Ace Your NHS Consultant Interview

In this episode of the Ace Your Consultant Interview podcast, Tessa and Becky walk through three areas that reliably trip candidates up: teaching examples, conflict scenarios, and gaps in your CV.
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They start with a common student question: “Can I just talk about my day‑to‑day ward teaching?” and explain why that won’t cut it if you want to stand out at consultant level. You’ll hear how to turn your education work into specific, high‑impact examples, including simulation programmes, curriculum planning and measured outcomes that actually tell the panel who you are as an educator.
Next, they unpack a “golden example” about refusing a neonatal transfer and show why some conflict stories are high‑risk if you don’t frame them carefully. They cover how to avoid sounding obstructive, how to show de‑escalation and support for stressed colleagues, and why recording yourself talking through tricky conflicts is worth the discomfort.
Tessa and Becky then tackle a deliciously awkward wildcard question one student faced: “Three positive words your colleagues would use for you – and one negative word they’d use when you weren’t listening.”
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Finally, they dive into career gaps: health, family, unemployment, GMC issues and more. 
Sign up for our free 5-day email course to give you ​a Crash Course To Ace Your Consultant Interview​: https://aceyourconsultantinterview.com
Starting to think about your NHS Consultant Interview Prep? Join the waitlist for my Ace Your Consultant Interview Academy. I’ll let you know as soon as the Academy doors open 
https://info.medicalinterviewprep.com/waitlist?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=transistor&utm_content=t-ep30

In this episode of the Ace Your Consultant Interview podcast, Tessa and Platt dig into three of the most uncomfortable areas of NHS consultant interview prep: negative CQC reports, duty of candour examples, and talking about your own mistakes.
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They cover:
Negative CQC feedback – when to bring it up, when to stay quiet, and how to be honest without being brutally critical of the very team you want to join.
Pre‑interview meetings and risk registers – how to use them to understand a department’s real challenges and to frame your answers around quality, safety, and speaking up.
Duty of candour examples – why the best examples often aren’t “your” mistake, and how to walk through the conversation, investigation, and system learning in a structured way.
Owning your mistake – how to stop over‑justifying, state the error clearly in the first sentence, and then focus on reflection, actions, and what you do differently now.
If you’re a final-year trainee or locum consultant worrying about how to talk about CQC, safety concerns, or past errors without torpedoing your chances, this episode shows you exactly how to do it with confidence and senior-level judgement.

Sign up for our free 5-day email course to give you ​a Crash Course To Ace Your Consultant Interview​: https://aceyourconsultantinterview.com

Starting to think about your NHS Consultant Interview Prep? Join the waitlist for my Ace Your Consultant Interview Academy. I’ll let you know as soon as the Academy doors open 
https://info.medicalinterviewprep.com/waitlist?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=transistor&utm_content=t-ep29

In this episode, Tessa and Becky tackle a common fear for many final‑year trainees and locum consultants: how to handle a non‑linear training path at consultant interview, especially if you have trained overseas or stepped off programme.
They cover:
Non‑linear training – why it is a strength, not a red flag, and how to shift from apologising to owning the value you bring.
Describing overseas experience – how to use numbers, volume, and clear outcomes so the panel really understands your clinical exposure rather than guessing.
Avoiding dull chronology – how to move away from “first I did this job, then that job” towards “these are the skills I’ve developed and what I can do for you now”.
Mistake questions – a real example about emailing a trainee about a complaint, and how to use it to show reflection, empathy, and learning without choosing a disastrous case.
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Plus how one pair of Academy students used daily 6–6.45 am practice sessions to secure a dream post.
If you have a non‑standard path, trained overseas, or simply worry that your route into consultancy looks “different”, this episode will show you how to talk about it clearly and confidently in your NHS consultant interview.
Sign up for our free 5-day email course to give you ​a Crash Course To Ace Your Consultant Interview​: https://aceyourconsultantinterview.com
Starting to think about your NHS Consultant Interview Prep? Join the waitlist for my Ace Your Consultant Interview Academy. I’ll let you know as soon as the Academy doors open 
https://info.medicalinterviewprep.com/waitlist?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=transistor&utm_content=t-ep28

In this episode of the Ace Your Consultant Interview podcast, Tessa and Becky dive into three questions that almost every final‑year trainee and locum consultant worries about.​

They cover:
The “tell me about a mistake” question – whether your example needs to be clinical, how to use non‑clinical mistakes safely, and how to avoid oversharing the kind of catastrophic story that makes a panel nervous.​
What makes a strong MDT example – using a project to show the difference between registrar‑level storytelling and consultant‑level, system‑focused thinking.​
“How has your project changed your department?” – why this question is a gift if you’ve prepared, how to choose the right project to showcase your USPs, and how to use concrete data and outcomes to demonstrate real service change.​
If you’re ready to move from “I managed a sick patient really well” to “I improved the whole service for all our patients,” this episode will show you how to zoom out, think like a consultant, and turn your everyday work into golden interview examples.
Sign up for our free 5-day email course to give you ​a Crash Course To Ace Your Consultant Interview​: https://aceyourconsultantinterview.com
Starting to think about your NHS Consultant Interview Prep? Join the waitlist for my Ace Your Consultant Interview Academy. I’ll let you know as soon as the Academy doors open 
https://info.medicalinterviewprep.com/waitlist?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=transistor&utm_content=t-ep27

In this episode of the Ace Your Consultant Interview podcast, Tessa and Becky answer a real Academy student question about a panel member who complained that candidates “reel off their CV highlights.” 

They then dig into a golden duty of candour example involving incorrect bowel prep and an enema for a child.
Next up is a common but unsettling question: “What is the value of having diversity in your leadership?” Tessa and Becky talk through how to pause, think it through, and discuss why these examples are worth preparing in advance rather than trying to improvise on the day.​

They wrap up with their favourite tool: the three‑point structure. You’ll learn how using three clear pillars anchors you when your mind goes blank, forces breadth and depth in equal measure, keeps your timing in the right zone, and makes your answers far easier for panels to follow and score. By the end, you’ll know how to turn vague, waffly responses into organised, confident answers for your NHS consultant interview.
Sign up for our free 5-day email course to give you ​a Crash Course To Ace Your Consultant Interview​: https://aceyourconsultantinterview.com
Starting to think about your NHS Consultant Interview Prep? Join the waitlist for my Ace Your Consultant Interview Academy. I’ll let you know as soon as the Academy doors open 
https://info.medicalinterviewprep.com/waitlist?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=transistor&utm_content=t-ep26