Post by Deborah Udy Okusaga Akanne (@deborah_udy_okusaga)
Six Words. One Interview. Every Score.
There are six words every NHS nurse must know before they walk into an interview room.
Not because a panel will ask you to list them. But because these six words are the invisible scoring framework behind every values-based question — and if you cannot apply each one to a real, specific clinical story from your own career, you are answering blindly.
The six words are the 6 Cs of Nursing — introduced through NHS England's Compassion in Practice strategy in 2012 and embedded in the NMC Code as the professional standards framework for every registered nurse in the UK.
Care. Compassion. Competence. Communication. Courage. Commitment.
Let me tell you what each one actually means — not the textbook definition, but the scored answer version:
Care is not a task you perform. It is the standard you maintain for every patient, at every point in their journey, regardless of how busy the ward is or how many patients are waiting. "Care is our core business and the core of what we do as a profession." In an interview, Care is evidenced by a story where you maintained a standard of care under pressure when it would have been easier not to.
Compassion is how care is delivered — through relationships built on empathy, respect, and genuine human recognition of another person's suffering. "Compassion is not a soft skill. It is a clinical tool that improves patient outcomes, reduces anxiety, and supports therapeutic relationships." In an interview, Compassion is evidenced by a story where your emotional attunement to a patient changed the clinical interaction in a measurable way.
Competence is the ability to understand a patient's health and social needs and to apply the knowledge, skills, and evidence required to address them. This includes knowing your limits — recognising when a situation exceeds your competence and escalating without hesitation. In an interview, Competence is evidenced by a story where your clinical knowledge prevented harm or improved an outcome — and where you can reference NICE guidelines, NEWS2, or an evidence base by name.
Communication is not just talking to patients. It is active listening, structured information-sharing, SBAR escalation, MDT briefing, and written documentation that is accurate, contemporaneous, and clinically defensible. In an interview, Communication is evidenced by a story where your structured communication — with a patient, a family member, or a clinical colleague — changed the outcome.
Courage is the one the panel tests hardest. I will give it its own post at 11:00 AM — because if you do not understand what the NHS means by Courage, you will underperform on the station that matters most.
Commitment is your ongoing dedication to your patients, your profession, and your own development. CPD, revalidation, lifelong learning, and the personal accountability to improve your practice continuously. In an interview, Commitment is evidenced not by what you plan to do in the NHS — but by what you have already done to prepare for it.
Six words. Used together in one clinical story — structured with STAR, evidenced with specific outcomes, delivered in the language of the NMC Code — they become the answer that scores Outstanding on every values competency the panel is assessing.
📋 Which of the 6 Cs do you find hardest to evidence in an interview answer? Tell me below — Care, Compassion, Competence, Communication, Courage, or Commitment. Your honest answer helps me help you. I read every reply.
Post 3 arrives at 11:00 AM. Courage. The most misunderstood, most underscored, and most career-defining of all six. What the NHS actually means by it will surprise you.
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