Blogs > NHS Recruitment Process

What can I expect from a Value Based Interview?

• November 10, 2021

We are constantly working to help prepare IMGs for NHS interviews. In light of this, we would like to bring your attention to Value Based Interviews (VBI). Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) started to use Value Based Interviewing in 2013 and it has recently become a strong focus for most NHS interviews.

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What is a Value Based Interview?

The Cambridge Dictionary defines ‘values’ as ‘the beliefs people have, especially about what is right and wrong and what is most important in life, that control their behaviour’. A value-based interview is a style of structured interview in which the employer seeks to learn about the candidate's values. The movement sought to ensure that the organisational values of the NHS were reflected in the day-to-day care that’s provided, through designing and delivering value based interviewing as part of the recruitment process. The NHS recognise that the values and attitudes of their staff can have the greatest impact on the quality of patient care and patient experience. VBI has proved effective in hiring individuals who share the same core values of the NHS which will increase the quality of care received by patients.

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What are the NHS’s core values?

• working together for patients. Patients come first in everything they do.
• Respect and dignity, value every person – whether patient, their families or carers, or staff – as an individual, respect their aspirations and commitments in life, and seek to understand their priorities, needs, abilities and limits.
• Commitment to quality of care, earn the trust placed in you by insisting on quality and striving to get the basics of quality of care – safety, effectiveness and patient experience right every time.
• Compassion - ensure that compassion is central to the care provided and respond with humanity and kindness to each person’s pain, distress, anxiety or need.
• Improving lives - strive to improve health and wellbeing and people’s experiences of the NHS.
• Everyone counts - maximise resources for the benefit of the whole community, and make sure nobody is excluded, discriminated against or left behind.

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How do I Identify my own values?

Determining your own personal values may seem like an easy exercise, but it can be difficult for some to critically reflect and vocalise them.

If you are struggling to put words to your core values, here’s a value evaluation process you might find useful:

1. Identify a few occasions when you were most proud
2. Pick a few times when you were at your happiest
3. Choose some other moments when you were most fulfilled and satisfied
4. Google a list of common personal values and select ten that you would associate with your proud/happy/fulfilled moments
5. Determine your top value by writing down around ten
6. Now prioritise these values, putting those most important to you at the top
7. Reaffirm by asking yourself tough questions. Do these values fit in with your life vision? Are you proud of them?

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What types of questions will be asked in a Value Based Interview?

Ensuring you perform well in a value based interview will require some preparation. Once you have established your own values and the values of the NHS you will be able to effectively prepare your answers.

You may be asked direct value based questions such as:

‘Talk us through a situation where you were successful? Why do you think it was a success?’.

Here you could talk about a situation where you put the needs of a patient first (a key NHS core value). For example, Doctors can often find themselves in a situation where their personal needs and commitments clash with their work ones. If you can explain an event whereby you put the needs of the patient above anything else, you will be successfully showing that your values align with the NHS’s as you considered this situation to be a success.

Alternatively, you can display your values by weaving them into answers given in other sections of your interview. For example, you are likely to be given at least one clinical and one ethical scenario, an example of an ethical based scenario question could be:

‘If a colleague came to work under the influence of drink or drugs, what would you do?’

You can answer this by stating that your priority would be to keep patients safe as their needs should always come first and because of this you would report the situation straight away and make sure they didn’t encounter any patients. You can see that this again would display your core values whilst answering the ethical question.

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Relocating to the UK

If you are an international Doctor that requires assistance in relocating to  the UK email your CV to [email protected] and we can support you in securing an NHS post and on your relocation journey to the UK.

Are you a member of our Facebook group? When you join IMG Advisor, you join a community of doctors all looking to relocate to the UK and join the NHS. We post a series of blogs and vlogs to the group each day. We will also be on hand to answer all of your relocation queries.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel! We have over 60 videos covering everything you need to know about relocating to the UK and joining the NHS.

Listen to BDI Resourcing on the go with IMG Advisor the Podcast! You can listen to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and Buzzsprout. We have a number of episodes with tips and advice on relocating to the UK and the routes you can take to achieve this.

Finally, we have just launched our new Instagram, so if you are a member, feel free to follow us to view our posts and IGTV: @bdiresourcing