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For many health courses if your application has met our minimum entry criteria you will be invited to an interview.

This is an opportunity for us to find out more about each other, for you to demonstrate your knowledge of your chosen profession and a chance for us to show you what is special about studying at Sheffield Hallam.

Attending an interview doesn't mean you are guaranteed a place on the course, so we do recommend preparing for your interview beforehand to give you the best chance of success.

We want you to feel comfortable at the interview, so we've put together some tips about the interview process to help you prepare.

Jump to:

• Application and interview support sessions
• Pre-interview video submission
• The interview process
• How to prepare
• What we're looking for
• Who is involved
• What to bring to your interview
• What to wear
• Disability support
• Inclusion at interview
• What happens next

Application and interview support sessions

We offer regular online application and interview support sessions where you can gain advice on applying and preparing for your interview.

Book your place on a support session.

Pre interview video submission

Applicants looking to study BSc Paramedic Science will be asked to submit a video submission before you are invited to interview. This is because this area is extremely competitive.

For all other courses please skip this step.

If you are successful following your video submission, you will be invited to book on to a virtual interview.

You will have seven days to submit the video after receiving your email notification, so we advise to start thinking of your submission before you receive the email to give yourself more time.

View our guide to recording your short video.

The interview process for nursing and midwifery and allied health courses.

You will have an approximately 25-minute slot, where we will discuss with you your passion for the subject, your knowledge of the career and the challenges the health and social care sector currently faces. We will also talk with you about your suitability for the course. We want to be confident this is the right path for you.

For our nursing and midwifery courses you will be emailed a video prior to interview of someone speaking about their own experiences in healthcare, we will then ask you questions at your interview about this clip, so please make sure to watch this before your interview to avoid you having to rebook your interview time.

Your performance will be assessed during your interview and your answers will inform our decision whether to offer you a place on the course.

Interviews for BSc Learning Disability (Nursing) and BSc/MSc Social Work will take a different format as detailed below. For all other courses please move on to the How to prepare section of the page.

BSc Nursing (Learning Disability) and Social Work interview information

Your interview will consist of three key components:

Group Task: You will participate in a 15-minute group discussion, where you will reflect on and share your observations of a video. This will be observed by academic staff and colleagues with lived experience.

Written Task: You will complete a 20-minute written exercise, which will be your response to a question about your values. This response can be submitted via email either as a picture of your handwritten work or as a Word document. Further instructions will be provided on the day.

Individual Interview: Following the group and written tasks, you will have an individual interview. The time for this interview will be allocated on the day.

Please allow up to half a day to complete the entire process, including the group task, written task, and individual interview which will take place online.

Assessment and Scoring

Your performance will be assessed individually for each task—group discussion, written exercise, and individual interview. The scores from each component will contribute to the final decision on whether you will be offered a place on the course.

BA Social Work and Masters Social Work interview information

For the BA and Masters Social Work courses, you will be invited to attend an online selection event which follows guidance set out by . You will need to be available online for the full day.

During the selection event you will complete three tasks:

1. written exercise - you will complete this and submit online on the day. The task is assessed by academic staff.
2. group discussion - you will be given preparatory tasks (in advance of the day) and take part in a discussion with other applicants. The task is observed by academic staff and colleagues with lived experience of services.
3. individual interview – you will be asked questions from a panel of academic and practice partners. This is also an opportunity for you to ask questions about the course or placement experiences.

Individual interviews take place in the afternoon. You will be allocated a slot for this part of the selection event.

How to prepare

Please look out for any emails with tasks or videos to do or watch prior to the day.

Think about how your experiences, qualities and skills will lend themselves to your chosen profession.

At the interview we want you to be able to demonstrate an insight into your chosen profession. The are key to all our health courses; we want to make sure you are familiar with the values and behaviours described in the NHS constitution that you will need to uphold.

For further information on the standards required of students, refer to the code of conduct and ethics for your chosen profession:

• .

For our social work courses you will also be assessed against the point of entry domain of the British Association of Social Worker Professional Capability Framework .

What we’re looking for

Experience of interacting with members of the public from a range of backgrounds and in different settings is essential when applying for a health or social care course. You need to have an understanding of the diversity of the population who access health and social care.

It is important to be able to explain how your experiences relate to the activities and qualities which are required for the profession at your interview.

Interview themes to prepare for are:

1. your relevant areas of strength
2. your experience
3. your understanding of equality and diversity
4. your particular areas of interest
5. your wider reading and research in the subject.

Experience tips

There are many ways you can gain experience or you might already have lots of experience to reference - this might be as part of a programme of study or in a paid or voluntary capacity, and doesn’t always need to be within a care setting.

Interacting with people with different life experiences will help you develop a deeper level of understanding of the diversity of the population who access health and social care. Reflect upon your learning from any of these experiences to demonstrate an understanding of the profession and a genuine, reasoned commitment to studying a professional course.

