient and must act in their best interest. This means that you may be legally liable
if your intervention leaves the patient in a worse position than if you had not intervened.

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If the alternative for the patient was death (e.g. if the patient is arresting), then there is no problem; any
action is better than no action providing it is in line with what would be expected in those circumstances.
However, if the patient is not in danger of death you must think carefully about your actions to ensure
that the patient does not come to more harm, than if no action had been taken.

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11.11 Duty of candour

A statutory duty of candour was introduced for NHS bodies in England (trusts, foundation trusts and
special health authorities) on 27 November 2014, and applied to all other care providers registered with
CQC from 1 April 2015. The obligations associated with the statutory duty of candour are contained
in regulation 20 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 20149.

The key principles are:

1. Care organisations have a general duty to act in an open and transparent way in relation
to care provided to patients. This means that an open and honest culture must exist
throughout an organisation.

2. The statutory duty applies to organisations, not individuals, though it is clear from
CQC guidance that it is expected that an organisation's staff cooperate with it to
ensure the obligation is met.

3. As soon as is reasonably practicable after a notifiable patient safety incident occurs,

the organisation must tell the patient (or their representative) about it in person.

4. The organisation has to give the patient a full explanation of what is known at the time,
including what further inquiries will be carried out. Organisations must also provide an
apology and keep a written record of the notification to the patient.

5. If the patient cannot be contacted or refuses to engage, a written record is to be kept

of attempts to contact or to speak to them.

6. A notifiable patient safety incident has a specific statutory meaning: any unintended
or unexpected incident that occurred in respect of a service user during the provision of
a regulated activity that, in the reasonable opinion of a health care professional, could
result in, or appears to have resulted in:

• the death of the service user, where the death relates directly to the incident rather
than to the natural course of the service user's illness or underlying condition, or
• severe harm, moderate harm, or prolonged psychological harm to the service user.

9
[Link]

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 ‘Severe harm’ means a permanent lessening of bodily, sensory, motor, physiologic or
intellectual functions, including removal of the wrong limb or organ or brain damage,
that is related directly to the incident and not related to the natural course of the
service user's illness or underlying condition.

‘Moderate harm’ means harm that requires a moderate increase in treatment (that
is, an unplanned return to surgery, an unplanned re-admission, a prolonged episode of
care, extra time in hospital or as an outpatient, cancelling of treatment, or transfer to
another treatment area (such as intensive care); and significant, but not permanent,
harm.

7. There is a statutory duty to provide reasonable support to the patient. Reasonable

support could be providing an interpreter to ensure discussions are understood, or
giving emotional support to the patient following a notifiable patient safety incident.

8. Once the patient has been told in person about the notifiable patient safety incident,
the organisation must provide the patient with a written note of the discussion, and
copies of correspondence must be kept.

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12 | Difficult scenarios
Questions relating to confidentiality, consent or other ethical issues can be asked at interviews in any
specialties.

CASCADING QUESTIONS

When ethical, consent and confidentiality issues are tested in the form of verbal interview questions
(as opposed to role play), they tend to be asked in a cascading fashion, i.e. you are asked a simple
initial question and, as soon as you provide an answer, the interviewers tell you that your approach is
not working and add extra information to make the problem more complex.

For example, if you explain that you deal with a problem by seeking help from a registrar; the interviewers
will tell you that the registrar is not available. If you then state that you would contact the consultant
on call, the interviewers will tell you that the consultant is not answering their phone; and so on. The
best way you can deal with those scenarios is by:

• Remaining calm and remembering that these questions are not designed to make you fail but to
test your understanding of the issues involved.

• Don’t simply explain what you would do. Explain also how you arrived at that conclusion, i.e. what
is driving your actions, explaining the ethical principles that you use whenever appropriate.

• Reassuring yourself that what is important is your thinking process. Make sure that you set out the
logic of your arguments.

Once you have learnt to deal with a few key scenarios, you can pretty much deal with any scenario
which is thrown at you. Therefore, instead of learning all possible scenarios by heart, make sure that
you understand the basic concepts which underpin the management of each situation. The theory set
out in Section 11 and the examples that follow should help you with this.

All scenarios set out in this section are actual scenarios asked at CT and ST interviews. For each
scenario, I have also shown appropriate probing questions.

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12.1 Medical specialties: You have a 20-year-old patient on the ward. She
has told you that she does not get on well with her father and that, if
he calls, you should not tell him any-thing about her condition. Later
that day, one of the nurses tells you that the father is on the phone,
aggressively demanding some information. What do you do?

THE ETHICS

In normal circumstances, most patients would authorise you to provide information to their relatives.
In this case, however, the patient has explicitly told you that she did not want her father to be told
anything and therefore you have to respect her wishes.

The fact that the patient is 20 years old is in fact a red herring because the same principle would apply
to a 14-year-old. In principle, every patient is entitled to confidentiality unless you have a good reason
to breach it.

THE COMMUNICATION

From an ethical point of view, the answer is almost too simple. What the inter-viewers will therefore be
more interested in is the way in which you handle the matter. There are dozens of ways in which this
can be achieved; here are some:

• Ask the nurse to reassure the father that someone will be with him shortly. If it may be some time,
the father should be told that someone will call back later.
• Use the time to discuss with the daughter whether she stands by her decision. You may want to
enquire as to the reasons behind her refusal to see if there is an easy way of breaking the deadlock.
You should not push too far (you don’t want to be involved too much in their family feuds).
• See if you can try to reach a compromise. For example, if the patient is not in any danger, she
may agree to her father being told that she is fine so that he is reassured (after all, he may not be
concerned about the detail of the problem and simply wants to know that his daughter is safe).
• Take the phone call (or call the father back) and introduce yourself.
• Provide the father with whatever information was agreed with the patient. If the patient asked you
to say nothing at all, then you will need to explain this to the father sensitively.
• Recommend that the father talks to his daughter directly.
• If the father insists or becomes more aggressive, explain that you will dis-cuss the matter with a
senior colleague and hang up after the usual civilities.
• Discuss the matter with a consultant.

Probing: Still unhappy, the father turns up on the ward that afternoon demanding an explanation. He
is abusive towards members of staff. What do you do?

Your priority will be the safety of the staff, the patient and the other patients on the ward. You and
suitable staff members should take the father away from the ward. If he causes problems, you should
call the security team.

Once the father has been isolated, you should make sure that no one is on their own with him. Take
a colleague with you and talk to him about the situation. The father should be reminded that his
behaviour is not acceptable, after which you should determine what his causes for worry are.

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Similar principles to the telephone conversation will apply from then on, i.e. you can only reveal
information which has been agreed with the patient. If the father wants to know more, then you should
encourage him to discuss the matter with his daughter.

When the father has left, you may want to discuss the matter further with the daughter to see if you
can break the deadlock.

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12.2 Surgical specialties: You are on call at night. A patient is brought to
you as an emergency. The patient requires a specific procedure that
you have never done before. You have only observed a consultant once
for this procedure. If the procedure is not carried out soon the patient
will suffer serious harm. What do you do?

This is a question which is very common in surgical interviews. At the actual interview, the procedure in
question will be named (but it will always be some-thing that you will have little experience of) and the
harm to the patient will also be specified (e.g. loss of limb).

The initial answer to the question is not actually that difficult, but most candidates fall down at the
probing stage. Keep calm and think logically.

Answer:
• Make sure that the patient is stabilised and taken to theatre as soon as possible.
• Call for help from a senior colleague on site (anyone who can perform the procedure in question).
If none is available, then call for a senior on call.

Probing: Your Registrar is dealing with another emergency and cannot come. The only other person
available is the consultant on call. However, you cannot reach them. Their phone seems to be turned
off.

Answer:
• Call another consultant, even if they are not on call.

Probing: The only other consultant available is at a party and tells you that he is too drunk to be
safe. He tells you that you should “do what you think is best”.

Answer:
• Discuss with the site manager (usually a senior nurse) who may have some useful suggestions.
• See if you can contact a team from another hospital. It is not ideal but it may be your best bet.
• At this point you should really consider seeking additional advice from your defence union’s 24-
hour helpline (providing you can find the time without harming the patient).

Probing: There is no one else to help you. Essentially you are on your own and you cannot wait much
longer before the patient is harmed.

Answer:
• Think about whether you could use the help from the “drunk” consultant. He is obviously not the
safest person to deal with the problem, but nor are you. He may be drunk but he may still be able
to help you out by giving you directions to deal with the procedure. You can only consider this alter-
native if you feel that it is safer than (i) doing the procedure by yourself and (ii) doing nothing.
• If the consultant is not able to help or if he refuses, then you will need to weigh up the two options
left to you: (i) do it yourself or (ii) do nothing; and choose the option which will cause the least harm
to the patient.

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THE “LEAST UNSAFE” PRINCIPLE

There is no way to deal with the situation in a safe manner since the inter-viewers are constantly
placing hurdles in your way to make it as unsafe as they can. In this scenario, none of the safe options
are available to you and therefore you must opt for the least unsafe solution.

In some cases, if the choice is between “having a go” and “death”, then there is nothing to lose by
having a go providing you feel that there is a chance that you might succeed. It is all about balancing
benefits against risks.

RISK MANAGEMENT

Once the situation is over, you must then deal with the other issues. In this scenario there are a few
issues that need to be addressed with the team:

• The unavailability of the consultant on call.

