My Pre-registration Interview Tips

This post was originally written in December. I left it for editing and since then my life has been taken over by OSCE’s, revision and exams! I never though 4th year would be this intense...

I hope this post is useful to the current third years and anybody else with an interview coming up. 

Going back six months, I applied to four hospitals and had 4 interviews this summer and I have to say it was very stressful. Sitting in the waiting room was terrible especially when you were alone or with people who just refused to start a conversation with you. It always helps to have a laugh with some of the other applicants before the interview, and by this I mean anything apart from pharmacy, it really helps you to relax and helps to ensure that the interview goes as smoothly as possible. 

Before the interviews I made sure that I prepared by reading up on common drugs and going through ‘The Pre-registration Interview’ by Nadia Bukhari to make sure I had answers prepared for as many questions as possible. Everyone I met had a copy of this book with them and it’s quite a good investment as I’m sure some of the questions will be asked again at future interviews for pharmacy. But you have to remember that sometimes they will ask you questions for which you cannot prepare and the best thing to do is take a moment to think about the answer. While you think, take your time and speak slowly so that you can keep track of what you’re saying.

There will also be questions, mainly clinical questions, to which you will not know the answer. I would advise you to tell them what you do know, and then tell them that you would have to look that up and then get back to them. Once the interview is over, try and find out the answer as soon as possible and email the interviewer with the answer. Do not be disheartened if they don’t respond, at least it shows that you are enthusiastic and keen to learn.

Also, have a minimum of 2 questions prepared and make sure it is something interesting and relevant, for example if you have an interest in paediatrics ask if you will be able to spend some time there. During one of my interviews, the interviewer answered all of my questions before I had a chance to ask them, so when he asked if I had any questions I told him that my main questions which were about x,y and z and were answered at the beginning as well as the fact that I had done my research and had spoken to former students about the program.

It’s really difficult to stay calm, and when you have 2 or 3 people asking you questions that you don’t know the answer to, you start to forget what the question was in the first place. Try and get a couple of friends to help you to practice and try your best to focus on the question!