NHS interviews
NHS Band 6 Interview Questions: Stepping Up to Senior
1 October 2026 6 min read
Practise these 6 questions with the AI panelA Band 6 panel already assumes you're clinically competent. What they're testing is whether you can lead a shift, support junior staff, manage risk and improve care. Your examples need to show you taking charge, not just doing tasks well.
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Answer one question out loud and get scored.
"Tell us about a time you led a shift. How did you allocate staff and patients?"
Questions Band 6 panels ask
- 01Tell us about a time you led a shift. How did you allocate staff and patients?
- 02How would you support a Band 5 who is struggling with their workload?
- 03Describe a clinical incident you were involved in and what changed afterwards.
- 04Tell us about an audit or quality improvement project you contributed to.
- 05How would you manage a conflict between two members of your team?
- 06How do you keep your own practice and your team's training up to date?
What separates a strong Band 6 answer
Show the leadership layer. Don't stop at "I escalated to the doctor". Explain how you kept the rest of the ward safe, how you delegated, and how you debriefed the team afterwards. Mention Datix reporting, learning from incidents, supervision and appraisals where they fit.
Bring numbers if you have them: falls reduced, audit compliance improved, or students you mentored to sign-off.
Prepare one example per theme
Have a ready STAR example for leading a shift, managing performance or conflict, an incident, and service improvement. Most Band 6 questions can be answered by adapting one of those four.