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INTERVIEW STRUCTURE OF ST

ST Interviews generally last 30 to 40 minutes and consists of three or four stations, each with a different theme. The exact duration, the number of stations and the themes of the various specialties, but are usually 10-12 minutes. Note that, as always there are exceptions, as some candidates, the interviews that a single 30-minute station (more or less next to the format of the "old" or interviews SHO SPR).

The nature of the stations, depending on the specialty to specialty, and indeed from Dean to Dean. For example, some anesthetics candidates in London have almost exclusively clinical scenarios, whereas in Manchester interviews were more balanced.

Overall, you are probably three or four stations, consisting of the following ways:

Clinical Station

This rule includes a series of clinical scenarios (eg emergency) that you would normally be expected to handle. Some of the scenarios are straight forward, but others can be a little (ie, you may not have met such situations in the past, but the interviewers expect you have a good educated guess).

Practical Station

In some specialties Candidates may be asked to demonstrate practical procedures (eg intubating a dummy in the anesthesia, suturing, or a tomato in ophthalmology). There is absolutely nothing you can do to make for this station. Either you know or not. Practical stations are usually available for surgery-related specialties.

General, Motivation & Teaching Station

A number of deaneries and specialties have stations that for general questions. These tend to focus on your interest in the specialty chemicals and the Dean's Office, along with your career plans and the manner in which you have your interest in the specialty. In general, the general ward also deals with teaching skills.

Academic & Clinical Governance Station

Most interviews will be a scientific station. In some interviews, there are actually two academic years stations (eg, a dedicated research and testing, and another on other issues such as teaching and Risk Management.

Academic stations in the form of a traditional question-and-answer session. For example, you are prompted to speak the most interesting test. The interviewers will then dig into the details of your experience, eg as the default, what you roll, which is as a result, etc.

Other questions are your experiences with the research, what you understand about the principles of research, questions about the importance of research, etc. Such questions can be daunting at first, but if you are well prepared, you can really shine.

Critical Appraisal Station

In several specialties (eg ophthalmology, surgery), the candidates were asked to critically evaluate a paper, at all levels of ST, including ST1.

Preparation time 20 to 40 minutes, followed by a 5 to 10 minutes presentation. In the context of a critical assessment of station that you expected that an understanding of how assessments are critical, and you should also be able to answer any questions that the interviewers have on paper, you are reading. This could include questions of a clinical nature, focusing on the topic being discussed, but often also to address issues of research principles such as "What is a p-value? "" Or "What are the ethical issues raised in this paper? "".

Experience in research is a clear advantage in this station. Apart from this, attendance at journal club is also a good way of preparing for themselves, especially at the lower grades ST.

RPG

In some specialties, was roleplaying. Role, was already an integral part of the SPR interviews for some specialties, such as Obs & Gynae, but it was also made to other specialties in some of the deaneries, including psychiatry (eg, with a father who wants a few pieces of news to its over-18 approved daughter), ophthalmology (eg against bad news and counseling a patient on glaucoma), and several others.

In many ways, RPGs are similar to those required for the recruitment of GP trainees. Its main objective is not to test your skills and knowledge of clinical (This is achieved in other, as in real clinical stations), but to test the approach for the patient and your communicative skills. The clinical content of the role is therefore limited, as they opted instead for your empathy, your listening, your ability to summarize information in a simple language, the ability to deal with anger and conflicts calmly and rationally, and the ability to building is a relationship with a patient in the sometimes difficult circumstances.

The play stations are usually players who are informed. Given that the role is sometimes played by an interviewer. There have been cases in which RPG was unexpected in a normal clinical care or an ethics station. The station would normally with a few general questions like "How would you deal with a patient who ..."". Midway through the station one of the interviewers will tell you that he is the patient and that he wants to that you, for your answer. This can be somewhat confusing, and you should be prepared for the worst, even if you have not explicitly said that you have a role to play station.

Station Group discussion

Very few have this type of specialty and to our knowledge, this has primarily to do in psychiatry in the north of England.

Discussion in the group "the primary concern is to test your interaction with others and not so much your clinical knowledge, although an understanding of your specialty and its surrounding NHS context is obviously important. Interviewer / observer to examine the way with the other members of the group and how to actively participate in the search for a solution to a specific problem within the constraints imposed by the behavior and personality of the other members of the groups.

Each group is composed of four to six candidates and the issues for discussion range from the handling of a difficult case, of an ethical problem, on a current topic.

WHAT IS A STRUCTURED INTERVIEW?

The term "structured interview" frightens many candidates, but in fact, a simple non-scary importance. They are opposed to "unstructured interviews".

