Nursing/ Midwifwery Interviews

Interview may be  Individual interviews  Group interviews  You may be asked to prepare a presentation  You may have to submit a pre-interview biographical questionnaire  You may be presented with prioritising exercises or scenarios to respond to at the interview Before an interview prepare lots of examples of things you have done, of how you have dealt with difficulties and which demonstrate your personal qualities

General Points  Make sure you have thought about obvious questions: Why do you want to be nurse? Why this course?  Find out about current issues in the NHS particularly in your chosen branch of nursing. Use BBC health pages  Have an opinion on these issues. Familiarise yourself with different sides of the argument.  Know your Personal Statement inside out.  Make sure you ask some questions but not about things you ought to know

Skills interviewers will be looking for  Excellent people skills You will be providing caring for people of all ages and backgrounds. You should be able to put people at their ease, gain their confidence and deal sympathetically with their problems and fears.  Good communication and observation skills are crucial. You need to be a good at listening as well as talking and you have to be constantly alert to changes in patients' conditions and the implications in terms of care.  Ability to answer questions and offer advice Nurses are the most frequent point of contact for patients, so you must be able to answer their questions, share your knowledge and skills with patients, their families and friends and make sure their needs are recognised by the rest of the care team.

 Happy to work as part of a team As a nurse you will be part of a multi-disciplinary team that includes doctors, physiotherapists, anaesthetists, pharmacists, dietitians and many more. You need to how all these different people work together.  Dealing with emotionally charged situations Nursing can sometimes involve managing distress. You'll play a key part in helping patients and families come through their crises.

Individual interviews: examples of questions  Why do you want to be nurse?  What is the role of a nurse?  Why do you want to be a nurse?  Why your chosen branch of nursing?  What is a key skill in the branch you are applying for?  How would you work as part of a team?  What are your strengths/weaknesses?  What qualities have you got which a nurse needs?  What are some of the issues surrounding the healthcare system and how can we overcome them? Link for more examples on the Student Room site at:

Group Interviews  Questions may be similar to those in an individual, interview but interviewers are testing maturity and interpersonal/communication skills to a greater extent.  Do not to let yourself get lost and forgotten  Make sure you contribute.  Ensure others are having their say. Don't interrupt.  Look at the people who are speaking not just the interviewers  Show that you can listen and respond to others as well as talk yourself

Biographical questionnaires These are increasingly used as part of the selection process and assess qualities such as:  Teamwork  Interests/hobbies  Dealing with different (age/race/disability) & difficult people  Time management  Knowledge/interest of course/university  Experience of time spent away from home  Experiences of care  Coping with difficult/life changing experiences

Biographical questionnaire: examples  Identify a difficult or challenging situation you have faced. How did you cope with this?  Identify a situation in which you were faced with a conflict. What resulted and how did you deal with it?  Identify a stressful episode in your life. How did you try to overcome the stress and deal with the situation? You cannot say you have not faced one of these situations but they do not have to be major traumatic events

A Day in the Life: Useful website for advice on group interviews and biographical questionnaires

Scenarios/Prioritising: examples  Several things going on in a ward at the same time are identified? What would your priorities be in the situation?  You have have been told that you have failed a course in which you feel you have been successful. How would you deal with this?

Prioritising exercises: some tips  Stay calm  Read through the brief carefully  Pay attention to detail  Consider what the major issues are  Be systematic and logical in your approach  Be ready to give reasons for your decisions Good advice at:

Presentations  Smile. Have an upright posture.  Be confident and enthusiastic.  Say hello and smile when you greet the audience:  Speak clearly, firmly and confidently  Don't speak too quickly.  Give the audience time to absorb each point.  Don't talk in a monotone the whole time.

 Lift your head up and address your words to someone near the back of audience.  Use silence to emphasise points.  Keep within the allotted time for your talk.  Eye contact is crucial to holding the attention of your audience.  You could try to involve your audience by asking them a question.

 Don't read out your talk  Refer to brief notes on small pieces of card.  Don't look at your notes too often  Practise at home  If you make a mistake, don't apologise too much, just briefly acknowledge the mistake and continue.  Build variety into the talk and break it up into sections. The average person has a three minute attention span

Useful links for advice on presentations at:   interview/preparing-for-job-interviews/how-do-i- prepare-an-interview-presentation/article.aspx

Nursing/Midwifery Interviews: Useful Resources

18 Very useful website:

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NHS Careers website

Two very useful PDF booklet on NHS Careers website

Find out about health issues on the NHS Choices website

Find out about how the NHS works on the NHS choices website

Keep up to date with health news on the BBC Health News website

Find out about health issues on the BBC Health website

Use the links on the BBC Health website

Find out about health issues on the Channel 4 website and 4oD

UCAS Progression Series: Nursing, Healthcare and Social Work