Post by Deborah Udy Okusaga Akanne (@deborah_udy_okusaga)

THE "I" VS "WE" TRAP

Most internationally trained clinicians don't lose the NHS interview at the clinical questions. They lose it the moment they say "we."

"We managed the emergency." "We implemented the protocol." "We improved the outcomes."

It's not dishonesty. It's often exactly how you were trained to speak — crediting the team, staying humble. But an NHS panel isn't hiring your team. They're hiring you, specifically, and they need to hear what you personally did when it mattered.

The STAR method has four parts: Situation, Task, Action, Result. The Action is the only part that's entirely yours — and in my experience coaching NHS interviews, this is where candidates consistently lose marks without realising it.

What I coach every client to do in that Action section:
→ "I initiated the ABCDE assessment"
→ "I escalated using SBAR to the registrar on call"
→ "I made the decision to pause the procedure"

Not because your team didn't help. Because the panel needs to hear that when pressure arrived, you personally led, decided, and acted.

Back after a short break, and picking up exactly where Day 1 left off. Today we go deeper into the STAR method itself — the framework underneath almost every NHS interview question, at every band.

📩 Want my list of strong "I-led" action verbs for STAR answers? Comment "ACTION" and I'll send it directly.

Like this, share it with an international clinician prepping for interview right now.

Post 2 at 9AM.

Sources: NHS England, STAR Interview Technique guidance; Resuscitation Council UK, ABCDE Approach; NHS England, SBAR Communication Tool.

#NHSInterview2026 #STARMethod #NHSInterviewPrep #IMGDoctor #InternationalNurseUK #Band5NHS #Band6NHS #ClinicalLeadership #NHSJobs2026 #HCPCregistered #NMCRegistered #clinicalgovernance #SovereignHealthcareAdvisoryGroup

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