Book Reviews

"So you have to have a Portfolio"
"So you want to be a Brain Surgeon"
"Competency-based Interviews: Master the Tough New Interview Style and Give Them the Answers That Will Win You the Job"

The introduction of the Modernising Medical Careers training programme from August 2007 is currently a by-word for stress amongst junior doctors. Amongst new curricula and on-line application forms the concept of Portfolios sits uneasily at the back of many people's minds. Questions such as "What exactly is a portfolio?", "How will it help me get a job?" and most importantly "How do I write one?" have no doubt been asked countless times. The answers to such queries are often unsatisfactory and many of us have been left wondering where to turn next.

"So You Have to Have a Portfolio" promises to "demystify and simplify the process of creating a high-impact professional portfolio." This article investigates whether it succeeds in filling this hole in the market.

As one can ascertain from the book's title it is not directed towards the medical profession. It is an American publication for student teachers who require a portfolio both for professional development throughout training and for employment interviews. This requires the reader to overcome a considerable amount of American and educational jargon in order to reach the relevant content. The style is easily readable although at times its leisurely pace and repetition can make it frustrating. It is structured into ten self-contained chapters - each with its own introduction and conclusion to define its content. This is useful as it allows the reader to "dip in and out" of different sections accordingly.

The early chapters examine the origin and definition of a portfolio. The introduction states the essence of portfolio compilation is to allow the candidate to express their personality and attributes through their choice of content and presentation style. The underlying tone is that there is no right or wrong way to create a portfolio but that the process can be made easier if one follows certain guidelines. This cues the introduction of CORP. This practical approach of Collection - of "artifacts" or competencies, Organisation, Reflection and Presentation is alluded to throughout the book.

Subsequent sections demonstrate how different styles of portfolio can be adopted. "Developmental portfolios" have a chronological layout and tell the story of the candidate's career progression by answering the questions "Who am I becoming?" and "What and how have I learned?" Conversely the "Showcase Portfolio" draws only on the best examples of the candidate's abilities. Emphasis is placed upon identifying what information the target audience, the interview panel, will need to distinguish one candidate from another. Many case-study examples relating to the American education sector are used - these are not directly useful to doctors but do provide a basis from which to brainstorm when producing one's own artifacts.

An entire chapter is dedicated to "Reflection" - a cornerstone to the success of the portfolio. The rationale behind the use of reflection is discussed. This is worthwhile reading for doctors who can be uncomfortable with this contemplative process. The book provides useful criteria to follow when creating "reflection statements".

The concluding chapters are dedicated to examining how the finished product is used in the interview setting. There is guidance on interview preparation, question practice and how to incorporate the portfolio into a discussion to your best advantage. There is a section focused upon production of electronic portfolios which appear likely to play an increasingly important role in the future. The final chapter, though interesting, is not relevant to a medical readership as it outlines the role of the portfolios in a teacher's application for National Board of Professional Teaching Standards Certification. The appendices provide several constructive resources including a portfolio quality checklist and sample-making schemes to judge what potential portfolio reviewers are looking for.

The book is helpful in directing the reader from the early phases of portfolio design to the final stages of its production and presentation. It appears sympathetic to the daunting nature of compiling a portfolio. Its central strategy hinges upon collecting and reflecting on one's experiences as an ever-evolving process. The book is likely to be most useful for FY1 trainees and senior medical students who have the benefit of time to read it in full and follow its guidance as they gain new competencies. SHOs might find some benefit in skim-reading the text to pick out the relevant parts which would assist them in their more hurried portfolio development. To revisit its original sales pitch, the book is valuable in explaining the process of portfolio writing as a tool for demonstrating one's career progression. Many of its concepts are transferable to a medical context - but there remains a need for a tailor-made guide for doctors.

Kirstin Lund
SHO Medicine

If you want more information on portfolios, click here

"So You Want To Be A Brain Surgeon"
2nd Edition

This book aims to introduce and reveal the truths about the broad field of medicine. It navigates its reader through all the areas of the profession, many of which most of us has never dreamed of or knew existed as career choices. It is reassuring to see that there is clearly something for everyone, and that we will all find our niche eventually. It has been described in one line as "the indispensable guide to medical careers" and this it surely is.

The book begins with a general introduction on how to use it. It can be read cover to cover just as easily as it can be used as a quick reference into any area. It is laid out in such a way that one can easily make comparisons between different specialties. The left hand side consists of text relevant to the specialty, and the right hand page contains the table of job summaries. The career algorithms are excellent for clearing that hazy fog of uncertainty around what to expect time-wise with regard to progressing along a chosen career path.

What follows is an outline, in an easy-to-read format, of the requirements, myths, realities, best and worst aspects, and usual personality type for each specialty. It also gives guidelines about working hours, stress levels, the frequency of "on-calls" and the salary to be expected in each case. With each chapter there are useful links on how to contact different departments for more information and further research on a certain specialty. The quirky illustrations lift the mood of the book and make the information easier to digest. The tone of the book is friendly, matter of fact and informative and there is no heavy and serious discussion of each specialty. When exposed to the broad array of options in medicine, it is easy to feel disheartened. One of the most positive things about the lay out is that it has managed to present a huge volume of potentially intimidating material, in a very accessible an inviting way. There is also practical information about career progression, part time and flexible training, discrimination and women in medicine.

