Post by Deborah Udy Okusaga Akanne (@deborah_udy_okusaga)
You Said You Are A Team Player. The Panel Scored You A 1. Here Is Exactly Why.
Every NHS interview. Every profession. Every band.
"Tell us about a time you worked effectively within a multidisciplinary team."
And every candidate says they are a team player.
They describe collaborative working. They talk about communicating with colleagues. They mention respecting other professionals' expertise.
And the panel scores them a 1 or a 2.
Not because they are not team players.
Because their answer described teamwork as a personality trait rather than a documented, governance-aligned, outcome-producing clinical behaviour.
Here is the truth about what NHS panels are actually assessing when they ask the MDT question.
The NHS MDT is not simply a group of professionals who work in the same building and occasionally discuss the same patient.
It is a formally structured clinical governance mechanism — underpinned by NICE guideline NG27 on Multidisciplinary Team Working, and the NHS Long Term Plan's commitment to integrated, team-based care.
An effective NHS MDT has three specific characteristics the panel is scoring your answer against:
One. Shared decision-making with the patient at the centre. Not decisions made about the patient. Decisions made with the patient — where their values, preferences, and priorities are explicitly part of the conversation.
Two. Clear role clarity and professional accountability. Every professional contributes within their defined scope — and that contribution is documented. The panel wants to hear that you understand your specific professional contribution to the MDT — not just that you attended meetings.
Three. Escalation of professional disagreement through appropriate channels. This is the element almost no candidate includes. In a well-functioning NHS MDT, professional disagreement is not avoided. It is surfaced and resolved. The panel is assessing whether you have the professional courage to disagree appropriately — and the governance awareness to do it safely.
The answer that scores a 4 does three things simultaneously:
*Names your specific professional contribution.
*Describes a moment of professional challenge or disagreement — and how it was handled.
*States the patient outcome and the governance learning.
That is the difference between describing teamwork and evidencing it.
DM me "MDT" and I will send you the full framework built for your specialty.
Post 4 drops at 2:00 PM — and it covers the one visa question almost every IMG gets wrong in their interview. The answer is costing them offers they have already earned.
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