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Ace Your NHS Consultant Interview

Tessa Davis + Becky Platt
Ace Your NHS Consultant Interview
Latest episode

62 episodes

  • Ace Your NHS Consultant Interview

    Four Myths Stopping You From Applying to the Academy

    19/10/2026 | 16 mins.
    Starting to think about your NHS Consultant Interview Prep? Join the waitlist for my Ace Your Consultant Interview Academy. I'll let you know as soon as the Academy doors open
    https://medicalinterviewprep.com/waitlist?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=transistor&utm_content=t-ep62
    The biggest mistake people make in consultant interviews is thinking the job is already decided before anyone walks into the room. Tessa and Becky bust the four myths they hear from students week after week, that the job is earmarked for someone else, that being a good interviewee is something you're born with, that your CV isn't good enough, and that prep will take over your life, and explain why none of them actually hold up.
    We also review a golden example about working within an MDT that the student almost didn't use because she felt like it wasn't a success, and explain why changing your original plan based on team feedback is actually a stronger, more senior story than pushing a plan through unchanged. From there we tackle a genuinely tricky interview question, "tell us about a time you were uncivil", and how to find the balance between oversharing something awful and pretending you've never been anything but perfect.
    Finally, our most commonly delivered tip: take a pause before you start answering. We explain why that split-second silence, even though it feels excruciating in the moment, changes the entire quality of your answer, and why saying "thank you for the question" is not the same thing.
    Sign up for our free 5-day email course to give you a Crash Course To Ace Your Consultant Interview: https://aceyourconsultantinterview.com/?utm_source=YTPod&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=1
  • Ace Your NHS Consultant Interview

    The 4 Fears Every Doctor Has About Interviews (But Never Says)

    12/10/2026 | 15 mins.
    Starting to think about your NHS Consultant Interview Prep? Join the waitlist for my Ace Your Consultant Interview Academy. I'll let you know as soon as the Academy doors open
    https://medicalinterviewprep.com/waitlist?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=transistor&utm_content=t-ep61
    Tessa and Becky asked doctors what actually scares them about the interview process, and four fears came up again and again: freezing on a question, rambling without structure, embarrassment in front of future colleagues, and ending up in the wrong location for their family. None of it is about being good enough as a doctor, it's about interview prep skills, and every one of these fears is fixable with the right training.
    We also break down whether the panel can see what you wrote on your shortlisting or application form (spoiler: assume it's a clean slate), and review a golden example of conflict with a patient involving an angry man with a diabetic foot ulcer who didn't want to be admitted. From there we tackle a genuinely tricky EDI question, "how has EDI impacted you as an individual", and why the safer, stronger answer focuses on your impact on others rather than oversharing something personal about yourself.
    Finally, our very 2026 tip of the week: don't start your presentation with AI. We explain why plugging your presentation title into Claude or any AI tool gets you a generic vision for the service with zero connection to your own USPs, and why AI is a great tool to refine your work later, but a terrible one to build it from scratch.
    Sign up for our free 5-day email course to give you a Crash Course To Ace Your Consultant Interview: https://aceyourconsultantinterview.com/?utm_source=YTPod&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=1
  • Ace Your NHS Consultant Interview

    From Terrible Interviewee to Interview Coach: Tessa's Story

    05/10/2026 | 21 mins.
    Starting to think about your NHS Consultant Interview Prep? Join the waitlist for my Ace Your Consultant Interview Academy. I'll let you know as soon as the Academy doors open
    https://medicalinterviewprep.com/waitlist?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=transistor&utm_content=t-ep60
    Tessa spent years as the nervous interviewee who completely froze, failing to get into paediatric training more than once because her interview technique let her down. Tessa and Becky share the origin story of how that experience turned into the system that's now helped thousands of doctors land their dream jobs, and why being good at interviews isn't a trait you're born with, it's a skill you build like any other.
    We also review a duty of candour example involving a bladder injury during a right hemicolectomy, and unpack the tricky question of whether it works when the mistake was your own. From there we tackle a genuinely deep interview question, "what would you like your legacy to be, years or decades later, when you leave this job", and how to answer it without falling back on something vague like "a good doctor who cared about patients."
    Finally, our tip of the week: keep your game face on. Don't undermine a good answer with an eye roll or a wince at the end, because your read on how it's going is almost never as accurate as you think, and the panel will believe whatever your face tells them.
    Sign up for our free 5-day email course to give you a Crash Course To Ace Your Consultant Interview: https://aceyourconsultantinterview.com/?utm_source=YTPod&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=1
  • Ace Your NHS Consultant Interview