• The lack of help from the drunken consultant. He should have helped you find suitable alternatives
at least. The fact that the consultant is drunk should not be cause for concern with regards to
integrity since the consultant is not on call.
• You will most likely need to complete a critical incident form.

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12.3 Medical specialties: One of your patients is refusing to adhere to
your recommended treatment. As a result, their condition is
deteriorating rapidly. What do you do?

At an interview, the interviewers may specify the condition in question, the recommended treatment
and the level of deterioration. Although some of the clinical management will differ depending on the
specific information given, the main issues will remain the same. The danger with this question is to
spend too much time dealing with the clinical side and not enough dealing with the other needs of the
patient and the ethical issues at stake.

Answer:
• The patient has a right of autonomy, i.e. if they choose to refuse the treatment that you feel is
best, then they can and you should respect their decision.

• However, you would not be acting in the patient’s best interest (i.e. you would breach your duty of
beneficence) if you allowed them to make that decision without ensuring they have fully understood
its consequences and without making sure that they are aware of possible alternatives.

• Enquire with the patient about the reasons for their refusal to adhere to treatment and determine
whether there are easy ways of solving the problem.

- Physical reasons: does the patient suffer from unwanted side-effects? Does the patient
have an issue with the method of delivery (tablets, injections, etc.)? Perhaps these are
easily addressed by adopting a different treatment or providing additional help (e.g. further
medication).

- Psychological reasons: does the patient experience negative feelings or depression? If this
is the case, they may need to be referred to a counsellor. Does the patient find it difficult to
remember to take their medication?

- Social reasons: does the patient have a lifestyle which is incompatible with the treatment?
Does the medication interfere in any way with their lifestyle? A discussion with the patient or a
change of regimen may address the problem.

Throughout your discussions with the patient, make sure that you inform the patient without coercing
them(otherwise you may harm their trust in you, and you would also go against their right to autonomy).

• Educate the patient on the consequences of not taking the medication. You need to make sure
that the decision she is making is informed. Your duty of beneficence dictates that you must act
in the best interest of the patient.

• Propose appropriate action, depending on the needs identified earlier, and provide the patient
with further information (e.g. leaflets).

• If the patient feels that she needs time to consider the options, allow that time. You may also
suggest that she consults with relatives or offer to talk to them yourself if you can get the patient’s
agreement (so as not to breach confidentiality).

• Organise a review of the patient at a suitable interval to monitor progress.

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• All of this makes the assumption that the patient is competent. The fact that the patient is making
an irrational decision does not mean that she is not competent. However, if you suspect that she
may not have capacity to consent then you should seek senior advice and/or assessment by a
psychiatrist.

Probing: What would you do if the patient was lacking capacity?

Answer:
• You would need to consult your team to determine the best way forward.

• You would need to determine whether the lack of capacity is temporary or permanent. If it is
temporary, you may be able to wait until the patient gains their capacity again.

• With a patient who lacks capacity, it falls back onto the doctor to act in the best interest of the
patient. You would need to involve their relatives or carers in discussions if appropriate.

• It may be difficult to administer a treatment against the patient’s will, so you should continue to
discuss with the patient to see if you can get them to consent regardless.

Probing: Assume that the patient has full capacity. She is still refusing treatment. What next?

Answer:
• If the patient refuses consent whilst having full capacity, there is absolutely nothing you can do
other than accept their decision.

• However, you would still need to act in their best interest as much as you can, for example by
offering pain-reduction solutions or palliative options.

• You may also offer a regular follow-up to the patient.

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12.4 Surgical specialties: An adult is brought into A&E. He is unconscious,
bleeding profusely and may require a blood transfusion. The
accompanying relatives tell you that the patient is a long-standing
Jehovah’s Witness. What do you do?

This scenario is almost a viva question for a surgical exam and ranks high in terms of difficulty. I would
say that it is well above what most candidates should expect to get at their interview. Nevertheless,
it was asked at several ST3 surgical interviews and, as a result, I felt that it was important to include
it in this book to stretch the more ambitious candidates.

THE UNDERLYING PROBLEM

A Jehovah’s Witness would refuse a blood transfusion. However, we are only being told that the patient
is a Jehovah’s Witness. Unfortunately, the patient is unconscious and therefore cannot give consent
or express their wishes.

In such a situation, you have to act in the best interest of the patient which, in this case, means doing
what the patient would have wanted you to do if they had been able to give consent. The problem is:
“How do you establish what they would have wanted?”

PATIENT SAFETY & FIRST-LINE SOLUTION

In the first instance you will need to organise for the patient to be made safe by whatever clinical
means are appropriate (theatre, etc.). You would also need to call your Registrar or your consultant as
soon as possible. If they are not around then anyone senior who can help with the discussions will do.

There are also questions that you need to ask yourself:

• If blood transfusion is a problem, are you able to use blood-free alternatives? This would solve the
problem.
• Is there a possibility that the emergency can be dealt with without a blood transfusion at all (the
question says that the patient “may” require one)?
• Can you delay the need for a transfusion until more information is gathered (e.g. by giving plasma
expanders)?

Probing: There are no blood-free alternatives and the patient will need a transfusion. What do you
do?

Simultaneously to all this, investigations into the patient’s background should take place:

• Does the patient carry a card on them indicating that they are a Jehovah’s Witness and would not
consent to a blood transfusion?
• Has the patient got notes at the hospital which would confirm the position (for example, they
might have refused a transfusion on a previous occasion when they were competent)?
• Is there dissent amongst the relatives about the patient’s position (in case of dissent, you would
be more inclined to opt for the blood transfusion than not).

The answers to these questions may help you determine the patient’s wishes. You should of course
ensure that your seniors are involved (even if this means waking them up in the middle of the night).

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There may also be a need to involve the medical director or anyone who holds high-level responsibilities
as there may be a legal issue. You should also ensure that the family is fully involved so that their views
can be clarified.

If there is time, you could try to obtain a court order. At the very least you should get legal advice from
your medical defence union’s 24-hour helpline to drive your decision making.

Probing: Despite all this, you cannot obtain enough information to determine the patient’s wishes
and no one is around to help you. What do you do?

If you really have no idea as to what to do, it is always best to opt for what you regard as being the best
option. In this case, this would mean transfusing the patient. If this is the case, then you must ensure
that you document exactly what has happened.

Keep in touch with your medical defence union. This is important because the patient may then object
to your actions and may take subsequent action against you or the Trust. You must therefore be in a
position to back up your behaviour fully if the case came to court. Having said that, it would be easier
to justify keeping someone alive than letting them die if there was no certainty at all.

Probing: What if the patient is in fact an unconscious child and the parents are refusing a blood
transfusion on the child’s behalf?

The guidelines are that, in an emergency, you can treat a child without con-sent. However, you should
try to involve the parents if you can, either by al-lowing them to change their mind or by discussing the
use of blood-free alter-natives if it is a safe compromise and would achieve similar results to blood
transfusion (i.e. if this did not go against the child’s best interest).

As much as possible, you should not take such a decision by yourself and you should involve suitable
senior colleagues. There will be a specific local policy. You should also keep in touch with your medical
defence union.

If blood alternatives are not available, or there is no way to avoid a transfusion, then you would be
entitled to proceed with a transfusion.

If there is time (administering plasma expanders may have allowed you that time) and it is practical
to do so, you should try to get a court order. It goes without saying that everything should be duly
documented.

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Here is the advice from the GMC:

Refusal of blood products by Jehovah’s Witnesses

Many Jehovah’s Witnesses have strong objections to the use of blood and blood products,
and may refuse them, even if there is a possibility that they may die as a result.

You should not make assumptions about the decisions that a Jehovah’s Wit-ness patient
might make about treatment with blood or blood products. You should ask for and respect
their views and answer their questions honestly and to the best of your ability. You may also
wish to contact the hospital liaison committees established by the Watchtower Society
(the governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses) to support Jehovah’s Witnesses faced with
treatment decisions involving blood. These committees can advise on current Society policy
regarding the acceptability or otherwise of particular blood products. They also keep details of
hospitals and doctors who are experienced in “blood-less” medical procedures.

[Link]/guidance/ethical_guidance/personal_beliefs/personal_beliefs.asp

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12.5 O&G: A 14-year-old girl mentions that she is pregnant and enquires
about an abortion. What do you do?

• The girl is 14 years old. According to the Gillick competence principle and Fraser guidelines, if she is
competent then she can consent to an abortion. You would then need to assess her competence,
which could be done through a simple discussion. In accordance with the Fraser guide-lines, you will
need to discuss with the patient the need to involve the parents, though you cannot enforce it if she
refuses. She may benefit from parental involvement if she requires support after the procedure.

• Confirm that she is indeed pregnant. If she is, then you need to enquire about the circumstances
of the pregnancy, if your relationship with the patient makes this possible. Not only will this enable
you to identify whether there are any issues relating to child abuse, but you may also be able
to use this discussion to talk about contraception, sexual health and other related issues. The
circumstances are likely to have a psychological impact on the young person, so you may also wish
to offer counselling.

• You should discuss the case with some of your colleagues to determine whether there is cause for
concern in relation to her age. If necessary, you may need to breach confidentiality by raising the
matter with social services, or other appropriate organisations. This decision will need to be taken
with your team, and you ought to discuss it with the patient first.

