Within the NHS, ethical approaches are essential. The NHS puts a heavy focus on maintaining a strong ethical approach to medicine. In an interview with an NHS hiring manager, they will certainly ask you about your approach to ethics. In many cases, they may provide you with an ethical scenario and assess how you would deal with it.
What happens in an Ethical Scenario?
Common ethical scenarios that hiring managers may present you with include: • How would you respond to a colleague acting unethically?
• Tell me about a time you faced an ethical dilemma?
• You suspect a colleague is intoxicated at work – how would you deal with this? After asking the question, the hiring manager will await your reply. They will be assessing you on your thought process as you mentally deal with the ethical problem.
How to answer an Ethical Scenario
The first and perhaps most important part of answering an ethical scenario is to be truthful. If you’re describing a situation you have dealt with in the past, recall the events honestly to the best of your knowledge. With that in mind, answer slowly and calmly, letting the hiring manager know what the situation was and how you dealt with it. We highly recommend the STAR approach.
• Situation – describe the situation as you recall it and what the challenge was • Task – let the hiring manager know what tasks were required
• Action – with each task mentioned, describe the actions you took to achieve them • Result – how did the actions you took work out and what was the end result?
Other useful tips for answering Ethical Scenarios
Whilst the STAR approach will help you structure your answer, it’s also important to consider the rules and regulations around ethics.
• The Duty of Candour – this ruling states that all professionals must be honest with their patients at all times. It could involve letting a patient know the severity of their condition or the risks of an operation
• The Duty of Confidentiality – this ruling involves the privacy of the patient. It means you must keep confidentiality between you and the patient, unless under extreme circumstances.
• Competence and Capacity – when a patient is unable to make the ruling decision regarding their healthcare, you must find out who is.
• The Law – every medical professional learns the law and legal regulations before being allowed to practice.
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Here at International Staffing Solutions we have helped many medical professionals just like you find roles in the NHS. If you’re looking for help preparing for your interview, get in touch with us today.