What should you know about the NHS for an interview?

That it's seriously ****ed and going to come apart in a very nasty way very soon.

Read the huge article, then read BBC news about the nash for the last 4 or 5 years, then read the nhsblogdoc drrant and ferretfancier blogs.

Reply 2

Suspect

A couple of really obvious issues might come up which you should probably have a general understanding of- like Modernising Medical Careers or the problem of 'superbugs' like MRSA etc.
Like Renal said, the BBC health page is a good place to look- as well as current news things it has general pages explaining different issues which give a good overview.

Reply 3

Philosoraptor

18

Don't you mean Mangling Medical Careers? :smile:

Reply 4

Suspect

Hehe, best way to tell the difference between a pre-fresher and a medic? I mentioned it myself in an interview as a problem with the NHS and the interviewers faces immediately looked so depressed I felt bad for bringing it up.
:s-smilie:

Haha quality.

dont_trust_busdrivers

I was asked if I think the government should run the NHS? That's all I really got on the NHS!

http://www.medical-interviews.co.uk/Resources/QuestionsMS.htm

I don't know if any of these questions would help!

Reply 7

I dont understand ... how would the government run nhs?

Reply 8

j00ni

9

Other than the news websites, and MMC website a good (though somewhat excessively detialed) book to read about the changes the NHS has undergone recently would be NHS Plc

Oh and take what you read in the medical blogs with a pinch of salt

Reply 9

isi333

MMC inc career structure in detail; MTAS; how the NHS differs to healthcare systems in other countries; organisation into and difference between primary, secondary and tertiary care; history (extremely briefly), eg. changes since Shipman; NICE and the QALY; what the GMC does; what happens when politicians play with the NHS eg. effects of the 4hr target.

Plus whatever issues are topical when you go to interview eg. polyclinics

A common interview question is, 'Who sets the exams for specialists?'.

The NHS does like its acronyms, doesn't it?

Reply 10

Is any medic familiar with the nhs? how would it be run by the goverment?

Reply 11

gyrase

I dont understand ... how would the government run nhs?

Rephrase?

The government does run the nash through the Department of Health - it pays for it, it sets the targets, it makes the policy, it appoints the managers.

Reply 12

*Princess*

Renal

Rephrase?

The government does run the nash through the Department of Health - it pays for it, it sets the targets, it makes the policy, it appoints the managers.

That is exactly what i was thinking
Isn't the NHS already government run via the Department of Health?

Quote from Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Health_Service_%28England%29

"The UK government department responsible for the NHS is the Department of Health, headed by the Secretary of State for Health (Health Secretary), who sits in the British Cabinet. Most of the expenditure of The Department of Health (£98.6 billion in 2008-9[3]) is spent on the NHS."

Reply 13

Renal

Rephrase?

The government does run the nash through the Department of Health - it pays for it, it sets the targets, it makes the policy, it appoints the managers.

Running the nhs and funding it are two different things.

*Princess*

That is exactly what i was thinking
Isn't the NHS already government run via the Department of Health?

Quote from Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Health_Service_%28England%29

"The UK government department responsible for the NHS is the Department of Health, headed by the Secretary of State for Health (Health Secretary), who sits in the British Cabinet. Most of the expenditure of The Department of Health (£98.6 billion in 2008-9[3]) is spent on the NHS."

Actually the nhs budget is around 105billion this yr.

Reply 14

gyrase

Running the nhs and funding it are two different things.

That would be sensible but no - the government give the money, they call the shots.

Reply 15

gyrase

Running the nhs and funding it are two different things.

Actually the nhs budget is around 105billion this yr.

Given that that figure of £98.6B comes from the Treasury's published budget and yours comes unsourced, I'd go with the former.

Reply 16

Renal

That would be sensible but no - the government give the money, they call the shots.

Yeh thats what I was thinking that if nhs is funded by the government and hence as you say ... run by it, then why the question in the interview?

Reply 17

gyrase

Yeh thats what I was thinking that if nhs is funded by the government and hence as you say ... run by it, then why the question in the interview?

Presumably to see if you can understand the role of the SecStateHealth, the DH, the NHS, the regional NHSs, the PCTs, the acute trusts, the hospital managers, the directorate managers, the department managers, etc.

Reply 18