Deconstructing the Interview

Succeeding at a clinical interview requires you to demonstrate confidence, professionalism, strong communication skills, and empathy, and is a critical hurdle you will face throughout your training. Deconstructing the Interview takes a fresh approach to passing interviews, by examining the processes which underline successful interview performances. This book doesn't provide you with checklists of information needed for specific specialty or job grade specific interviews; instead it will help you to develop key strategies and skills that will enable success in any interview.

Packed full of advice, practical tips, real-life anecdotes, and exercises; this book will provide you with skills to prepare for your interview and perform at your best. It also explores learning to cope with anxiety and how to benefit from failure so that you can perform even better next time.

Ideal for health practitioners at all levels of training and all specialties, including medical or dental students, trainees, and consultants, nurses, and midwives; Deconstructing the Interview is full of practical advice to increase your confidence and improve your chances of success in any interview throughout your career.

Duncan Harding, Consultant Adolescent Forensic Psychiatrist, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Duncan Harding is a consultant in child and adolescent and forensic psychiatry, with a research interest in the neurobiology of psychopathy and conduct disorder. He has published extensively in the field of motoneurone degeneration, and is also interested in recovery, peer mentorship and medical education. He teaches at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, and is the author of Deconstructing the OSCE (2014, OUP). Dr Harding is interested in the psychological processes underlying the OSCE and interview, and explores these in his 'deconstructing' series of OUP books. He is in the process of developing skills training courses for the OSCE and interview, and also writes crime fiction.

Part 1: Introduction
1. The road ahead
Part 2: Psychological processes
2. Ground zero
3. A framework of understanding
4. We all fail in interviews
5. Being connected
6. Stress and anxiety
7. From internal to external
8. Confidence and self-belief
Part 3: A pragmatic approach
9. Rehearsal strategies
10. A psychological arsenal
11. Communication skills
12. Situational awareness
13. Reviewing and refining
Part 4: Generic skills and strategies
14. Skills toolkit 1 building your toolkit
15. Skills toolkit 2 an authentic narrative
16. Skills toolkit 3 wild cards
17. Skills toolkit 4 the non-technical expert
18. Generic approach 1 modular, dynamic skills
19. Generic approach 2 generic templates
20. Final thoughts