Unstructured interviews are standard interviews where the interviewer can give you various questions about yourself and your interests to assess whether you are in the mail. There can be no specific order to the questions. An unstructured interview might be an informal conversation. In unstructured interviews, the decision on the setting is on the feeling that the interviewer about you as opposed to a rigid system of marking. Unstructured interviews, in some NHS trusts, but usually at Consultant level. In this age of equality, justice and bureaucracy, the majority of NHS trusts have more complex, but apparently a fair and open-structured interview process.

Structured interviews are certain criteria that the interviewers are for evaluation by your answers. Each interviewer is a list of these criteria and questions were derived to ensure that all the criteria can be assessed through the interview. At the end of the interview, each interviewer will hand in his scores and candidates will be evaluated. Higher rank are more likely candidates to their preferred choice of the post. This system has the advantage that more transparency, because it was not so much on "feeling", but it can also be quite rigid. In particular, the final decision based on your performance on the day of the interview that everyone knows, may not necessarily mean that the best doctor is terminated.

THE MYTHS ABOUT ST structured interviews

Myth: ST-structured interviews, interviews in which they ask only for the examples

Interviews, where they only ask for examples as "features interviews behavior." All the word "structured" means is that they ask questions that are specific to the study of specific skills and competencies.

Myth: Everyone gets the same questions

It is true that everyone has the same opening questions for each ability, interviewers are allowed, during the exploratory and follow-up. The probe or follow-up questions will be based on your answer to the question of opening. This allows the interviewer to appropriate to your background, while ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to cover the same topics in a similar manner.

Myth: ST-structured interviews are an objective method of recruitment of candidates

Structured interviews, an element of fairness in the interview process should be removed because they are part of the "" He looks nice and friendly, so I will him a job "approach. They are designed to ensure that skills are in a quasi-systematic manner. However, you are not completely objective. For example, some of the criteria are still quite vague (eg "The candidate tactfully handled conflicts"). Several interviewers have a different idea of how tactul and / or pushy you should be. Thus, it is fair to say that structured interviews are fairer than others in different ways, they are not entirely objective. In addition, the interviewers always fiddle the marks to the candidate that they prefer ...

Myth: Structured interviews are a new system introduced by MMC / MTAS in 2007

Structured interviews were in place for a long time on SPR in the NHS. In fact, in some specialties, there was the OSCE-structured interviews around for a long time (eg O & G). What has changed is the far more comprehensive marking schedule was developed by MTAS. But the principles, and the preparation necessary to be successful, remain the same as before.

ST INTERVIEW TIPS

Tip 1: Prepare effectively

Many candidates, either under-or over-preparation preparation for their medical interviews ST.

Most people in preparing the wrong way.

* Under preparation: The under-prepared is often the result of the misconception that, because the interviewer can be so many different issues, it is very difficult for anything else. As a result, responses to chaotic, contradictory, and lengthy, the candidate loses his / her way in unnecessary details and misses the crucial ways to dispose of his / her skills in a positive light. Other candidates also wake up too late or leave it until it is the short list to start thinking about their interview. In many cases, it is too late.
* Over-Preparation: In preparation often combined with a poor strategy and results in candidates rehearse answers until they are perfect. People that this error can be easily thrown off balance by questions, not willing to give them the answers sometimes not quite the question. In general, how they bad listener and are unable, by their answers ready.
* Incorrect preparation: Many candidates believe that the preparation for an interview is mainly a list of hundreds of questions and tests their ability to deal with "something" soon. "Sample answers to many questions is the final step of the process in which They pull all the elements that you have during your preparation. Keep in mind: The first day you learned the blood, you do not have 100-times in 10 minutes ... In a similar way, do not try to answer to 100 questions in 10 minutes, since they only make you sound vaguely on the day.

What is the proper preparation for a medical interview?

* More time for your resume: First you should spend some time, your experience and your CV. The best candidates are those who are capable of personal responses. This is only possible if you know what you have achieved. Apart from this, it is embarrassing to be a question on your CV and will not be able to answer.
* Enjoy the time to know yourself: Many questions relate to your ability to practice a skill or another. Some of these issues are so widespread that there is no excuse for you not to answer. Interviewers can sometimes be unforgiving. Many candidates were unable to answer personal questions when they called into question by their own friends in a relaxed environment. If you can not explain what makes you a good communicator in your living room in 5 minutes if your best friend asks you about, you can not expect to answer this question under pressure, in 2 minutes, with several people stared them. Think about what you well and what makes you good, think about the situation in which examples of these strengths have a strong influence, etc. The more thinking ahead, the less thinking you have to do a day.
* A lot of time to look at key issues: There is little value in view of hundreds of questions too soon. You will only perpetuate your mistakes and is not in itself to think about the question and the different angles. Instead, if you have time, try to set a theme for each day (research, teaching, confidentiality, etc.) and various issues that arise on this issue. You learn to rely on the same information in different ways, and you get your brain to the connections that allow you to think laterally in an interview. You should have at least 5 minutes on each question, taking the time to come good content and to organize your thoughts. Our courses are specially designed so that they are in this process by using the tools and direction you need, what you in your preparation. Our experience shows that, on average, successful applicants for 15 to 20 hours preparing for the interview.
* Practice: Only if you have done this preparation, you should practice your answers from others, or by talking to your mirror / walls. Doing it too early will only serve to you in either a false sense of security or when you panic, depending on how secure you are.

