Objectives of stakeholders to an interview process :
• The organisation which wants to fill its vacancy with the most suitable candidate available .
• The applicants who each want to secure the position for themselves .
• The interviewers who want to establish the relative suitability of each candidate .
We will use the term ‘ organisation ’ in broad terms here to represent the body which is undertaking the recruitment : Trust , Health Board , hospital , department , etc .
If you are successful in securing an interview , then you will generally be considered to have demonstrated you have the technical / clinical skills and abilities required to fulfil the role . We will look at this further when we describe the selection process which is utilised by organisations for recruitment to a Consultant vacancy . The same is true for all the other doctors who reach this stage of the process . A Certificate of Completion of Training ( CCT ) or CESR equivalent and inclusion on the Specialist Register of the General Medical Council should count as proof of your skills . In other words , you have already passed the test ! So , the interview is not about establishing your clinical credentials .
Neither is it a test of your knowledge of which of the numerous organisations which make up the NHS are responsible for what task or to name the key reports which have been published on particular topics . If it were , then the organisation could save themselves a lot of time by giving you a multiple-choice questionnaire or some other written exam . Being able to demonstrate a working knowledge of the challenges and your ability to function within the system are definitely relevant . This is , however , quite different from being able to recount raw facts .
When we are job applicants , we should ideally be aligned to the organisation ’ s objectives . In this case they are unlikely to be simply looking for the most technically brilliant ‘… ologist ’. It is crucial that they avoid appointing the ‘ wrong person ’ - no matter how clinically brilliant they happen to be . The role of Consultant goes well beyond your direct investigation , diagnosis and treatment of the single patient who sits before you in your clinic .
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