Medical Interview Preparation

How You Can Gain Control Over Your Medical Interview

Dear Colleague,

Hi, my name is Nalin. I am a consultant paediatrician working in Portsmouth and I have also helped hundreds of doctors to prepare themselves successfully for their various medical interviews and what I'd like to do now is to give you - for free - some advice to help you to arm yourself with just a few of the strategies that I gave them. Please take the time to read this carefully. This is likely to be different from the "standard stuff" that gets rehashed over and over again. It is based on the psychology of selling and a study of selection theory and the principles in this course will help you whether you are applying for a medical school post, ST interview or consultant interview. The skills and strategies that I want to share with you work amazingly well to help you answer any interview question they throw at you with a structured and well delivered response

Problems Preparing For Medical Interviews

One of the problems I had when I was preparing for my consultant interview was that I didn't really know the rules of the game. And because nobody had told me the rules, I didn't know that there were loop holes in the system either. Nobody told me any of this. I was supposed to "just know"

I also didn't know where or how to start preparing. Did I start by reading all about the thousands of NHS issues, or did I just get my consultants and friends to start firing questions at me? How was I meant to start finding out all the necessary information? There was almost too much information available about everything - and none of it was really what I needed

Now I can usually keep quite a cool head under pressure and am not bad at speaking in front of an audience, so I figured that if I just went on one or two (I went on two) of the big London medical interview courses, then all I had to do was turn up for my consultant interview and it would all work out all right

Well, I won't go into the details here, but I crashed and burned ... badly. But worst of all ... I didn't really understand why I had performed so badly. The medical interview panel's feedback wasn't particularly helpful. Just very general comments like - "it wasn't your day" or "you did very well, but..." - Nothing that I could really work on

I was truly dejected at that point. I don't think that I have felt lower about my medical career than at that point. I wasn't sure if I was ever going to be good at "selling" myself at an interview. I am not naturally good at boasting about myself and didn't feel comfortable about that idea at all

However, I didn't want my medical career to become stagnant and decided that I would start to study the process - really intensively. I read book after book, spoke to loads of people and spent ages thinking through what I had learnt and finally came up with a system for preparing myself to be able to answer any medical interview question and score marks. The system was designed to train me and my thinking in line with the principles of sales and selection theory

I discovered that in order to sell yourself effectively at your medical interview, you basically need a specific set of thinking skills. These aren't that hard to develop, but until you develop them, you will always be fighting for second place

Some people naturally have these skills - these are those irritatingly "lucky" people who seem to have the knack of sparkling at their medical interviews even though you know that they weren't the best candidate for the post - ever met anyone like that?

I worked out plans for answering various different types of medical interview questions. I developed a system for preparing for a medical interview using all of the best principles set out from all of the books that I had read. The system allowed me to properly prepare, so that I knew how to sell it optimally, no matter what interview question thrown at me

Here is a quick (12 minute) tutorial on what I call the inner game of medical interview preparation

I would really like you to take the time to view it - make notes on anything that make sense - and then APPLY what you have written down. You may not appreciate how profound the information within this tutorial is - but it is really at the core of how you can take your medical interview preparation to a significantly higher level than your competitors

Because of the profound nature of this advice it applies at whatever grade of medical post you are applying for - whether it's a consultant interview, ST interview, GP interview, medical school interview - it does not matter.

Please take the time to view your tutorial. I hope that you don't make the mistake of thinking that because I am giving it to you for free, then it can't be worth much - this is really powerful information, that nobody ever tells you. I don't want you to run into the same problems that I had and I hope that by following the advice in this tutorial you will find yourself better prepared for your medical interview and so less nervous and obviously more successful

 

My Portsmouth consultant interview itself was actually quite fun. I was playing the game strategically and in many ways better than the interview panel. They threw all sorts of questions at me and tried to push me into various different corners and into deviously dug holes, but I had already prepared my escape plans for every one of their traps - and more than that - I got out looking good and scoring marks

After I secured the post, I started coaching friends and colleagues at work. They too started to become successful at their medical interviews. There was one doctor, who got shortlisted for interview after interview, but always failed at that final stage. He was a good doctor with a reasonable CV. But, like many of us, he wasn't very good at selling himself - (actually he was awful)

I spent a couple of hours with him one evening, before he was going to take a week off to attend three interviews. He came back troubled - he had been successful at all three interviews and now didn't know which one to accept!

