Medical Communication Skills | Medical Interviews skills techniques

Medical Communication skills: First impressions last

The first 2 minutes of your interview are vitally important. Your medical communication skills are therfore important in your medical interview. Each member of the panel will be focused on you during this period.  The main question they want to answer is “is this candidate the one for the job”.  Your first impression is therefore of vital importance. Forget this at your peril.

The interviewer will often form an initial judgement and then spend the rest of the interview attempting to reinforce their particular view.  Thus, there are some important points to remember so that you do not give the wrong impression during this important first few minutes.

I was told that i was the best candidate on paper but i blew the interview and didn't get the Job. Do you think my medical communication skills played a role?

When invited into the room walk in confidently.  Smile.  You want them to think that you can handle the pressure well.  Smiling conveys the right positive attitude.  Close the door behind you.  Don’t make one of the panel get up to close the door for you.  It is unlikely that you will be offered a handshake however if you are, respond with a firm handshake.  Don’t dive in the chair but rather wait until you’re asked to sit.  Sit upright and remain quiet.  The interview will begin when they’re ready.

Appearance: This is still a part of your non verbal medical communication skills

You are applying for one of the most senior clinical medical positions in the NHS.  It is therefore essential that you dress appropriately for this role.  Your appearance can portray a wealth of information about you.  Your self esteem, your attitudes towards other people, your preparation, your time keeping can all be represented in your appearance. 

A candidate who enters the interview room puffing and blowing because he has run from the car park as he has managed his travelling time poorly cannot be taken seriously. The candidate with unpolished shoes and shirt hanging out is not the right candidate, in my book, for the job.  My impression will have been made and I will use my questioning to reinforce my opinion that this candidate is not the one to be appointed. The fact that you have the stronger CV with more research, more publications and a stronger history of service development is irrelevant.

Body language: Medical Communication skills
 

Communication includes both verbal and non-verbal aspects.  Research has shown that approximately 60 per cent of what you communicate is done so via your body language.  The verbal content of your response conveys approximately 40 per cent. The tone of your voice and body language therefore represents the vast majority of what you are communicating.  During the consultant interview process you will be interviewed in turn by each of the panel members who will normally be sitting the other side of a large table.  You need to engage and interact with each member of the panel in turn.  It is sensible when being interviewed by members sitting at the extremity of the

table that you turn your chair to face them.  This will give them your full attention and will give the impression that you are listening and prepared to interact personally with each member of the panel.  Positive body language can be represented by your seat position, leaning forward, without crossed arms, nodding, smiling and with constant eye contact. 

A more negative approach would be arms folded with your head down in a slumped posture.The tone of your voice is also important and you must project yourself confidently.  Ideally you want to use a clear, controlled, steady voice that can be easily understood at a sensible pace.  There is a temptation with the pressure during the interview to respond immediately to questioning using a fast rapid rate.  Try and slow yourself down using a range of tones.  Try not to mumble.  Keep your hands away from your mouth as you speak.  Let the tone of your voice show your enthusiasm and positive thought process.

Don’t forget that during the interview you are being  assessed by others.  Whilst engaging the main interviewer try to also engage the other interviewers using the occasional glance up and down the table to the remaining panel members.Another vital point is to answer the question that you were being asked.  If you are not entirely sure as to what exactly you are being asked then do not be frightened to ask for clarification. It is a bigger sin to answer a question that has been misinterpreted.When delivering your answer take a few seconds to compose yourself and to think of the main points that you want to deliver.  Keep within the boundary of the question, speak clearly with confidence and deliver in a hierarchical approach. Discuss the most important points to your answer first.  Be honest with your replies.  If you have an opinion on the subject matter then tell them.  After all it is opinions that separate candidates.

At the end of the interview the Chairman will offer you the opportunity to ask questions.  This is a grey area however my own personal opinions are that any serious candidate would have found out the answers to all his questions before the interview.  By asking a question that you should know the answer to you risk coming across as unprepared and as a non serious candidate.

After you decline to ask questions the Chairman may ask the panel members if there are any other questions that they would like to ask.  It is uncommon to get asked any further questions as all questions should be the same to each candidate therefore eliminating spontaneous questioning.

Medical Communication skills tips: Simple solutions are sometimes best. A clam, welcoming and engaging approach encourages interaction with the interview panel and conveys the corret team working approach required by doctors 

At the end of the interview you are invited to leave.  Before doing so smile and thank the panel through the Chairman.  At this point a quick glance up and down the panel may give you some immediate feedback.  Those members who are sitting back in a relaxed manner and smiling indicate a successful interaction.  Members who are busily scribbling may unfortunately be documenting a weakness in your application.  In this case, keep smiling and quietly leave the room.  The interview is over and the decision is no longer in your hands