Who is involved

Members of the course team will be present and may also be joined by placement learning partners, current students, and service users.

What to bring to your interview

You must bring photographic identification (photo ID). If possible, please bring a passport or photo driving licence. If you do not own either of these, other forms of photographic identification may be sufficient for the interview.

If you are offered a place on the course you will be required to present further official identification documentation to complete the professional suitability checks referred to on this page.

What to wear

Wear clothes that you are comfortable in, and feel are appropriate to attend an interview for a professional course.

Disability support

If you require any adjustments for your Zoom interview, for example a sign language interpreter, notetaker, or materials provided in a different format, get in touch. The selection team will then be able to discuss with you what adjustments you might require.

Contact our events team on +44 (0)114 225 5584 or email recruitmentevents@shu.ac.uk.

The Disability Disclosure booklet [PDF, 282kb] provides information for applicants and students on health and social care courses.

The information in the booklet will help you understand the importance of disclosing your disability at the earliest possible stage in both the application process and for your time on placement when you have enrolled on a course.

Inclusion at interview

We welcome everyone to Ï㽶ÊÓƵ and want to be as accessible and inclusive as possible. If you wish to disclose any information with us, such as a change in name or any other personal status that you feel is relevant, this will be treated sensitively and fairly, ensuring you are represented impartially at your interview.

Contact our Events team on +44 (0)114 225 5584 or email recruitmentevents@shu.ac.uk.

Joining your interview

Most of our interviews will take place online via Microsoft Teams. You will receive a teams link via email prior to your interview so please look out for the link.

Access the teams link at least five minutes before your booked interview time where you will be placed in a virtual waiting room and the panel will let you in to the interview as soon as they are ready.

If you are expected to review anything before your interview you will be sent this via email prior to attending. For example our nursing and midwifery courses are sent a video to watch which they will then reflect upon during the interview.

Face to face interview option

Our BSc child nursing course and our BSc Occupational Therapy course will have the option of a face to face interview this year. You will be able to choose between this or a Microsoft Teams call when you’re invited to attend.

On the day you would be welcomed into the Heart of Campus building for a talk about studying here, then you will be shown a video of someone sharing their healthcare experiences which we will then ask you to reflect upon during your interview. This will be from 12:30 - 4pm on your interview day.

What happens next

We will not be able to tell you about the decision on the day, but we will let you know the result as soon as possible. For some courses, a decision may not be made until all interviews have taken place.

If you have applied through UCAS, our decision will be communicated via UCAS Track, so check your account regularly.

You will receive a conditional, unconditional, or unsuccessful offer.

Conditional offer

You must meet specific conditions, which may be academic and/or non-academic conditions before you can be accepted on the course. If the conditions are met, the offer becomes unconditional.

Unconditional offer

This is made when you have met all specific conditions we’ve asked for.

Professional suitability checks

All home and overseas applicants who accept Ï㽶ÊÓƵ as their firm choice will be sent an email invite to start completing professional suitability checks, which are a prerequisite to enrolment. All offers will be subject to completing all the professional suitability checks.

It is essential that overseas applicants complete these checks before travelling to the UK as it will be difficult to obtain this information from the UK at a later date.

• Suitability declaration – This form requires you to provide information surrounding any previous criminal convictions/cautions, employment disciplinary/termination of employment, enrolment on any prior health and social care course, and any safeguarding issues for example referral to safeguarding authorities or investigations under safeguarding legislation.
  
  Positive declarations will not necessarily mean that you are unable to train to be a healthcare professional, and all positive declarations will be considered by the Fitness to Practise Operational Group.
  
  
• Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) – This is a requirement for working with vulnerable adults and/or children and accessing placement activity and will allow us to risk assess any previous criminal history.
  
  
• Health assessment – This is an online health questionnaire which asks for details of your current health, health conditions, medication, and immunisation history. You are expected to provide all relevant, truthful, and accurate information to ensure a safe environment for yourself and service users. The information you provide is assessed by Occupational Health staff based at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals to ensure you are medically fit to undertake the profession.
  
  If further information is required from you following submission of your health questionnaire, our provider will contact you directly.
  
  
• Immunisation history – Request a printout of this from your doctor or hospital to provide at your first vaccination appointment. .
  
  
• Overseas criminal record check –If you have been outside of the UK for longer than 12 months while over the age of 18 within the last 10 years, you will need to apply to that country for an overseas criminal record check/reference of good character. .

Unsuccessful

We are not able to offer you a place on the course. We do not feel that you have demonstrated the necessary skills or experience to be successful at this time. However, this does not prevent you from applying in future, should you undertake further study or develop your skills and experience.

For individual feedback on the decision, email feedbackrequests@shu.ac.uk.

Don't give up or be disheartened: If you wish to gain some help, support and advice on reapplying, preparing for interviews and building your skills for your next application, we'd welcome you at one of our application support sessions.