I then decided to coach doctors professionally. I joined one of the big medical interview coaching companies in London. I was training lots of doctors and discovering what problems many of them were facing. With a few tweaks, it was easy to make noticeable improvements in their medical interview performances

However, I learnt that you can't get these skills from just attending an interview course. Although, I was one of the lead clinical trainers for the medical interview course companies. The structure of the course was largely determined by the course director.

Now, the purpose of a live interview course is really to help you fine tune your preparation. They aren't really set up to organise your preparative thinking from the bottom up. Don't get me wrong - I think live medical interview courses are an immense help, but only if you have done the basic preparation FIRST. You wouldn't want to spend almost £300 to travel to London and sit there to do some thinking, would you? No, when you spend £300 and travel to London to spend some time with a live trainer, you want that person to ask you questions and listen to your answers - not give you a lecture

I got frustrated, as I wanted to help my students to prepare properly, but in a live, 15-person medical interview course, there was so much to do that I wasn't allowed to spend more than an hour teaching the theoretical aspects of medical interview preparation. This was quite appropriate as when you spend £300 to attend a live interview course, you really should have done most of your thinking already. The challenge is that nobody tells you how to organise your thinking to sell yourself at your medical interview

I also noticed that many doctors were making similar mistakes in their medical interviews. Most of these mistakes are relatively easy for you to avoid. I have created a handout to help you to avoid 5 of the most common medical interview mistakes that doctors make in their medical interviews

All you have to do is fill in the form below with your name and email address and I will email you the handout to you.

Students would often get nervous about their medical interviews and want me to give them tricks to help them with their nerves. However, I wanted them to spend 5 or 6 hours eliminating the fundamental reasons why they were nervous, rather than just plastering over their problems with tricks

The major reason why you get nervous in a given situation is not because of the situation, it's because that the situation takes you beyond what you are comfortable experiencing. Most of you will be able to do things that appear dull to you, but would make most non-medical people sweat with nerves. Whenever you take blood, or do a lumbar puncture or CPR, you are doing something that you have had experience and training in. So it doesn't appear nervous. You didn't need a bunch of tricks to help you cope with nerves - although they can be helpful - you needed to know what you are doing. You needed training and experience

Here is another (FREE) tutorial on how to develop answers for the drunk doctor question. Hopefully, after viewing it, this question - which seems to worry many candidates - won't be quite so daunting. There are actually quite a lot of hidden lessons within this tutorial, but I couldn't explain it fully as I wanted to keep it short as I realise how valuable your time is

But it's not your fault

The problem is that most medical recruitment is done on the cheap. Most of the people who are on the interview panel, don't really understand what they are doing - really. The vast majority of those that I have spoken to who have been on selection panels have had no formal training!

Nobody tells you the rules, because nobody has ever spent time thinking about what they are. The "rules" haven't been deliberately created. They have just evolved and are based in human psychology.

The real challenge for medics is that much of our training that we have been through will kill us in an interview setting. If you discuss your candidacy like a scientist - you will die in an interview

But nobody tells you what you really need to do. Even when you get some advice from a senior doctor, all you often get back is some basic and general advice about body language or how

"that wasn't so bad" or

"you'll be fine" and

"relax and try to be more confident"

What you really need is specific advice on how to be better

So, I went to work on developing a cutting edge resource to help medics like you to prepare yourself for your medical interview

I wanted it to be an audiovisual course, as I understood how effective learning requires multi-sensory input is, so I purchased and taught myself how to use some of the best e-learning software on the market. I also hired a BBC radio newsreader to do the voiceovers as I wanted you to experience a high quality learning environment.