• Your success will depend on your verbal and non-verbal communication skills during the consultation.
Ensure that your approach is non-judgemental, empathic and conducive to establishing a good
rapport in order to develop and maintain trust.

• If the child is not Gillick competent then you would require the parents’ consent. If the child refuses
to allow you to divulge information to her parents about her case, then you would need to convince
her to accept to be represented by an appropriate person. If she refuses, then, provided that you
deem the abortion to be in the best interest of the child, in theory you would be entitled to proceed
with the abortion. However, given the complexity of the situation, you would need to discuss with
your team and possibly even need a court order.

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12.6 All: You are a Registrar. A young female trainee doctor refuses to deal
with a male patient who is a known rapist. What do you do?

This question was first asked at Emergency Medicine Registrar interviews but has also appeared in
Psychiatry and several other specialties. In such questions it is very easy to jump to conclusions and
to assume that the trainee is in breach of her duties by not giving the patient the care he is entitled to.
However, the situation may be more complex than it first appears.

You can answer this question using the SPIES structure set out in section 5.3.

Seek information
Although you would want to find out more about the reasons behind the trainee’s decision, the
time for discussion will come later once the immediate issue of patient care/safety has been
dealt with.

Patient care/safety
The patient is entitled to care, regardless of his background, and you must ensure that it is
delivered by someone whose behaviour is not being affected by their beliefs.

There may be several reasons for the trainee to refuse to see the patient and this will need
to be investigated. However, regardless of the reason, the trainee is not best placed to treat
this particular patient at that particular time. Therefore you may want to manage the patient
yourself or delegate the responsibility to someone else.

Initiative
Once the patient’s clinical problem has been resolved, you ought to organise a discussion with
the junior trainee to get to the bottom of the issue as her decision may have consequences
on the future delivery of patient care, particularly if there are other types of patients that she
finds difficult to deal with. You will want to identify why she refused to manage the patient.

• Perhaps she or someone close to her was raped in the past. If this were the case, she may
feel physically threatened (even if there was no explicit threat from the patient) and would
not be safe in dealing with the patient.

• Perhaps the patient actually made some remarks towards her, in which case she might
have felt physically threatened.

• Perhaps she is simply prejudiced and is making a point of principle. If this were the case,
she would likely be in breach of her duties as a doctor, which requires that doctors should
not let their personal beliefs interfere with the care of patients.

If the trainee had felt threatened, she would need support from a senior col-league to overcome
such fears and agree a strategy, should the problem occur again.

If the trainee showed signs of prejudice, you would need to remind her of her duties and would
also need to report the matter to a senior colleague so that they can discuss the situation with
her.

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Escalate
Either way this is a serious situation that could have serious effects on the trainee’s mental
wellbeing. Whether there has been a breach of duty or not, you should encourage the trainee
to discuss the matter with a senior col-league, and, if this doesn’t happen, raise the matter
yourself.

There is also the possibility that the patient may make a complaint and it would make sense
for senior colleagues to be made aware of the situation before the patient himself escalates it.

Support
Whichever way you look at the situation, the trainee has clearly been affected by the matter
and you owe her a degree of support.

If a number of staff were affected by this patient or incident, it may be worth organising a
team debrief, facilitated by an appropriate professional, such as a psychologist.

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12.7 All: You find out that one of your consultants is romantically involved
with someone who is a current patient of the department. What do
you do?

This question is difficult because, although we are told that the patient is a current patient of the
department, it is not clear whether that patient is being treated by that consultant. It is possible that
the consultant in question told his/her partner to get referred to their own department because they
have faith in the quality of the service being delivered there, thinking it would be fine if they are not
themselves seeing their own partner in clinic.

The whole answer rests on the notion of whether this would seem appropriate or not, and this is not
always clear-cut.

Scenario 1 – The consultant is treating the patient (or involved in some way in the patient’s care).

This situation is inappropriate. If the relationship started before the partner be-came a patient, then
the partner should not be treated by the consultant. If the relationship started when the partner was
already a patient, then this is even more improper.

The matter should be reported to the consultant’s line manager (i.e. the clinical director), and the
GMC would then likely be notified.

Scenario 2 – The consultant is not treating the patient (or involved in any way in the patient’s care)

This situation is a bit more complicated because there is no established doc-tor-patient relationship
as such. However, there are grounds to argue that this can be contentious. For example:

• The consultant has easy access to the partner’s medical records.

• The consultant may come across details of the partner’s medical condition in settings such as
MDT meetings.
• The consultant may influence their colleagues on choice of treatment.

In the interest of transparency, the consultant should be advised to declare their relationship with
the patient to their manager (i.e. the clinical director), so that the situation can be discussed, and a
conclusion can be reached. In such situation, it is unlikely that the GMC will be involved, but safeguards
may be introduced to ensure complete separation between the consultant and the partner’s medical
records.

WHAT THE GMC SAYS

1. Article 53 of Good Medical Practice states that “You must not use your professional
position to pursue a sexual or improper emotional relationship with a patient or someone
close to them.”

2. Trust is the foundation of the doctor-patient partnership. Patients should be able to trust
that their doctor will behave professionally towards them during consultations and not
see them as a potential sexual partner.

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CURRENT PATIENTS

3. You must not pursue a sexual or improper emotional relationship with a current patient.

4. If a patient pursues a sexual or improper emotional relationship with you, you should treat
them politely and considerately and try to re-establish a professional boundary. If trust
has broken down and you find it necessary to end the professional relationship, you must
follow the guidance in ‘Ening your professional relationship with a patient’.

5. You must not use your professional relationship with a patient to pursue a relationship
with someone close to them. For example, you must not use home visits to pursue a
relationship with a member of a patient’s family.

6. You must not end a professional relationship with a patient solely to pursue a personal
relationship with them.

FORMER PATIENTS

7. Personal relationships with former patients may also be inappropriate de-pending on

factors such as:

• The length of time since the professional relationship ended. The more recently a
professional relationship with a patient ended, the less likely it is that beginning a
personal relationship with that patient would be appropriate.

• The nature of the previous professional relationship.

• Whether the patient was particularly vulnerable at the time of the professional
relationship, and whether they are still vulnerable.

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12.8 All: You have been working 13 hours and are about to leave. You feel
very tired after a busy shift. The colleague who is taking over from
you is late and you are being called to re-view a patient in A&E. You
can see straight away that the matter will take some time to resolve.
What do you do?

THE EUROPEAN WORKING TIME DIRECTIVE (EWTD) – IMPLEMENTED INTO UK LAW IN

1998, WITH FULL COMPLIANCE BY 2009, UNDER THE NAME WORKING TIME REGULATIONS
(WTR)

Some candidates get very flustered at the thought of having to breach the requirements of the
EWTD / WTR. In practice, though, patient safety is far more important than breaching the directive
requirements by an hour. In court, you would find it really difficult to justify having let a patient die
simply because you had to work an hour on top of requirements. Generally speaking, it is acceptable
to breach the EWTD / WTR requirements in exceptional circumstances, provided that you receive
compensation for it at a later stage. Therefore you do not have to worry about the regulations in this
scenario where a patient needs you.

PATIENT SAFETY

Of greater concern to you will be patient safety. The scenario clearly states that you are feeling very
tired. If you feel that you can safely deal with the matter in hand then you should do so. But if you feel
that you are struggling because it is the end of your long shift, then you ought to seek help from an-
other colleague. If there is no other colleague available, you will have to get started and organise for
someone to take over from you shortly. With a bit of luck your colleague will arrive soon and you won’t
have to work long. If you cannot get hold of your colleague to get an idea of how long they will be, you
need to call your registrar or consultant so that they are aware of the issue and can come in and help
if necessary. If you have any doubt about your ability to cope or if you see that you may have to stay
beyond your threshold for being safe, call your seniors anyway: better to be safe than sorry.

THE LATE COLLEAGUE

After the event, you will need to address your colleague’s lateness. In this particular event it may have
led to patient harm (since, despite being tired, you had to handle the situation yourself). If there was
no reasonable excuse or if it happened again, you would need to raise the issue more formally with a
senior colleague.

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12.9 All: You are the consultant. You speak to a patient on the ward who
has made it clear that they don’t want to be treated by Black people
while on the ward. They have also made several derogatory comments
regarding the race of your col-leagues already. How do you proceed?

In health services we provide care to people from all walks of life, and unfortunately clinicians will
encounter patients with racial prejudices during their working lives. It is important to understand how
to approach the situation with care to protect yourself if you are from a minority background, and to
support col-leagues. We will use the SPIES structure to address this situation (see 5.3).

Seek Information
Clarify what the patient has asked and provide them with an opportunity to repeat their
request. This ensures you have heard the request correctly. At this point, it may be pertinent
to determine whether the patient is of ‘sound mind’ i.e. whether there is any cognitive deficit
(for example delirium). If you suspect this, check their notes for any mention of this, and if
necessary, carry out an Abbreviated Mental Test Score (AMTS).

When a patient refuses care from a healthcare professional based on skin col-our, this is unlawful
racial discrimination, according to the Equality Act, 201010. Under the Health and Safety at
Work. etc, Act 197411, it is your responsibility as a senior leader to ensure that employees are
protected at work from racial discrimination.

