Post by Deborah Udy Okusaga Akanne (@deborah_udy_okusaga)

I Have Never Made A Mistake. That Sentence Just Cost You The Job.

Every panel asks some version of it. "Tell us about a time you made an error in clinical practice, and what you did about it."

And a frightening number of candidates answer it like a trap to dodge rather than a question to actually engage with. They minimise. They reframe a genuine mistake as a "challenge." Some claim, outright, that they've never made one.

The panel is not testing whether you are perfect. Nobody on that panel is perfect either, and they know it. They are testing something far more specific: do you understand Duty of Candour, and will you actually practise it when something goes wrong on a ward with nobody watching.

Duty of Candour is not a phrase to drop into an answer. It is a professional obligation — be open and honest with patients when something has gone wrong, say sorry, explain what happened, and explain what will be done to prevent it happening again.

A candidate who can't describe an honest example of their own error is, by definition, demonstrating they don't yet understand the principle they're being asked about.

Here is what scores high. Name a real, specific error — something with genuine stakes, not a trivial example chosen to feel safe. Describe exactly what you did in the moment: who you told, how quickly, what was said to the patient or family if relevant.

Then describe what changed afterward — not vaguely "I learned from it," but a specific, concrete change to your practice or a process you contributed to changing.

The candidates who score lowest on this question are the ones who think admitting a real mistake makes them look weak. The opposite is true.

A panel that hears a thoughtful, honest, accountable answer trusts that candidate with patient safety far more than one who claims a clean record nobody believes.

DM me "CANDOUR" and I'll send you a structured framework for answering this question for your specific profession.

Post 2 at 9am covers the four GMC domains every IMG doctor is silently being scored against in every single interview answer — whether the question mentions them or not.

#NHSInterview2026 #DutyOfCandour #clinicalgovernance #GoodMedicalPractice #NMCCode #HCPCStandards #PatientSafety #IMGDoctor #NHSNurse #AHPsUK #SovereignHealthcareAdvisoryGroup #NHSJobs2026 #ClinicalFellow #TrustGradeSHO #NHSValues #InternationalMedicalGraduate #NHSRecruitment2026 #ProfessionalAccountability #ClinicalReasoning #NHSBand6

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