Attending an interview

You don’t need to prepare for the interview. But you may want to think about some examples that illustrate how the doctor performs. You can take some notes into the interview if you wish.

Interviews are usually carried out by two assessors, although there may sometimes be more. They are scheduled for up to an hour but may be shorter. The interview will be formal and structured, but the assessors will do what they can to put you at ease. You are welcome to have someone with you for support, but they won't be allowed to take part in the interview.

Most interviews are conducted as a videocall using Microsoft Teams. This application is easy to use and we’ll send you instructions beforehand. Make sure you have a quiet and private room available at the scheduled interview time.

We can’t pay you to attend or reimburse your expenses.

The assessors will make notes during the interview and we will make a recording. No other recording is allowed. Our recording will be used to produce a full transcript – it is only used for this purpose. The transcript will be disclosed to the doctor being assessed and you may request a copy. 

The questions

The topics which may be covered are:

• experience of working together, including teamwork and verbal communication; records and written communication
• clinical care, including how they assess and manage patients and their technical and operative skills
• relationships with patients, carers and relatives. This includes treating them with respect, information sharing and supporting self-care.
• maintaining and improving knowledge and skills. This includes the doctor’s educational activities and engagement with appraisal and quality assurance activities
• dealing with problems which might affect patient care, or complaints.

There will be an opportunity to add any other comments about the doctor’s performance at the end.

Interviews are constructed from a standard list of questions.

Download an example interview script.

This is an example only and your interview will include the questions that are most relevant to the doctor’s practice and your role. There will be no questions about specific incidents or allegations.