Post by Deborah Udy Okusaga Akanne (@deborah_udy_okusaga)

Ask an international clinician which interview question they dread most, and it's rarely the clinical scenario.

It's the one about equality, diversity and inclusion.

They don't know why it's being asked. They're terrified of sounding like they're reciting a policy leaflet. And nobody has ever told them that the exact thing making them anxious in that room — their accent, their training abroad, their unfamiliarity — is the strongest evidence they could possibly bring to that question.

Let's reframe it properly.

NHS Trusts in cities like London, Birmingham and Leicester treat patients who speak dozens of languages and hold health beliefs that don't fit neatly into a Western clinical model. When a patient feels unseen, they disengage. They miss appointments. They hide symptoms. That's not a soft consequence — it's a documented clinical one.

A clinician who has personally navigated cultural difference, who knows what it feels like to be the person not fully understood, brings something to a ward round that can't be taught in a training session.

The Equality Act 2010 gives this a legal spine: nine protected characteristics, and a Public Sector Equality Duty that binds every NHS organisation to it. But the law is the floor here, not the ceiling — the NHS People Plan and the NHS EDI Improvement Plan push considerably further than compliance.

A response that scores well moves through three things: how you treat each patient as an individual rather than a category, what you actually do in practice — using a professional interpreter, never a relative, building religious or dietary needs into a care plan proactively — and how you think about your team, not just your patients.

Your background was never the liability. It's the qualification nobody told you to put on the form.

Has your background ever helped you reach a patient in a way you don't think a UK-trained colleague would have? I'd genuinely like to read it.

If this question is coming up for you soon, don't leave it to instinct in the room. DM me "EDI" and let's build your answer properly.

Sources: Equality Act 2010; NHS England, NHS People Plan; NHS England, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Improvement Plan (2023); NHS Constitution for England.

#EqualityDiversityInclusion #NHSInterview2026 #EqualityAct2010 #culturalcompetence #IMGDoctor #InternationalNurseUK2026 #NHSValues #Band5NHS #Band6NHS #SovereignHealthcareAdvisoryGroup

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