Tip 2: Do not assume that the standard answer you will be successful

Many candidates believe that by regurgitating a ready answer, they receive the order. This is a myth. You should not believe that anyone (including some senior doctors) who tell you that you will receive the task by learning a standard answer. What is really the difference is the personal style that you used in the formulation and how you back up your claims with relevant examples and well developed. This is also what makes our coaching so successful and so different. We work with you to the right information at the right level of personalization. Your answer must be unique, not the same as hundreds of others.

Tip 3: Do not try to be different by strange

Many candidates believe that they stand out to others. This makes them afraid of dealing with some issues, and they live in fear of sounding boring. As a result they try to be clever and to find "unusual answers." This is a dangerous game. What makes you stand, is not the fact that the contents of the answer to your question is completely different than your competitors answers, but the manner in which you express and again good ideas, and the confidence that your delivery and in your opinion. ST Interviews (regardless of whether you opt for ST1, ST2, ST3 and ST4) are not as original, they are not all rounded.

Tip 4: Organize your answers

Many candidates' answers from a long list of ideas, most of which are not secured or not. It makes no sense that in 20 ideas, where the average person can only remember 3 or 4 ideas at a time. They are only drown your interviewer in a mass of information they can not digest. As a result, they either lose interest, and through the window, or they get a headache to symbols of the whole. Put yourself in the shoes, you were sitting listening in the same old answers from everyone. Make their job easy, let them not think too much, organize the information for them. We have the experience, those jobs are not the ones who absolutely flawless in its content answers. They are those who have a good structure and it personally, even if only 70% of the expected content.

Tip 5: is personal

For each question, there are a number of points can be raised. Most people who have automatically with these issues and, in order to make a difference, you need to hear your answers as you can otherwise the same as everyone else. Depending on the question you were asked, this can be achieved in different ways.

If the question is about your social skills, trying, in just a few examples that

Their experience shows. For example, when discussing team play, describe

Situations where you experience of team work. They should not be too detailed, but sufficiently specific to be credible.

Steer clear of definitions and explanations Grand. An interview is a conversation, not a speech or an oral essay. You must seem natural and confident that what you say. Do not be afraid to express your ideas in your own words. For example, when is the last time you used the word "flourish" at home or at work? Why, therefore, in which it in your description of the clinical governance? Too many people try to explain simple ideas with pompous words because they think it makes them sound better. In reality, they are sound theoretical vague and sometimes confused ... the interviewers are confused.

Do not be afraid to express how you feel, what you like, why you enjoyed it, etc. You want to recruit people, not clones. Also you can talk about feelings, your enthusiasm and passion for what you do. Nobody has ever sounded passionate talk.

Tip 6: Stop obsessed about your body language

It makes little sense to think about how to use your fingers or legs, if what comes out of your mouth makes no sense. Body language is not part of the marking sheet interviewers have. In fact, most people ignore your body language, unless it is really bad, in this case it is very likely that you have very little confidence and that your answers are also very bad.

Most people have a normal body language and interviewer for the fact that you are a bit nervous. If you have the time for preparation and for your interview, you will get a lot more confidence in yourself and your body language will naturally follow. The more you think about your body, the less you are able, through your answers.

Tip 7: Do not spend months learning about the details of NHS issues

There is always a danger in knowing too much about a topic, you can ask for further details until you are on your own sword. On our last count there were more than 95 NHS possible questions you can be asked in an interview. Even if you're only 20 minutes on each, it would take you more than 30 hours. And that's just for the basics.

Instead, concentrate and a few right time to 5 or 6 most important questions of importance, either because they are popular today, or because of close concern to your specialty. But do not have to learn the basic facts otherwise go back into the realm of ready answers. ST At interviews, you will be expected that an understanding of the problem, but also from IT implications and practical applications. So spend your time usefully to the discussion of the issues with colleagues and discuss. You will then start thinking about these issues in different ways and get a personal understanding of them, with which you can discuss freely on a medical call.

Olivier Picard is a celebrated author of a wide range of resources for medical interviews. He is also managing director of ISC Medical, a company specializing in interview coaching skills for the medical profession. See http://www.medical-interviews.co.uk and http://www.interview-skills.co.uk for more information.