Tell me about a mistake you made or witnessed as an ECA.
At the NHS, integrity is held in the highest regard. While we are all human and make mistakes, the key to this question for your interviewer is how you handle the aftermath of a mistake to make things right. Your interviewer will be looking for you to own up to your mistake and do what it takes to correct it. Use a specific example and describe how you handled the situation and any lessons that you learned moving forward to prevent it from happening again. In the end, you want to ensure your interviewer that you would join the team at the NHS with the utmost integrity and accountability in your work.
"We once responded to a call where a gentleman was having a blood pressure of 210/170 and mild chest pains. We assessed him and determined he may be having a cardiac issue, so nitroglycerine was administered. His condition quickly deteriorated as he developed a very excruciating headache. Once at the hospital, it was determined that he was not having a cardiac issue, and when you take nitroglycerine and do not need it, it often causes a very bad headache. This was one of those situations where we didn't know the person's medical history and were trying to make a decision with limited information while weighing the benefits and risks. It is better to be safe than sorry sometimes, but in this case, it did negatively impact the patient. Our team did a refresher training on when to use nitroglycerine and when to hold off on making that call in the future."