This book has highlighted many areas of uncertainty I had with regard to the process of specialising. It has shed some light on many misconceptions I had and has exposed me to areas of medicine I had never thought about before. It is hard as a medical student to grasp the concepts of medicine as well as consider what it would be like to work in a single specialty. It is also difficult to get a real feeling for each specialty and try and fit it onto yourself and wonder "is this for me?". As students, we are mostly relying on hearsay and opinions of biased doctors for feedback on career choices. This usually gets us nowhere. The value of this book is that it can be used by each individual, as we are all unique in our strengths, weaknesses and personal ambitions. Although it fulfils its aim, this book needs to be updated to suit the current system of F1 and F2 posts as well as providing more information about the specialty training prgrammes. The career algorithms pathways may have to be tweaked in line with changing routes into specialties.

Given the current climate medical students and newly qualified doctors are faced with, this book is a handy and helpful tool in the quest to find the career path most suited to the individual. Contributions from experienced experts on 80 careers will reassure the reader that the information is accurate and realistic. This book acknowledges the individual in the vastness of medicine. It is encouraging, and urges the reader to enjoy their training and career. It can be used as springboard from student to doctor, and as a doctor, to appreciate all areas of medicine.

Eva Walls
3rd Year Medical Student

Competency-based Interviews: Master the Tough New Interview Style and Give Them the Answer That Will Win You the Job

'Competency-Based Interviews' by Robin Kessler aims to help interviewees, and potential interviewees, prepare for the new style of interviews i medical recruitment. This book helped me to understand what competencies are and how to display them in these interviews. Glancing through the book, I felt it may be more use to non-healthcare professionals. However, after reading it I felt much more confident handling a competency-based interview, especially as I was attending one for the first time!

Two of the key characteristics that help an interviewee perform effectively during this style of interview and convince the interviewers that they are the person for the job, are to recognise that this is a different interview style and understand what the interviewers are looking for. Today, most employers are using competency-based interview techniques to help them determine how candidates behave in situations that are particularly important to the job. Interviewers are then able to evaluate the candidates's suitability for the job based on their responses and on their verbal and non verbal communication skills.

This book explains what competency-based interviews are, what interviewees are, what interviewers are assessing and how best to prepare for such interviews. Over fifteen chapters, it makes hard facts about this interview style easier to understand. It starts with the basics - by explaining the term 'competencies' and goes on to describe how a candidate can identify the key competencies in the post they are applying for. The author also gives clues about standard and generic competencies used by most organisations. This particularly helped me to identify keywords to use when describing a competency in an interview.

Interviewers trained in competency based interviewing are looking, not just at what the candidate says, but also how they say it. Structuring your answer is important and the book suggests STAR (situation, task, action and result) for this - a structure that would also work for application forms. Interviewer training includes legal problems and human resources issues and the book addresses the important dilemma faced by candidates if they are asked an inappropriate personal question.

Several chapters address preparation for competency-based interviews. Some examples are given in chapters 4 and 5 to illustrate how to demonstrate your competencies and structure the answer at the same time. After reviewing different ways of answering a question, some communication tips are given for more successful answers. For instance, an answer should be structured, language should be conversational and the different parts of the answer prioritised according to the way the question is asked. Chapter 5 also discusses the important elements of a good answer to competency-based questions, for example, they suggest focused answers, with the most relevant points near the beginning of the answer. The author also talks about how interviewees can avoid potential problems such as choosing which of your examples illustrate which competencies in advance, handling unexpected questions easily and what to do when asked about failures and mistakes. These chapters helped me to structure my answers more effectively and to feel more confident as a result.

Chapter 6, 'Look like a strong candidate' discusses the importance of non-verbal communication in any interview. This is a vital but often ignored aspect of communication. While saying the right thing is important, saying it in a way that could be interpreted as uncertain lessens its impact. The next chapter discusses other interview questions exploring competency strengths, for example "why are you interested in this position?" and "tell us about yourself, your strengths and weaknesses?" It also explains how to answer questions about competencies that are difficult to prove. Some case studies are presented later in the book and deficiencies in them are discussed along with possible solutions. Whilst the examples are from various professions and not aimed specifically at medicine, after reading them, I could recognise several of my deficiencies and have some ideas of how to improve them. Next is a chapter on how a typical interview flows so that you can recognise a pattern and know where you are. There is also a section on how to end an interview positively. Chapter 14 gives some ideas on preparing a competency-based curriculum vitae. Although not used in this recruitment round, it is clearly a useful skill as a competency-based CV will give the impression that a candidate has considered the post carefully and is focused on meeting the employer's needs.

At the end of the book, there is a glossary explaining common competencies used by most employers. These are very similar to the ones defined for doctors in the person specifications for different specialties. There is also a section on the aspects that should be kept in mind when discussing a specific competency with examples given of how this might work during an interview.

In my opinion the book achieves its aim of helping the candidates to prepare for and understand competency-based interviews. A particular strength is that it is written in a language that is easy to understand with a summary of key points at the end of each chapter. This ensures that the messages are communicated effectively and that the most important points can be re-read easily. While the book is not specifically aimed at doctors, I would recommend it to all doctors having a competency-based interview.

Dr Chinar Goel
SHO Psychiatry

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