In the online medical interview course you will learn:

	How to develop great content that will allow you to sell your skills in a way that meets their needs and stresses the benefits so that the interview panel feels unknowingly compelled to value your candidacy above the competition
	How to enhance your own awareness of the elements of your candidacy that meet their three secret questions, by going through the thinking exercises in the workshops
	Understand how to answer your questions using linguistic tricks that will deflect the attention of the interview panel so that they want to talk about the areas you want them to listen to - and not those that you don't feel comfortable in
	Strategies for dealing with questions on generic skills such as communication, team playing, team leading, being a good doctor, teaching and others
	A variety of tactics for delivering structured answers to a variety of interview questions - this series of game plans is pure gold
	Elements of image management (body language, how to shake hands, voice control, how to dress, etc) that will polish off your mental preparation and allow you to deliver your candidacy with style
	How to answer any ethical question with style and substance using the principles set out in the GMC book Good Medical Practice - but taught to you specifically with the purpose of attending a medical interview
	There are also a series of briefing topics on a variety of NHS topics

What You Should Do

	If you have a medical interview coming up - either for a junior medical post, consultant post or even a medical school post, then I would encourage you to look through some of the videos and tutorials on this site. They're free and I really hope that you will find them valuable. It's more than the usual drivel that people give out and filled with actionable strategies that are time tested to be effective
	I have also created a separate online medical interview training course for you. This online course is a series of presentations, designed by me and delivered by a BBC newsreader, using some effective graphics, to help enhance your learning through both visual and auditory systems In the online course, there are step by step guides explaining exactly how to prepare yourself properly for a medical interview. It has been used successfully by many doctors and students from all over the world. The course is aimed to quickly adapt your thinking for performing optimally in your medical interview If you want to try it, just sign up and you can start your training in a couple of minutes
	You should then get a list of medical interview questions and start practicing answering those questions using the system in the online course
	You could then attend one of the big, expensive, live interview courses, knowing that you will be able to use that day properly, because you will have executed your basic preparation plan and you will be using the day to polish off your skills in a live environment - this is really how those live interview courses should be used

 

Dear Nalin I am emailing to say thank you. I recently undertook your online interview course, and I thought it was fantastic. I have had a few interviews in my life, and I have always felt I have underperformed compared to other people. After your course I went into the interview with a new found confidence. I put into practice all the elements I could, and the end result was I was successful. I am now an ST3 in trauma and orthopaedics. I have found out subsequently that there were 250 eligible applicants, 30 people interviewed and <10 people appointed. I have recommended this course to everyone who has asked about my interview. I have never written a testimonial before, but if you want to use what I have written above, then that is fine. Thank you James Newly appointed ST3 in T+O

Hi - I recently used your interview prep site and course (recommended to me by one of my colleagues at work) and I wanted to pass on my thanks.... I got the job! I was very grateful to prepare using your techniques and I had very little time to organize my thoughts prior to my consultant interview - it gave me a good structure to work from. So thank you very much - I'm already recommending you to my other pre-consultant colleagues who are about to go through the same turmoil! Kind regards, Sharon Morris

Dear Nalin, Many thanks for your help. Got the job on Monday. Kind Regards Behrooz

Hi Nalin, Just a quick email to say thanks very much for an excellent service - both the subscribed course and the additional tips were invaluable and really helped me change my approach to being interviewed (and to negotiating in general!). I am pleased to report I got the job and start my new consultant life in August! Thanks again, Kirsten

Hi Nalin, Thank you for your advise. I did sign up for your detailed course. I am really happy that I did. It is been really useful. I have not gone through any other interview course. I am very happy to say that I have been successful in my first consultant interview. I once again thank you for help. regards shiva

 

