Hello.
In this video series, I aim to provide you with an updated
version of the key concepts that you need to master so that you can easily be
successful in a medical or doctor job interview.
Hi, I'm Dr.
Anthony Llewellyn, career doctor.
And I'm a medical HR expert and interview coach.
In this video,
I'm going to answer the question, what is a past behaviour question and how
should you answer one in the doctor job interview?
So what is a past behaviour question?
Well, it's simply a question where you're asked to provide an example,
rather than being asked to answer a specific question or scenario.
Past behaviour questions are common in all forms of job interviews.
They've been shown to be more reliable
in selecting candidates than situational or theoretical questions.
This is based on the principle of past behaviour predicting future behaviour.
So, for example,
if one of your key selection criteria is being able to manage a busy workload
and juggle competing priorities, then you are far better off as a panel
asking the candidates to describe their most recent busy day at work than asking
them how they would cope with a busy day at work.
Now, there is a recognised mnemonic for both answering a past behaviour
question as well as scoring this question, and it's called Star Sta.
The Star technique is the most recognised framework or structure for talking about
past experiences in the job application process.
Star stands for F situation t task A.
Actions. Results.
Let's look at an example to illustrate the use of Star.
So possibly the most common past behaviour
question in a medical interview is about conflict.
So you may be asked, tell us about a time where you have to resolve conflict.
So to answer this question,
you think through past experiences and select an appropriate example.
In this case, I'll go over an example
of a medical registrar resolving an argument between two interns about
whose turn it was to complete a discharge summary.
So to answer the question, you describe the situation.
I was working on the medical ward as a registrar.
I just returned from performing a consult
and I noticed that the two interns were speaking very loudly with each other
at the nursing station and this was being heard by other staff and patients.
So your task.
So I went to investigate what was going
on and they appeared to be having an argument over a discharge summary
for a patient that had been left over from the weekend.
The problem seemed to be that neither
intern had been formally allocated the patient to do the discharge.
So your actions so I pointed out to them that their conversation was being heard
by others, which altered the tone and volume.
I reminded them of the need to be
respectful and suggested we all take a lunch break to discuss the issue.
And finally the result. And this is key to the Star framework.
Over lunch, one of the interns volunteered to do the summary and the other interns
said they would do the next one if and when it came up.
We had a good conversation over lunch
and everyone finished the day on good terms and the discharge summary got done.
So that's how you answer a past behaviour question.
A couple of tips here.
Tip one always give an example.
Don't try to answer theoretically, the panel wants an example.
Tip two if you look through the selection
criteria, you'll see that the sort of examples you're most likely to be asked
for, which helps you to prepare ahead of time.
Now, if at any point that you feel
that you've gotten value out of this video or video series and you want to dive a bit
deeper into mastering the Doctor Job interview process,
then I would highly recommend to you my Doctor Job Interview Skills course.
In this course, I do do a much deeper dive
in each of these question types, along with other questions and a lot more
concepts to help you truly excel in your next medical job interview.
For example, in my course,
I go into a lot more detail about past behaviour questions,
including my super powerful variation of star, which is C scar.
If you click on the link
in the description or at the end of the video, you can purchase this course
for a special discount, just for watching the whole way through.
And I will see you in the next video. Listen.