It's Interview time! - Medicine Edition

Hey guys! It's Vaan here. I hope you're all doing well!

Congrats to those of you who have gotten GMC registration and have started applying for jobs. When you become successful and have an interview coming up, your next question will be: How do I prepare for this? It may seem daunting, but it really isn't.

I have only undergone interviews for jobs in Medicine, so this post will be more relevant for Medical jobs, but some information is general. This is oriented towards Junior Doctors (FY2, Junior Clinical Fellows, SHO and Trust grade ST1)

What kind of questions will they ask?

1. The first question that you will usually be asked is about your CV. It can be framed in different ways like:

Tell us a bit about yourself

Walk us through your CV

This essentially means they want you to quickly summarise your CV and highlight the important points. There are 2 ways of doing this. You can summarise your CV in chronological order, or you can follow the CAMP format (C-clinical A-academic M-Management P-personal). Try and finish this within 2-3 minutes.

Practice this beforehand to ensure you know what points to highlight and so you finish it within time.

2. Where will you see yourself in 5/10 years?

You don't need to go into extreme detail. If you are interested in IMT, then say so. If you do not know what you want to specialise in beyond IMT, you can say that too. They just want to see that you have a plan for career progression.

3. Why do you want to work in this department?

4. Why do you want to work in this trust?

Prior to the interview, check out the trust's website and have a look at the trust values. It is perfectly acceptable for you to say that you have family in the city so you would prefer to stay close (If it's the truth!) Or if you grew up on the countryside you can mention that's why you prefer living in such a location, because it reminds you of home. Dont say that you resonate with the trust ethos, values- it SOUNDS FAKE and they will know. BE HONEST.

5. What are your strengths?

Name 2 or 3 with short examples- it should be a reason for them to hire you. Answer this question yourself --- "what quality of mine will help strengthen this team" or "what can you bring to the table"

6. What are your weaknesses?

It is perfectly acceptable to have weaknesses. Mention 2 or 3. It is better if there was no patient harm. It is very important to mention what steps you have undertaken to overcome these errors.

7. Tell us about an interesting case.

Do not mention ANY patient identifying details. You will have to describe the case and why you found it so interesting, what have you learnt from it.

8. Tell us about a mistake you made.

DO NOT SAY YOU HAVE NOT MADE ANY MISTAKES. Because this is a lie, even the best of the best make mistakes, we are all human. Its normal to have made errors and this is not looked down upon. I know in many of our home countries, it is extremely looked down on for you to mention that you have made errors. That is not the case in the UK. It is understood that everything is a learning process and you WILL make mistakes. The important thing is to emphasize what you have learnt from your mistake and how you are avoiding it from happening again. As I mentioned earlier, it is better if the mistake did not cause any patient harm.

9. CLINICAL QUESTIONS

You will be asked 1 or 2 clinical scenarios. Please read through the emergency section in the Oxford Handbook of clinical Medicine. Some of the topics that you need to know are:

• IE COPD

• Exacerbation of Asthma

• SAH

• AF

• Meningitis (Sepsis)

• Chest pain (The various differentials included. They can lead you anywhere)

• Sepsis

• Stroke

• TIA

• UGI bleed

• Status Epilepticus

• Certain department specific scenarios like Sickle cell crisis for Haem or neutropenic sepsis for Oncology

THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST. IF YOU THINK OF ANYMORE, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT.

The way you answer these is very similar to PLAB 2 stations. You MUST mention ABCDE approach as the first step. Mention what you would ask in history and walk them through the examination. Give a list of your investigations and always mention to discuss with a senior. (Remember, you are a junior doctor, you cannot make major decisions). They may or may not lead you on with findings from your examination.

10. Ethical Questions

Similar to PLAB 2, you may have ethical questions such as difficult colleague, underperforming colleague, MCA, DOLS etc.

11. Other Topics

There are a few other topics which you should familiarise yourself with. I don't know how likely these questions are to be asked, but better to be prepared.

• Responding to a Datix

• Break confidentiality (When can you?)

• What is an audit?

• What are the steps in an audit?

• What is Clinical governance?

• What are the 7 pillars of clinical governance?

• What are the different methods of teaching you know?

• What is problem based learning? / reflective learning?

The majority of these topics are explained in a book called 'Medical Interviews' (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Medical-Interviews-3rd-comprehensive-techniques/dp/1905812248/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=medical+interviews&qid=1625517298&sr=8-1)

12. Questions tailored to you

Of course they will ask you specific questions based on what you've mentioned in your CV- research, publications, audit- ensure you are thorough and ready to tackle any question about it.

Can you ask them questions?

YES, YOU CAN AND SHOULD.

Smart and well thought out questions show that you are serious about this post and that you are focused and know exactly what you want to get out of this job. Some important questions that was pointed out to me by a good friend are as follows:

• Confirm whether you will have a named supervisor. A supervisor will help you build your portfolio for your training applications.

• CREST form- If you have not gotten it signed yet, confirm whether they would be willing to sign it for you and also by when you will need it.

• Confirm whether you have access to the foundation portfolios

• If you do not have ALS certification, It is a good idea to ask whether the hospital will be able to help you book a slot.

• Ask about the On call rota so you know how often you will have to be on-call

• At the end, do not forget to ask when you can expect to hear back from them!

Thank them for the opportunity before wishing goodbye! Good manners witll show them a bit of insight into how your bedside manner will be!

Practice answering all these questions beforehand, so you don't freeze on the spot.

What to wear?- All the interviews are now being held via video call, but you must still be dressed professionally. As always, similar to what you wore for your PLAB 2 exam. Check out our other article about PLAB 2 which has a more detailed explanation.

Check you camera, lighting and internet the day before the interview.

Stay calm through the interview and SMILE! Yes, you want to appear focused, but you don't want to scare them away! They want to see you as someone who they would enjoy working long shifts with. Make a joke or two if you feel confident.

I hope this helps those who are interested. This is obviously not a complete list of questions, but these seem to be important topics that you should know. Despite all this Prep, they may still ask a question that you were not expecting; DO NOT PANIC, Ask them for a minute for you to think before answering. Remember, you are a junior doctor and are not expected to know everything, but you are expected to know when to get help.

Goodluck!