Since 1999, the Secretary of State for Health launched the “Zero Tolerance” campaign to
combat all forms of abuse against NHS staff. This included derogatory remarks based on
protected characteristics. In 2019, the Health and Social Care Secretary wrote to all NHS staff
telling them not to accept racist abuse from patients stating, “No one is entitled to choose the
colour of the skin of the person giving [that] healthcare”. You should be aware of your Trust’s
zero-tolerance policy and how to implement it. For most Trusts this provides clinicians with the
right to refuse care for the racist patient. It is important to understand certain caveats; for
example, emergency situations, or where the patient may not be compos mentis.

Patient Care/Safety
As mentioned, in emergency situations or where the patient may not be compos mentis, their
care must continue. Re-assess the situation once cognitive function has been regained (if
applicable) or once the patient has been stabilised.

In the more likely situation on a ward (as in this scenario) where you are managing a racist
patient with mental faculties intact, you should instigate the zero-tolerance policy and refuse
further care on the grounds of verbal harassment.

If an acutely confused patient is being physically aggressive towards staff members or is

refusing to be touched by them, contact security immediately and take threatened staff to a
safe place to protect them. Police may need to be involved if there is escalation.

Pharmacological sedation of the patient may be required to protect staff, other patients, and
themselves if they cannot be calmed down verbally. If a staff member is likely to be repeatedly

10
[Link]
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threatened by a confused patient, their safety must be protected first and foremost and you
should ensure they do not put themselves in a dangerous situation. It may be that staff are not
to be left alone with the patient or given duties away from the confused patient for their own
safety. Note that a physically aggressive patient who is of sound mind should have had their
care outright refused, as above.

Initiative
As the consultant in charge, it is important that you set the standard for your team as well as
demonstrate to junior members how to implement the zero-tolerance policy.

It is advisable to have this conversation away from other patients. Find a side room or family
room to speak to the patient and ensure you have an appropriate chaperone. This prevents
other patients from being disturbed by any hostility that may arise. You should verbally warn
the patient immediately that their remarks are unacceptable and that their request cannot be
accepted. Notify the patient that, as part of the Trust’s zero-tolerance policy against racism,
their care and treatment will be withdrawn and can no longer be provided in the hospital. The
patient should be told that they must seek care elsewhere.

Escalate
In most situations it would be advisable to inform security before you have this conversation,
and to have them with you or nearby at the time. This maintains everyone’s safety in the event
of escalation. If you suspect the scenario may escalate, then you (or a colleague) may have
to call the police.

You should document the events very clearly in the notes as soon as possible with verbatim
accounts of the exact phrases and requests the patient made, as well as your responses.
Strongly consider documenting on the Trust’s electronic incident reporting system. Ensure
you note down any witnesses to the conversation with their name and grade (e.g., nursing
staff, HCA, medical staff). Some Trusts operate a ‘red’ card ‘yellow’ card system This allows
reference for future teams if the patient needs to be excluded from further care at the Trust.

Support
This may not be the first time that you or your colleagues have been personally insulted by a
patient.

If you have suffered racial abuse at work from a patient, you should inform your line manager,
who should provide emotional and professional support. They should be aware of how this may
impact your mental health and wellbeing at work. If necessary, you may want to leave work
early and recuperate at home or with family. It is the duty of your line manager and colleagues
to arrange appropriate support for your absence and fill your duties accordingly.

Similarly, if it is a colleague who has been harassed, you should seek to provide support as
above. Offer them the opportunity to take the rest of the day off and direct them towards
occupational health support if required. Let the team know that racism at work will not be
tolerated.

If you have reported the incident on your Trust’s electronic system, you may wish to discuss
the event further at the next departmental governance meeting. You should discuss how to
manage these situations by signposting staff to the appropriate policies and informing them
of their right to be protected at work, according to the NHS Constitution.

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WHAT IF YOU WERE A TRAINEE AND NOT A CONSULTANT?

The principles will largely be the same and you should still refuse care of the racist patient, assuming
they are stable, and it is safe for you to do so. Inform your consultant immediately and advise that the
zero-tolerance policy must be instigated. It is your consultant’s responsibility to co-operate with this
policy as noted in the model answer above and advise the patient to seek care else-where.

If you do not feel safe to refuse the patient’s care immediately, remove your-self from the situation
as soon as practicable and write contemporaneous notes documenting exactly what was said. Inform
your consultant (or the consultant on-call) as soon as possible and they will be able to enact the policy.

Conversations (or confrontations) with racist patients are potentially intimidating, even for senior staff.
You must ensure the safety of yourself and your colleagues as a priority in all cases. The Management
of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 199912 place a duty on employers (including managers) to
have appropriate preventative and protective action plans in place to either remove or reduce risks
to an acceptable level. This includes the risk of physical and verbal abuse to staff. There is support
in place through your seniors, security, and the police in dealing with abuse and patients should be
brought to task in all cases of racial harassment.

12
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12.10 All: You witness your consultant tell a Black colleague that they
are being ‘too sensitive’ in response to their ‘joke’ about not wanting
to be treated by an African doctor. How should you respond?

Harassment by staff members is unacceptable and being undermined at work can have serious
implications for professional wellbeing. The fact that your consultant was ‘joking’ is irrelevant.
Colleagues who make unlawful racial discriminatory comments such as these should be addressed
swiftly, regardless of their seniority. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG)
has published a comprehensive ‘Workplace Behaviour Toolkit’ on their website13 which outlines what to
do after witnessing bullying and undermining. The RCOG Toolkit is summarised here.

Seek Information
You have witnessed your consultant make a racist joke, as well as their inability to acknowledge
the gravity of their actions by deflecting from the fact that their comments were offensive.
You should be aware that poor workplace behaviours usually arise because of poor workplace
culture. Before you make the decision to speak to the perceived perpetrator, it is important to
establish whether it is safe to be dealt with informally or formally.

If you decide to advocate for your colleague by calling-out the behaviour of the consultant,
you must inform them immediately that the comment was offensive and inappropriate. Whilst
it should not matter that they are your senior, it must be acknowledged that this may be very
intimidating for a junior in the team to do. Consider reporting the event to your educational
supervisor or the clinical lead for the department.

You should enquire from your colleague in private whether this is the first time racist comments
such as this have been made. However, irrespective of whether this was a single occasion
that you witnessed or your colleague de-scribes previous episodes of racist comments, this
behaviour is unacceptable and should be called-out and called-in if it is safe to do so, or
reported.

Patient Care/Safety
It is your responsibility to raise concerns about inappropriate behaviour about colleagues. The
consultant made a racist joke which may herald a deeper prejudice and much bigger problem.
If you believe that this represents a pattern of behaviour, you must ensure patient safety.
Patients must be protected from discrimination based on protected characteristics including
race – and they may have their care compromised if they are being looked after by someone
with racial biases.

Initiative
If you decide to call-out the racist behaviour of the consultant, it is important to confront them
calmly and tell them that their ‘joke’ was inappropriate and that they should stop. Call-in their
behaviour by explaining why the comment they made was racist. Alert them to the impact of
their comments on your Black colleague.

If the environment is not safe for you to call-out the racist comment made by the consultant,
you (and your colleague if needed) should look to discuss this with a senior consultant such

[Link]
13

workplace-behaviours/workplace-behaviour-toolkit/

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as your clinical or educational supervisor who may act as a ‘second messenger’. Whoever you
speak to, ensure that they are someone you trust or have a good relationship with. It is possible
that the consultant is your clinical or educational supervisor!

If you do need to discuss the situation with a third party, ideally, it should be someone from your
department or specialty and the conversation must be held in confidence. If you don’t think
this would be possible this can often be done anonymously via your Trust’s ‘raising concerns’
guidance. Concerns can also be raised with the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian.

Escalate
Once you have raised your concerns it will be the responsibility of the senior team to manage
events henceforth. The consultant will likely have a disciplinary meeting to address the
inappropriateness of their actions but in some rare cases this may be escalated to altered
duties or removal from their post.

It is always advisable to discuss these problems locally in the first instance. If you feel that your
concerns have not been heard or appropriately addressed, you could get advice from the BMA
or ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation, and Arbitration Service).

Support
Ensure that your colleague who has been the recipient of the racist comments receives
support in raising concerns. Applying the RCOG toolkit’s ‘Calm, Space, Listen, Document,
Avoid Gossip’ technique encourages sensitive out-comes for both your colleague and the
perpetrator. It may be appropriate for you to raise concerns on their behalf if they are worried
that they may be negatively impacted by making a report. Signpost them to occupational
health re-sources and the NHS staff wellbeing apps if appropriate.

By setting an example and not allowing racist comments to be ignored provides a standard
of behaviour in the workplace. Be aware that this consultant may be a role model for other
staff members and this is not the kind of example that should be set; racial harassment in the
workplace is unacceptable.

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13 | Communication station
Communication/role-play stations have become increasingly common at inter-views in many
specialties. They are based on realistic scenarios, with the patient being played either by an interviewer
or a professional actor. Role plays are designed to test your communication skills more than your
clinical skills – though inevitably a relevant clinical knowledge is essential to perform well – and the
marking schemes reflect this, i.e. if you have excellent communication skills but talk rubbish, you will
not pass the station.