    What to Wear to Your Consultant Interview

    28/09/2026 | 18 mins.
    Starting to think about your NHS Consultant Interview Prep? Join the waitlist for my Ace Your Consultant Interview Academy. I'll let you know as soon as the Academy doors open
    https://medicalinterviewprep.com/waitlist?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=transistor&utm_content=t-ep59
    What should you wear to your consultant interview? Tessa and Becky tackle the question they get asked all the time, and the answer isn't as strict as you'd think. Smart, interview-appropriate, and free of anything that distracts the panel (jangly bracelets and novelty ties included) matters far more than looking corporate, and you should still feel like yourself in the room.
    We also break down a mistake example involving a CT head scan requested on the wrong patient, and explain why this one is too significant to use as a mistake story, and why it's actually a strong duty of candour example instead. From there we tackle a genuinely tricky interview question, "tell me about a time you underestimated the emotional impact of something you said or did on a colleague", and why the best answers flip it into something positive rather than throwing yourself under the bus.
    Finally, our tip of the week: practise questions in a run, not just one at a time. A real interview is 40 minutes long, and the tiredness that sets in by question seven is something you need to feel in practice, not for the first time on the day.
    Sign up for our free 5-day email course to give you a Crash Course To Ace Your Consultant Interview: https://aceyourconsultantinterview.com/?utm_source=YTPod&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=1
  • Ace Your NHS Consultant Interview

    Print Your Slides, Tech Fails More Than You Think

    21/09/2026 | 15 mins.
    Starting to think about your NHS Consultant Interview Prep? Join the waitlist for my Ace Your Consultant Interview Academy. I’ll let you know as soon as the Academy doors open 
    https://medicalinterviewprep.com/waitlist?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=transistor&utm_content=t-ep58

    Tech failure when you go to do your presentation is more common than you'd think, so be prepared. Tessa and Becky talk through exactly how to make the most of just a few weeks, for anyone who feels like they've started prepping too late, and share a real story of a candidate who turned three weeks of panic into a job offer.

    We also break down a conflict example involving a declined referral between specialities, and explain why being clinically right is almost never the point, over-explaining the medicine just distracts from showing you can actually resolve a disagreement. From there we tackle a genuinely interesting interview question on the NHS and environmental sustainability, and where to actually look if you've got nothing to say about it yet.
    Finally, our tip of the week could save your entire presentation: always have a printed backup of your slides and notes, because when the tech goes down (and it will), staying calm can work in your favour more than the slides themselves ever would.
    Sign up for our free 5-day email course to give you a Crash Course To Ace Your Consultant Interview: https://aceyourconsultantinterview.com/?utm_source=YTPod&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=1
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About Ace Your NHS Consultant Interview
Welcome to Ace Your NHS Consultant Interview - the podcast for doctors who want to take the stress and guesswork out of their NHS consultant interview prep. We know how overwhelming it can feel to prep for your consultant interviews when you’re already stretched thin. Each episode, we’ll break down what actually works - no fluff, no endless reading, just practical steps you can fit into a hectic week. You’ll hear honest advice, real stories, and the frameworks we use with our own students inside the Academy to help you show up confident, prepped, and ready to secure the job you want. If you’re a final year trainee or locum consultant and you want to prepare, not panic, you’re in the right place.
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