Hi Nalin, Thanks for your email re. interview advice. I am delighted to say that I was successful in getting an ST3 post and NTN in August 08. THE SECRET BEHIND MY SUCCESS IS UNDOUBTLY YOUR ONLINE COURSE. I whole heartedly praise your course and am recommending the course to all my friends who are facing interviews. My next stint at interviews will be when I apply for consultant posts. I'll subscribe to your course again. thanks again, jagannath

Hi Nalin, thank you for your email., i have already subscribed to the online course, and have found it tremendously useful; if i dare say, more than the one i attended physically. best regards, Imran

Thank you Nalin. The hand-out has been very useful You are doing a great job. Dr. QAMAR

Sir, Thank you so much for these tutorials. They are of great help.I really appreciate it. Regards, Meryl

Hi Nalin, Thankyou for your help. I've gone through the initial bit of your online course. I found it excellent and useful now itself but without having faced any interview yet. It's definitely given me a direction and impetus to prepare. Brilliant work done. Joe

Thanks for the emails. I found your course very useful, and in fact have now found a consultant job in west yorks. Simon

Hi Nalin Amazing information Thanks a million Santosh

Hi Nalin Thanks for your mail.I have got a consultant Job on the 22nd of September. Thanks for your mail!! kishore

I have just listened to your free tutorials and read your online introduction plus downloaded the Tips Handout.....and, I kid you not, learned more in a few minutes - as a knocking-along middle manager at Portsmouth College myself - than I have ever done before about what is required to be a successful applicant at interview !!!! I have spread the word about your course - in fact I keep on going on about it and people at College are interested now !! -  and in fact today I also emailed the link to my sister in the States who is interested in it for trainee teachers - I really do think it works across the board, Nalin - so hopefully she will be in touch with you as well..... So - thanks once again and I am thinking that your course could work outside the medical world as well - so maybe that is a way worth going with it as well.......... Fran - a grateful mum

Hi Nalin, Thanks a lot for your continuous advice. I got a run through post ( ST4). Regards Rana

 

Dear Nalin Just to update you.. I got the job! And whilst I only discovered your website two days before my interview, it really helped so Thank you! Farida

Hie Nalin, just wanted to thank you so much for the wonderful teaching on the online course. I got my run through post at ST4. Thank you once again Mike

Hi Nalin Thanks for your valuable course. Thanks a lot Ashok

 

Hi Nalin, Thanks for your very helpful slides/presentation which helped me secure an ST3 post in Cardiology recently. Would certainly recommend to my friends and colleagues. Dennis

Dear Nalin Thank you so much. Focused, practical and measured! This course was a huge help in focusing my attention! (Got the job)! George

Hi Nalin, please do keep me updated withe your tutorials. I appreciate you contacting me. Your stuff is really helpful. Thanks Dr Jandy

Dear Nalin, Yes I have managed to get on the site. It's absolutely brilliant. I would certainly recommend it to other people. It's better than going on any courses. I am preparing for a interview for cons Paed with interest in Diabetes. can you give me any tips on how to answer If I am asked how do you take the service forward? At the moment the trust has 4 hospitals with 4 consultants providing service. But soon the there will only be 2 hospitals providing acute inpatient service. thanks sunil

P.S.

One of my secret hopes for you is that you subscribe to the course and learn not only how to improve your interview skills, but also to develop your communication skills in a new way

By preparing this course for you, I have also personally improved my own skills in ways that I had not actually forseen.

My negotiation skills have improved to a level where I have been successful carrying through new business cases at work. I am able to conduct myself more effectively at meetings where, by using these same principles, I have found myself better prepared to nudge the direction of the meeting towards areas that I believe are more helpful for my service

My ability to lead a successful team has improved and my relationships with patients and their parents have also been enhanced, as I now have new collection of communication skills, which have allowed me to help patients decide how they wanted to manage their diseases - which have been in more optimal ways

I sincerely hope, that you too will be able to glean these lessons from this "medical interview preparation" course, so that you can evolve into the better doctor that you deserve to be