THE MARKING SCHEME

A variety of marking schemes have been used for communication / role-play stations in the past.
Typically, two interviewers would assess the candidate on a range of communication criteria. Each
criterion is marked independently on a scale from 0 to 4, with 0 = ‘Poor’ and 4 = ‘Excellent and
comprehensive’. All marks are then added across all criteria and both interviewers to form the final
mark. In some cases, the actor is also asked for their opinion on their feelings about the candidate
from the point of view of the patient. A typical marking scheme would look as follows:

Interviewer 1 Interviewer 2 Total mark

Setting the scene 0 to 4 0 to 4 0 to 8

Listening abilities 0 to 4 0 to 4 0 to 8

Verbal communication 0 to 4 0 to 4 0 to 8

Non-verbal communication 0 to 4 0 to 4 0 to 8

Content 0 to 4 0 to 4 0 to 8

Overall impression 0 to 4 0 to 4 0 to 8

Total Max score 24 Max score 24 Max score 48

Criteria will vary in their wording and in the manner in which they are grouped (e.g. in some deaneries/
specialties, verbal and non-verbal communication are marked together) but the expectations and
overall criteria are the same.

TIMING AND PREPARATION TIME

The actual consultation time will vary between 8 and 20 minutes depending on the deanery and
specialty.

In most role-play stations you will be given some time to prepare. This varies from a few minutes to up
to 20 minutes. Make sure you make the best use of that preparation time to read the brief given to
you and the patient’s history so that:

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• You do not miss any crucial information during the consultation.

• You do not waste time during the consultation asking the patient about information that you have
been told you already know. Some actors may have been instructed to act angry if they have to
repeat information which is in the brief.

RUNNING THE ROLE PLAY

In order to score well, you will need to ensure that you address the following:

Understanding of the impact of the environment on the consultation

In some role plays, the room will be set up with the doctor’s and the patient’s chairs in a position
which may not be ideal to build a rapport with the patient. If you feel it appropriate, you may
want to move your chair and the patient’s chair so that they are at an appropriate distance.
If there is a table, you should ensure that you are not sitting across the table from the patient
but that you are only separated by a corner of the table. Explain you have passed your bleep to
someone else and do not expect to be disturbed during the consultation/meeting.

Introduction
Greet the patient by name if the brief gives it to you. Introduce yourself by name. Shake their
hand if the patient is willing to accept and take the patient to the seat reserved for them
(some actors may be instructed to remain standing until you invite them to sit down. If the
situation warrants it, ask if they have come accompanied and if they want their relative or
friend to sit in on the conversation. If you have been given a task (e.g. breaking bad news), then
start by giving an overview of how the conversation will run, how long for and say that you will
end with a clear, agreed management plan. If you or the department has caused the patient
some harm, it is important to start with an apology.

Encourage the patient to tell you about the problem using open questions such as “What can
I do for you today?” If the patient has been recalled for a specific purpose, you can start more
directly by explaining the reason for the recall.

Listening & Empathy

When discussing the issue at stake with the patient, allow the patient time to talk. Do not
interrupt them unless you feel that you really need to. There are times when one needs to learn
to keep quiet.

Be attentive to what they are telling you. The actor will have been primed to drop certain clues
into the conversation, either voluntarily or taking one of your questions as a cue. In role play,
candidates are often so obsessed with what they should do next that they sometimes forget
to listen to the patient.

Throughout the conversation, observe the patient’s behaviour. Listening does not necessarily
mean hearing their words. You can pick up a lot of information by observing their body language.
An awkward body language may give you clues about something that the patient is not telling
you or is feeling embarrassed or scared about.

If the patient is silent or uncommunicative, encourage them by asking open questions. If the
patient is distressed, it may also prove valuable to simply allow the situation to remain silent for
a while if talking does not help. This may help them regain their composure.

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History taking, diagnosis and clinical information
Ask all questions relevant to the scenario and explain any necessary points. Try not to ask
for information that you should already know from the brief as you may irritate the patient.
However, if you feel the need to confirm some information with the patient, either because the
brief is ambiguous or the patient has contradicted information that you were given, then you
may double-check.

Explain your diagnosis to the patient (including any differentials). Use words which are
appropriate for the patient. Ensure that the patient understands what you are explaining. If
necessary ask them to confirm their understanding by repeating in their own words what they
have understood and by using questions such as “Is there anything that you do not understand?”
or “Is there any-thing that you would like me to clarify?” If appropriate, explain using different
methods or media (some spare paper may be made available to you).

Do not go into overdrive on the clinical section of your consultation at the expense of everything
else. Clinical management accounts for, at most, 20% of the overall mark.

Holistic & psychosocial needs

The interviewers will be testing your ability to identify the various needs of the patient and
how you address them during the consultation. Consider the physical aspects of the problem,
but also the psychological and social sides. How is the patient coping? What is the impact on
their family? What support is available to them? Make sure that you elicit the patient’s ideas,
concerns and expectations.

Body language
The manner in which you attempt to build a rapport with the patient and the appropriateness
of your body language play an important role in your success at handling any role play. Make
sure that you keep an open posture (no crossed arms), avoid being above or too close to
them, lean slightly forward to show empathy when required, nod in the right places and, most
important of all, maintain good eye contact with the patient to maintain that crucial rapport.
Eye contact will also enable you to read the patient’s emotions and possible discomfort, which
could provide valuable clues. If they look like they may cry, a hand on their hand or shoulder may
be appropriate or you could pass them some tissues.

The unexpected
Some role plays are fairly mainstream (i.e. they attempt to replicate a normal consultation or
scenario without any particular surprises). Others have twists and turns, which may catch you
off-guard. This may include a patient who suddenly becomes irate, a patient who suddenly
withdraws, refuses to say any more and looks down, a patient who cannot speak a word of
English, or a patient who takes you onto a completely unexpected path.

When this happens, you must always remember that it is a game, i.e. this was planned. Rather
than give up, try to remain calm and see how you can help the situation along. If the patient
has walked out, see if you can get them back by using a more diplomatic approach. If the
patient is not talking, don’t just look at the examiners in despair; see if you can re-engage. If
the patient throws you off-guard by mentioning issues that you were not expecting, don’t look
flustered or stunned. If you are, then ask the patient to elaborate on what they have just said;
it will give you some time to regain your composure (and might help you score some listening
points). If a patient is angry, slow down the speed of your conversation and become quieter;
hopefully they will match you.

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ENDING THE CONSULTATION

Role plays can be conducted in different manners. In some cases, the inter-viewers will let you know
when you have 2 minutes left, but in many cases they won’t. The first you will hear from them is the
sound of a bell and a “thank you – you can move to the next station”. Make sure that you keep track of
time so that, if possible, you can draw the conversation to a natural close. Most marking schemes will
include an allowance for your conclusion so make sure you get there. If you feel that you are likely to run
out of time because you went off on a tangent or allowed the patient a bit too much space, then make
a quick assessment of the situation and determine whether it is worth sacrificing 1 mark for not having
a conclusion but gaining several more marks by addressing several other important issues instead.

Towards the end of the consultation, you should summarise to the patient what action is being
proposed and what they have agreed to. You should also explain whether follow-up will be required and
when. Thank them for coming and escort them to the door.

If your role play is over 20 minutes and you have finished before the end of the official period, ask
yourself whether you have forgotten any important aspects and cover these as necessary. If not, then
don’t be afraid of terminating the exercise a few minutes early. It is better to end on a confident note
than to waffle on for 2 minutes to kill time.

EXAMPLES OF ROLE PLAYS

Topics will obviously vary per specialty but here are some examples of role plays which were part of
recent interviews. I have stated the specialties in which they were asked, but some of these could be
asked in many specialties.

• O&G: Explain to a patient who can only speak very little English that she has an ectopic pregnancy
and needs an urgent procedure. The patient does not understand what you mean and is begging
you to save the baby.

• Diabetes: A recently diagnosed patient explains that she does not trust her GP to have made the
correct diagnosis about her diabetes. She is a single mother who makes ends meet by driving a
taxi part-time.

• A&E: You diagnosed a patient with dyspepsia. He later died following an MI. You are now being
confronted by an angry widow.

• Oncology & General Surgery: A patient was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She is now
refusing treatment and would like to opt for homeopathy instead.

• Dermatology: You recently reassured a patient that their mole was non-malignant. The patient
returns to you, having sought a second opinion from another hospital, and accuses you of
incompetence. A preliminary investigation showed that you had mixed up two biopsy results with
two patients of the same name.

• Psychiatry: An old lady with dementia who lives in a care home presents to A&E with bruises. The
A&E consultant leaves you on your own with the patient.

• Ophthalmology: Explain to an educated patient what glaucoma is. Once you have provided your
explanation, they express extreme fear at the prospect of becoming blind.

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• IMT/Surgery in general: You are meeting the relative of an elderly woman, who is expressing
concerns at the news she has read on MRSA in the NHS. Your hospital has a very good record and
very low morbidity/mortality rate associated with MRSA but the relative has just spotted that the
consultant’s tie was brushing against all patients.

• Surgery: Break the news to a male patient that he has colorectal cancer. He is a fit athlete.

• Paediatrics: You requested a CT scan for a young patient. The radiologist has refused to do the
scan due to the excessive radiation the child would be exposed to. The parents are blaming you for
the lack of progress in the management of the patient.

