Dr Imran WaheedConsultant Psychiatr istwww.imranwaheed.comSeptember 2012

PREPARATION FOR BECOMING A CONSULTANT

Setting the contextApplication forms and CVsInterviews

PRESENTATION OVERVIEW

THE NHS FINANCES

DoH – requires 4% effi ciency savings per year

Monitor – figure nearer to 6-7%Never been done in history of NHS£20 billion of savings by 20154500 fewer nurses compared with 2 years

ago9% less management44% of nurses thinking of leaving the NHS? End of NHS terms and conditions

THE NHS FINANCES

Payment by ResultsCRES, budgets, service redesignFoundation TrustsEquity and Excellence: Liberating the NHSCommissioning and CCGsNew Ways of WorkingQIPP, CQUIN, Darzi, PROMsRevalidation/ShipmanModernising Medical Careers

HOT TOPICS

CV AND APPLICATION FORMS

BASIC CV AND APPLICATION TIPS

Spell check your CVProof-reading

You cannot proof-read your own writingFind someone with English as their first language

Ideally someone who proof-reads a lot of CVs

Check grammar and tenses

SPELLCHECKERS STRUGGLE WITH…

Incorrect homonymsWhere, were, we’re

Accidental pluralsMissing wordsMedical terminologyIncorrectly placed words, spelt correctlyE.g.Should I have a coma in the middle of

this sentence?I spent a great deal of time doing

revision after sex years I passed the MRCPsych

THE PROBLEM IS?

I was involved in the collection of data from 200 patients who attended the out-patient clinics over the previous 12 months, including BP, Renal function, HbA1c, Medications, their eye conditions and foot complications. I then analysed the data compared with the 'Diabetic Task Force' recommendations. Our aim was to detect problems in management related to Diabetic complications and we suggested improvements in the area of investigations and follow-up. We proposed to close Audit cycle after 6 months by re-auditing after suggestions had been implemented.

CAPITALISATION OVERUSE

Common mistake after poor spell checking and poor grammar

Only capitalise proper nouns, first word of new sentences and titles when used with a nameso ‘Dr. Smith’ is capitalised ‘…the doctor will see you now’ is not

In title (publications) you can capitalise all words exceptarticles (a, an, the)prepositions under five letters (in, of, to)co-ordinating conjunctions (and, but)

CV WRITING

Be wary of non-medical website and organisation advice on CV writing

They do not always apply to medical CVs

Medical CVsAre often long than two pagesContain more free textHave significant additional subheadings such as audit and research

INTERVIEWS

INTERVIEW PREPARATION

Be prepared to do about 10-20 hours reading

Most can be done onlineNHS white papers and recent reforms (NHS website)

Good Medical Practice (GMC)Royal College papers e.g. NWoWNational Service FrameworkAOMRC – NHS financeBMJ CareersRecent journals, newspapers & news websites

“COME AND HAVE A LOOK AROUND”

Aim: To display interest and glean the issues that are important to the Trust

Chief executiveMedical directorClinical directorService managerPersonnel departmentOthers on the interview panel

EXERCISES

You are the Trust Chief Executive. Why would you want to employ a Consultant?

What are you going to want for your money?

What do you want the Consultant to do?What questions will you ask at the

interview?

THE INTERVIEW

Expect a panel of 10-12 membersWill include a lay chairpersonUniversity representativeCollege representative

Know your own CVExpect one or two questions from each

memberAddress response to the questioner

mostly

INTERVIEW PRESENTATION

Keep to time if invited to presentAdvisable not to have a talk written out

‘word for word’PowerPoint is your prompt not whole

talkBe prepared to answer questionsRemember a significant proportion of

the panel may not be doctors

STANDARD QUESTIONS

Why should we give you this job?What qualities make a good psychiatrist? How would you take a good service to

greatness?What do you know of clinical

governance?How would you deal with a colleague

who turned up for work drunk?How is research relevant to psychiatry?What would you bring to this unit?

MORE TAXING OPEN QUESTIONS

Tell us of a recent triumph/disappointment?

Do you think the increased spending on the NHS has been put to good use?

What is your management style?What’s wrong with undergraduate

education?Tell us about a mistake you have made

and what you learnt from itHow will you improve the interface with

GPs?

MORE ESOTERIC QUESTIONS

How would your appointment raise the profile of this Trust?

What is your main weakness?What makes you angry?If you were in a play, what part would

you act?If you got hit by a bus on leaving the

interview, how would you wish to be remembered?

Sell yourself – the message and your positive points

Organise and structure: Clinical, Academic, Management, Personal

Be personal – your personal story not just a list of bullet points

Don’t simply concentrate on facts – talk about what you observed, what you liked, how it influenced you, etc.

‘TAKE US THROUGH YOUR CV’

ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS

Don’t prepare an answer for every question you might get asked It is obvious if you are reciting a scriptYou can’t prepare every possible question

Have an idea what you are going to sayBe prepared to improvisePractice speaking fluently about the

topics you have read

ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS

Not too short, not too longStrong structure e.g. ‘I feel I have three

main strengths’Announce your message and then

expandSubstantiate your answersBe personal – use ‘I’ instead of ‘we’Give examples

Opportunity to ask questions of the panel

You can use this time to clarify something that you have said

Do not use it to negotiate salary, leave or conditions!

It is fine to say “I have no questions”Exit via the exit and not into a broom

cupboard

END OF THE INTERVIEW

CONCLUSIONS

Essential to know the hot topics, buzzwords, current trends, etc.

For a professional and effective CV, layout can almost be as important as content

Get someone else to look at your CVPrepare for your interview

Meet the right peopleRead the right information

Prepare answers to a range of questionDon’t just try to memorise answersStructure