Shortlisted: Natalie Mark
Natalie Mark outlines her questions and explains her reasons for them.
Questions
- You are granted 3 wishes. Your first wish will be something that changes things for only you. Your second wish will be something that changes things for a community of your choice. Your final wish will be something that has a global impact. You cannot wish for money or more wishes. What are your 3 wishes?
- You can be granted the wisdom and attributes of any leader throughout history. Who would you choose and why?
- If you could create your perfect colleague, what would be their personal traits and interests in health and care improvement?
Why these?
I wrote the ‘3 wishes’ as it can demonstrate what they value most in life, what they understand by community including; issues, barriers and inequity, resources, assets, strengths and deficits.
It may show if they have an understanding of global issues/needs and a want to have an individual and global impact. Money is not an option to demonstrate many issues are not solely down to lack of money, more of it is not always the solution. It encourages the person to think on a deeper, more creative level. They could look beyond a ‘need’ for things to utilise existing resources.
People often prepare answers to predictable questions, so while not created to derail them, these give a better insight into the person.
I wrote ‘To Gain Wisdom’ to see what they classify as a leader. Would they think about people who have made an impact because of injustice, inequalities, discrimination, poverty. Everyone in health and care has leadership abilities and can lead in different ways to improve health and care for everyone. It also gives some indication of issues that they think are important and can relate to. It highlights what characteristics they value in themselves and other people which are core to working with others in health and care.
I wrote ‘My Perfect Colleague’ to hear them discuss personal traits. There are qualities essential for a health and care professional, no matter their role. It might encourage them to think about any traits they could work on or interest areas they haven’t had a chance to influence.
People often prepare answers to predictable questions, so while not created to derail them, these give a better insight into the person.
There is no absolute right or wrong answer but answers can demonstrate motivation and how they would work within a team.
About me
I work as a lived experience advisor in health and care across the NHS and in research. I’m passionate about using my experiences to ensure that services and policies are co-designed with patients and carers who represent the diversity of our population. Health and care being trauma-informed, equitable, holistic and well-led are high on my agenda.