• Paediatrics: Explain to a child what asthma (or diabetes) is.

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14 | Presentation station
Presentations are a recruitment tool that is on the increase. They have been a common feature at
consultant interviews for some time and have recently found their way into ST recruitment.

WHAT IS BEING ASSESSED?

Through your presentation, the interviewers will be assessing:

• Your general presentation skills (confidence, ability to engage an audience, etc.)

• Your ability to communicate your ideas clearly, concisely, using an approach suited to the topic
and the audience. This will include marks for the clarity of the slides and their relevance

• The content of the presentation, i.e. the appropriateness and maturity of the content

• Your time management and organisational skills, i.e. your ability to stick to time, to allocate
appropriate timing to each of the sections in your talk, etc.

Much like the communication/role-play station, the marking scheme is likely to score each of the
above out of 4, the combined marks of the two assessors forming the candidate’s final score.

PREPARATION TIME AND DURATION

Presentations generally vary in length between 5 and 10 minutes. Whilst in some specialties you may
be asked to prepare a presentation in advance (the details being communicated to you in the invitation
letter), in others you are likely to be placed on the spot, with the presentation topic being given to you
just 45 minutes before you are due to present. Slides or overheads are usually allowed, though some
restrict their number, whilst others require you to speak without visual aids. It is important to clarify
the equipment that will be available on the day and then have several failsafe backup options. We
have all seen people fail to get their projector working, even at national meetings. Ways to bring digital
media include: CD, memory stick, uploaded to the web or emailed to the department. It may be worth
copying onto transparencies for an over-head projector or bringing handouts.

EXAMPLE OF TOPICS

Presentation topics are very varied. They generally fall under three different categories:

Generic
• Tell us about yourself.
• What can you contribute to this specialty?
• How do you see your career developing, what skills do you have and which would you wish
to gain?
• Why do you think you will make a good paediatrician?

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 Political
• How do current NHS changes impact on this specialty?
• How can this specialty become more efficient?
• How will you make sure that you become a good consultant when working hours are being
decreased?

Personal
• Tell us about your hobbies.
• How have your strengths and weaknesses informed your career choice?

Occasionally, you may be asked to talk about some non-work-related topic of your choice. This
has led to candidates making presentations on topics as varied as:
• How to teach cricket to 10-year-old children.
• How to fly a helicopter.
• The history of chocolate.
• Silver hallmarking.

Essentially, presentations can be regarded as extended interview questions, which you have 10 minutes
rather than 2 minutes to answer. In that sense, similar principles apply with regard to the need to
structure the information around three or four themes or ideas and the need to make the information
memorable by giving examples. There is nothing worse than a presentation which is too theoretical.
Relate it to your audience.

KEY PRINCIPLES

There are a few rules that you will need to remember during your preparation.

Keep the number of slides to a minimum

The rule of thumb is to have no more than one slide per 90 seconds of talk. Therefore, a
10-minute presentation should contain no more than six or seven slides. If your talk is organised
around four central ideas (as it should be), then you would only need one slide for each plus an
introduction and a summary slide, making six slides in total.

Keep the slides short and simple – The 4 by 4 rule

Never forget that the slides are there to support your presentation and help your audience.
They are not there to replace your notes because you can’t be bothered to learn your talk. If
the slides are too busy, the interviewers will struggle to read them and to listen to you at the
same time. The best slides are those which stick to the main principles and allow the audience
to focus their attention on the candidate. As a general rule, you should have no more than 4
bullet points, each with no more than 4 words (this is called the 4 by 4 rule).

You should also ensure that any text written on the slides is large enough to be seen from a
distance. You may want to ask beforehand whether the slides will be projected onto a screen
(even if through an overhead projector) or simply read from a laptop. Whatever method they
choose, your slides should be read-able from a laptop screen which is 3 metres away. If they
are not, either there is too much text or the font size is too small. Generally, have high contrast
between text and background (e.g. black on white or white/yellow on dark blue).

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Vary your slides and make them accessible
Always think whether there is a more interesting way of representing your message than through
a standard bullet point. For example, if I want to convey that there are four issues that the NHS
is focusing on currently, I could simply list them as bullet points, for example:

• Efficiency.
• Training.
• Quality.
• Profitability.

Alternatively, I could convey the same with four pictures on my slide:

• Efficiency: a picture of an organised or a chaotic unit.

• Training: a picture of a ward round, or of a lecture.
• Quality: a picture of a “tick”.
• Profitability: a picture of a money bag or a pound sign.

Pictures, graphics and other means of visual representation are often very powerful and, in the
meantime, your audience does not spend hours trying to decipher whole lines of text written in
font size 8 in a desperate bid to make it all fit onto the page.

Some of the best presentations I have seen included one candidate who used pictures only, no
words, and a candidate who simply opted to use no visual aids. The effect it had was that the
interviewers could then pay full attention to the candidate’s talk. It is worth checking whether
slides are essential (i.e. whether their quality will be judged) or whether they are just accepted,
as this may give you ideas for how to make your talk more interesting.

Try to avoid being too flashy or using complicated animations, transitions and movies, even if
you are an expert. The interviewers are likely to use an old version of Windows, an old version of
Microsoft Office and a slow computer.

Prepare a good speech, rehearse and take your time to deliver it

At the risk of stating the obvious, you must make sure that you rehearse your presentation
many times so that you know it well, even without any visual aids. You should rehearse the
presentation at least four times, two of which should be under time pressure, ideally in front of
a scary panel!

Your speech, and not the slides, should be the main focus of the presentation. If you have
prepared your visual aids properly, there should still be plenty of information that you need
to add to your presentation verbally. Your speech will bring colour to your presentation, will
bring personal reflection onto your ideas and will guide the audience through their journey of
discovery.

As a rule, you should allow approximately 160 words per minute of speech. If you have to speak
too quickly to get to the end of the presentation within the allocated time, it means you have
too much information. Go back to the drawing board and see if all the information that you are
presenting is relevant. If it isn’t relevant or if it confuses matters, take it out. Be ruthless: the
simpler the presentation, the better. Often the problem is linked to a lack of proper structure or
the wrong structure. See if you can reorganise the information using different headings. Having
more complex slides also increases the risk of you being out of synch with them and that is
confusing for the audience.

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 Prepare some notes
During the presentation itself, it is preferable that you do not use notes. The danger of using
notes is that you will inevitably be tempted to look at them. Also, reading them will make you
sound wooden. However, you should bring a set with you just in case you have a memory gap.
Make sure that they are hidden from you in your jacket pocket and that they are in a suitably
small size (i.e. postcard size rather than A4) so that you can just pull them out of your pocket
if need be without looking too flustered.

Watch your voice & delivery

• Your voice must be confident and normally loud.
• Avoid dropping your voice at the end of your sentences.
• Pause briefly between each slide. You might know your topic well but your audience will
need time to keep up with you.
• Find good ways to link the slides.
• Do not rush your delivery.

Watch your body language

• Smile! Even a nervous smile is more endearing than a depressed or terrorised look.
• Adopt a natural stance. This means having your feet 25cm apart with your knees very
slightly bent. Relax your shoulders.
• Be aware of your natural habits. Some people have a tendency to play with loose change
in their pockets, to sway from one foot to the other, to play with a pen or their watch strap.
You must be able to identify those habits and squash them before someone on the panel
finds them irritating.
• Keep your hands in front of your belly. You can move them but not in an exaggerated fashion.

HOW TO PREPARE

A common problem with presentations is the lack of clarity and simplicity in the message that the
candidates want to convey. This results in complicated and confused slides, which then translates into
a poor delivery. To perform well, you will first need to make sure that you have your story in the right
order. Once you have looked at the topic, start talking about it in your head or aloud and see what
comes out.

Once you have perfected the story, you will be much better able to identify the key points that form its
structure and its logic. Those points will form the backbone of your presentation and will dictate your
slides. If you commit your thoughts too early to paper or to slides, you will lose flexibility. You will be
reluctant to change the order of your slides or review the entire structure of your talk for fear of having
wasted your preparation time. Not committing your talk to paper too early will enable you to adopt a
totally different approach without having to rewrite a lot of material.

Try to reframe from another’s point of view. Try taking a system (helicopter) view or see the topic from
the point of view of a commissioner or a patient or the panel themselves. What would be important or
interesting for each of these stakeholders?

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15 | Group discussion station
Group discussions are gradually being introduced in several specialties.

FORMAT OF THE GROUP DISCUSSION

Group discussions typically last 20 minutes. There will usually be four people in each group, sitting
around a table, with each being assessed by an external observer. In some cases, there may be just
one observer for two candidates. The team is given a brief shortly before the session commences and,
at the agreed time, the required discussion needs to start.

There are two main types of group discussions:

• Normal discussion
The group is given a general topic of discussion and must debate the is-sues involved. In
many cases, the discussion is based on a simple 2-line brief such as an ethical issue. In
other cases, the information provided is more comprehensive and may include, for example,
a letter of complaint addressed to your consultant or extracts from patient notes. In other,
more complex group discussions, the candidates may actually be given different pieces
of information; for example, one candidate may have a summary of the notes, another
candidate will be given a complaint letter, another an abstract from a report, etc.

