NHS Interview - Anxious

[tiredmummy98]

Hi, I have an interview over Teams tomorrow with the NHS for the role of health care assistant,
any advice for nerves?

I had an interview a few months ago for a different ward which they asked me 10 questions and I worked myself up so much beforehand I completely blanked out during it and I really don’t want the same happening again🤣

Is it competency based? I had an interview for the NHS recently and it was competency based so every question needs to have a situation, how you responded and what the outcome was. I'm not sure if it's the same for a healthcare assistant role but definitely make notes and refer to them, they actually advised me to do this for next time.

They will be looking for key words so make sure you slip in confidentiality, patient care is a priority, keeping patients and staff safe, your own wellbeing, ongoing training to benefit yourself and the ward / trust, dont be afraid to ask questions, they actually prefer it if you ask if you're unsure and be safe than winging something while on the ward etc. I hope this all helps, and as Connie says, keep notes and refer to them.

Absolutely agree with the above about key words.

Confidentiality, patient centered care, gold standard care, evidence based care, continuious development, accountability, duty of candor etc etc.
Another good shout is to look at the website for the trust and see their standards of care. Normally its the 6 C's and you may get a question on that (but some trust have weird and wonderful ones instead!)

Ultimately just try and take a breath, ask them to repeat any question you need to and never be afraid to use situations not directly linked to patient care. You can't have come across every scenario, so using things from your own life to showcase how you'd respond is absolutely fine.

Any scenario they give you in the form of a "what would you do" situation.. if you're not sure of the process it's absolutely okay to say something along the lines of "I'm unsure of the process for dealing with this within your department, so I'd escalate this to a senior and ask for help and support to manage it".

You've got this!