• Role-play group discussion

In this type of group discussion, each candidate is allocated a different role. One candidate
may be playing the SHO, another candidate a senior nurse, another candidate the GP and
the fourth candidate a social worker. The roles obviously depend on the type of scenario
given.

WHAT THE ASSESSORS ARE LOOKING FOR

Much as it is tempting to show off your knowledge of the topic being dis-cussed, this is only one of the
areas that the assessors will be looking for. Indeed, if they wanted to test your knowledge, they would
either ask you a direct question in a normal interview setting or ask you to do a presentation.

The assessors will, however, be far more interested in the way you interact with the rest of the group.
This can be very complex to assess when people can have such diverse personalities. Some candidates
will be natural leaders and they may well feel at ease driving the conversation. Other candidates may
be good facilitators, i.e. they get on well with most people and are able to keep the peace. Others still
may contribute much to the team by generating content and ideas but could not lead or facilitate.

What the interviewers will be looking at therefore is a general pattern of behaviour that fits well within
a team and your interaction with others, whatever your personality. This will include:

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• Your general contribution to the discussion (which can include active listening, support of others
and encouraging opinions from the quieter members).
• Your problem-solving abilities.
• Your general interaction with others including your body language and the appropriateness of your
behaviour (empathy, sensitivity, situation awareness)
• Your ability to cope with the challenges of working within a team (e.g. pushy colleagues,
uncooperative people, quiet people, etc.).
• Clarity of communication and assertiveness if necessary.
• Your ability to influence/negotiate with people, i.e. to rally people to your point of view without
making them feel coerced.

DEALING WITH DIFFICULTIES WITHIN THE GROUP

Going round in circles

There may be a time when the conversation has ceased to be productive and the team has
either gone off on a tangent or is caught in a vicious circle. In such cases, you would score
marks for enabling the team to get back on track by gently reminding everyone of the original
goal and pointing out in a non-threatening manner that you all got lost. Bring the focus back to
the patient, to avoid making things confrontational.

Awkward silences
The team may have reached a natural break in the discussion, or it may be that no one dares
speak in case they say something stupid. If this happens, you should encourage the team to
summarise the discussion so far, to set out the main themes that could be discussed and then
to ensure that the points are dealt with systematically. If the conversation has ended because
all points were discussed, then finish the exercise early; do not go on waffling until the bell rings.

Overbearing colleagues
Some talk a lot because they are extroverts; extroverts tend to think while they talk and may
actually change their opinion 180 degrees very quickly. Others may talk a lot due to nerves.
There will always been one person in the group who will have misunderstood the point of
the exercise, thinking that they will look clever by showing off their knowledge of the topic
being discussed. Such people can do themselves much damage but can also take you down
with them if you are not careful. Indeed, by occupying the space and monopolising the time
available, they do not allow you the platform that you need to show off your own team-playing
skills.

If you are that person, then make sure you allow others to have a say and encourage them.
If you are faced with such a colleague, the best way to handle the situation with different
strategies is:

• Asking others what they feel about what this person has said
• Asking for a break in the discussions so that you can summarise the points made so far
• Directly letting the colleague know that it would be useful for others to comment so that
you can get different perspectives on the problem.

Silent colleague
Some are silent because they are introverts, doing lots of thinking in their heads and then
waiting to give a considered answer. Ask them directly and wait for 7-8 seconds for a reply.

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Others may just feel uncomfortable with the role-play technique, be anxious as it is part of the
interview or just not know the answer.

By themselves silent colleagues may not feel like a threat because they give you the floor. But
in fact, if you ignore them and do not encourage them, you may be marked down. Pay attention
to those around so that you can spot them.

If you are that person then you will need to make an effort to participate, at least by encouraging
others. Silent candidates will never score anything. If you want to demonstrate that you are a
good listener then you will need to make sure that you demonstrate this not only by listening
but also by summarising the points made so far and helping the team move forward.

If you are faced with a silent colleague, try to encourage them to participate by asking for their
opinion at an appropriate moment. If they refuse to be involved, then do not force them as it
would count against you but demonstrate at least that you are making an effort.

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16 | Body language and dress code
at interviews
Much has been written about body language and you may find various statistics quoted, such as body
language represents about 60% of your communication.

Whilst there is no doubt that body language is important in helping you make a good impression, one
should not forget that, ultimately, your body language is a reflection of your confidence, and that
confidence is not something that you acquire solely by smiling politely and moving your arms properly.
There is a danger that a candidate may concentrate heavily on his/her appearance at the expense of
building content and structure into his/her answers.

As you gain more and more confidence through your preparation, your body language will change and
will open up naturally. I would therefore recommend that you do not worry about it until you are well
advanced in your preparation.

THE KEY RULES OF BODY LANGUAGE

If your interview consists of several stations of 10 minutes each, you will need to build a rapport and
make a good impression quickly. Here are a few key rules that you will need to follow:

Eye contact
This is the most crucial part of your relationship with the interviewers as far as body language is
concerned. No one will be interested in listening to someone who is not looking straight at them
so make sure that you maintain good eye contact with whoever is asking you the question.
Occasionally look at the other person too so that they feel included.

Seat position
If you are sitting behind a table, make sure that you are not too close or too far from the table.
If you are too close, you will have difficulty relaxing and your elbows will be forced to rest on
the table. The interviewers would feel that you are invading their space and may be forced to
back away from you. If you are too far from the table, you will either start slouching in your seat,
giving the impression that you don’t really care, or you will lean forward reaching for the table.
Not only will you get lower back pains, but you will also appear very casual. A good distance
is about 10cm from the table so that your arms can rest on the table comfortably with the
elbows remaining outside the table and not on it.

Arm positions
Many candidates find it comfortable to have their hands under the table. This gives an
impression of timidity and of trying to hide behind the furniture. You need to project an image
of quiet confidence and having your hands on the table will help you achieve that.

Hand movements
It is perfectly acceptable to move your hands if it is part of your personality. Don’t force yourself
if it doesn’t come naturally to you though. If you are someone whose hands tend to move
naturally, make sure that you contain that movement to the space in front of you and no higher
than chest level; otherwise your hand movements will start obstructing your face.

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Dress code
There are hundreds of ways in which you can make a good impression with your dress code and,
in a way, it would be patronising to impose a general way of dressing. What matters is that you
are comfortable in your clothes and that they are fit for the purpose of a professional meeting.
It often helps to mirror the dress code of those interviewing you (generally conservative).

There are some general rules that will make a difference in the way in which people perceive
you though:

Dress to frame your face

The focal point should be your face; therefore you want to frame your face by wearing darker
colours on the outside and lighter colours on the inside. For men, this will mean a shirt of light
tone and for women a light-coloured blouse. This should be complemented by a dark-toned
suit. Please note that if you are required to attend stations that involve seeing patients, you
will need to follow standard rules such as ‘bare below the elbow’, so make sure you dress
appropriately.

Look neat
If you have a beard or a moustache, make sure you trim it. If you wear make-up, don’t overdo
it. Clip your nails, tidy your hair, and make sure none of it obstructs your face. I know it sounds
obvious but you would be surprised.

Avoid distracting features

Continuing on the theme of your face being the focal point, avoid any features or accessories
which may draw the eye to the wrong places. In particular: no sequins (they make wonderful
disco balls when light reflects off them), no brooches, no ribbons, poppies, or other symbols
which are either too big or too bright in colour.

Small items of jewellery may be okay providing they do not steal the limelight away from you
and do not draw the attention away from your face.

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 USEFUL
RESOURCES

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17 | Reading list
Candidates are often concerned about how little they know about the NHS. They then go into
overdrive to read everything they can lay their hands on, only to find out at the interview that there
were no questions on NHS issues. In truth, questions on the NHS are extremely rare, if not inexistent.
Instead, what matters is that you have some awareness of the important aspects of NHS policy that
directly impact on your day-to-day role within the speciality that you are applying to at a junior level,
such as clinical governance, consent, capacity, handling difficult patients or colleagues. All of this has
been detailed earlier in this book.

We have set out below a range of resources you may find useful.

GMC WEBSITE ([Link])

If you only have time for one resource, this is the most important one. Spend proper time familiarising
yourself with the Ethical Guidance section of the GMC website. This will tell you everything you need
to know about issues such as: good medical practice, confidentiality, decision making and consent,
candour and raising concerns, protecting young people, older adults, and many other topics of interest
for your interview. Of particular interest are the following documents:

• Good Medical Practice14

• Consent: patients and doctors making decisions together (2008)15
• 0-18 years: guidance for all doctors16
• Confidentiality (2009)17

MENTAL CAPACITY ACT 200518

This document is complex to read (legal jargon and with a formal legal format) so I would recommend
that you read it only if you have an interest in these issues and a few hours to spare! Otherwise, the
summary provided in section 11.8 will be more than enough.

GETTING IT RIGHT FIRST TIME ([Link])

Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) is a national programme designed to improve the treatment and
care of patients through in-depth review of services, benchmarking, and presenting a data-driven
evidence base to support change. GIRFT has already made progress in a number of specialities.
Check their website to see what is happening in the speciality that you are applying for. This will help
you with questions where you are being asked to demonstrate an understanding of the speciality.

THE KING’S FUND ([Link])

The King's Fund is an independent charitable organisation. They publish summaries of important
issues and opinions/discussions on current NHS issues. This is slightly high level for a CT/ST/Registrar
interview, but if you target the sections that are relevant to the speciality that you are applying for, it
is worth a look.

14
[Link]
15
[Link]/guidance/ethical_guidance/consent_guidance_index.asp
16
[Link]/guidance/ethical_guidance/children_guidance_index.asp
17
[Link]/guidance/ethical_guidance/[Link]
18
[Link]/ACTS/acts2005/ukpga_20050009_en_1

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ROYAL COLLEGE WEBSITES
Each royal college has a website on which you will find current standards and guidance, as well as
discussions on pertinent current issues. This may be useful when discussing clinical scenarios at
interviews and your interest in the specialty.

REPORTS OF INTEREST:

The Francis Inquiry

([Link]
data/file/279124/[Link])

The Francis enquiry focussed on the failings of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust and makes
290 recommendations for improvement. The link will take you to the executive summary. Although
this is a 125-page document, it is fairly easy to read. Many recommendations relate to improvement
of clini-cal care and it is therefore a useful document to reference in an interview answer when asked
about how care could be improved in your unit, or what you think you could change in your own practice.
The report also introduces the duty of candour.

The Ockenden report (if you are applying for O&G)

([Link]
review-summary-of-findings-conclusions-and-essential-actions)

The Ockenden report looks at maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
following a level of mortality

And if you want to know more about the structure of the NHS (not essential but useful):

NHS England
If you want to know about the structure of the NHS in England, watch those two videos from the
King’s Fund:

• How does the NHS in England work? An alternative guide

[Link]
This video explains how the NHS worked until 2022, Most of the content is still relevant.

• How does the NHS in England work and how is it changing?

[Link]
This video explains how the NHS is changing as a result of need for better integration of care,
with changes applicable from 2022 onwards.

NHS Scotland ([Link]

NHS Wales ([Link]
NHS Northern Ireland ([Link]

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18 | Action and power words
The vocabulary and turns of phrase that you use at an interview will make a big difference to the way
in which your answers are perceived by the inter-viewers and the confidence and maturity that you
exude.

Part of your maturity and confidence will come from the spontaneity and fluency of your answers, both
of which can be addressed through practice, but much of it will come from using words which convey
your meaning powerfully.

THE IMPACT OF ACTION AND POWER WORDS

Consider these sentences:

• I would be happy to play a role in teaching.
• I have been lucky to be involved in audit over the past two years.
• I have had the opportunity to be involved in research.
• My consultant has asked me to be involved in research.
• I have been part of a team which developed guidelines on <xxx>.

None of these really convey a strong sense of commitment and enthusiasm. At an interview, saying
such sentences would be okay in small doses, but if repeated too often they will give the feeling that
you are not in control of your career and that you are adopting a passive stance.

• “I would be happy” basically means “Ask me nicely and I would do it”.

• “I have been lucky” conveys that you did not choose to get involved but that you rely on others to
give you opportunities.
• “I have had the opportunity” makes you rely on the chance that someone (or fate) will create an
opportunity where you can get involved.
• “My consultant has asked me” may be what actually happened but again it makes you look
dependent and not in charge of your destiny.
• “I have been part of a team” may be okay as an introduction if you then go on to talk about
yourself but does not convey your own role and, as such, runs the risk that you may be selling the
achievement of the team rather than your own.

There are tighter, more assertive and more powerful ways of selling yourself by using what is termed
“power” or “action” words. For example:

• “I have developed a strong interest in teaching and am very keen to take on a more prominent role
over the next few years.”
• “I have played a key role in managing audit projects from data collection to presentation stage.”
• “I discussed with my consultant a number of research opportunities, fol-lowing which I embarked
on a project which looked at <xxx>”
• “I reviewed our morbidity rate following procedure <xxx> and, as a result, I worked closely with two
of my colleagues to introduce new guidelines on <yyy>.”

These power words will help you convey your meaning in a more distinct manner and will make a lot of
difference to your final mark.

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LIST OF ACTION AND POWER WORDS

Here is a list of over 500 power words that you can use to increase the strength of your answers. These
can be used not only in formal interview questions but also in role play and group discussions.

Abbreviated Abolished Abridged Absolved

Absorbed Accelerated Acclimated Accompanied
Achieved Acquired Acted Activated
Actuated Adapted Added Addressed
Adhered Adjusted Administered Admitted
Adopted Advanced Advertised Advised
Advocated Affected Aided Aired
Allocated Altered Amended Amplified
Analysed Answered Anticipated Applied
Appointed Appraised Approached Approved
Arbitrated Arranged Articulated Ascertained
Asked Assembled Assessed Assigned
Assisted Assumed Attained Attracted
Audited Augmented Authored Authorised
Awarded Balanced Began Benchmarked
Benefited Bid Billed Blocked
Boosted Borrowed Bought Branded
Bridged Broadened Brought Budgeted
Built Calculated Canvassed Captured
Cared Cast Catalogued Categorised
Centralised Chaired Challenged Changed
Channelled Charged Charted Checked
Circulated Clarified Classified Cleared
Closed Coached Co-authored Collaborated
Collected Combined Commissioned Committed
Communicated Compared Compiled Completed
Complied Composed Computed Conceived
Conceptualised Condensed Conducted Conserved
Consolidated Constructed Consulted Contacted
Contributed Controlled Converted Conveyed
Convinced Coordinated Copyrighted Corrected
Corresponded Counselled Created Critiqued
Cultivated Customised Cut Dealt
Debated Debugged Decentralised Decreased
Deferred Defined Delegated Delivered
Demonstrated Depreciated Described Designated
Designed Detected Determined Developed
Devised Diagnosed Directed Discovered
Dispatched Dissembled Distinguished Distributed
Diversified Divested Documented Doubled
Drove Earned Eased Edited

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Educated Effected Elicited Eliminated
Emphasised Empowered Enabled Encouraged
Endorsed Enforced Engaged Engineered
Enhanced Enlarged Enlisted Enriched
Ensured Escalated Established Estimated
Evaluated Examined Exceeded Exchanged
Executed Exempted Expanded Expedited
Experienced Explained Explored Exposed
Extended Extracted Fabricated Facilitated
Fashioned Fielded Financed Fired
Flagged Focused Forecasted Formalised
Formatted Formed Formulated Fortified
Founded Fulfilled Furnished Furthered
Gained Gathered Gauged Generated
Governed Graded Granted Greeted
Grouped Guided Handled Headed
Helped Hired Hosted Identified
Ignited Illuminated Illustrated Impacted
Implemented Improved Improvised Inaugurated
Incorporated Increased Incurred Individualised
Indoctrinated Induced Influenced Initiated
Innovated Inquired Inspected Inspired
Installed Instigated Instilled Instituted
Instructed Insured Integrated Interacted
Interpreted Intervened Interviewed Introduced
Invented Inventoried Invested Investigated
Invited Involved Isolated Issued
Joined Judged Justified Kept
Launched Lectured Led Lightened
Liquidated Litigated Lobbied Localised
Located Logged Maintained Managed
Manufactured Mapped Marketed Maximised
Measured Mediated Mentored Merchandised
Merged Minimised Modelled Moderated
Modernised Modified Monitored Motivated
Moved Multiplied Named Narrated
Navigated Negotiated Netted Noticed
Nourished Nursed Nurtured Observed
Obtained Offered Opened Operated
Orchestrated Ordered Organised Oriented
Originated Overhauled Oversaw Participated
Patented Patterned Performed Persuaded
Phased Photographed Pinpointed Pioneered
Placed Planned Polled Posted
Prepared Presented Preserved Presided

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Prevented Processed Procured Produced
Proficient Profiled Programmed Projected
Promoted Prompted Proposed Prospected
Proved Provided Publicised Published
Purchased Pursued Qualified Quantified
Quoted Raised Ranked Rated
Received Recognised Recommended Reconciled
Recorded Recovered Recruited Rectified
Redesigned Reduced Referred Refined
Regained Registered Regulated Rehabilitated
Reinforced Reinstated Rejected Remedied
Remodelled Renegotiated Reorganised Repaired
Replaced Reported Represented Rescued
Researched Resolved Responded Restored
Restructured Resulted Retained Retrieved
Revamped Revealed Reversed Reviewed
Revised Revitalised Rewarded Safeguarded
Salvaged Saved Scheduled Screened
Secured Segmented Selected Separated
Served Serviced Settled Shaped
Shortened Shrank Signed Simplified
Simulated Sold Solicited Solved
Spearheaded Specialised Specified Speculated
Spoke Spread Stabilised Staffed
Staged Standardised Steered Stimulated
Strategised Streamlined Strengthened Stressed
Structured Studied Submitted Substantiated
Substituted Suggested Superseded Supervised
Supplied Supported Surpassed Surveyed
Synchronised Systematised Tabulated Tailored
Targeted Taught Tested Tightened
Took Traced Tracked Traded
Trained Transacted Transcribed Transferred
Transformed Translated Transmitted Transported
Treated Tripled Troubleshot Tutored
Uncovered Underlined Undertook Unearthed
Unified United Updated Upgraded
Urged Used Utilised Validated
Visited Visualised Voiced Volunteered
Weathered Weighed Welcomed Widened
Withstood Witnessed Won Worked
Wrote Yielded

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