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Introduction
The progression from a Band 5 Staff Nurse to a Band 6 Nurse can feel daunting.
The added responsibility and leadership skills required perhaps seem like a step away from
patient care.
The very mention of the word “audit” or “governance” for nurses can induce sighs of “not
more paperwork”.
However, Band 6 nursing posts offer rewards, clinical career progression and an opportunity
for nurses to have more autonomy and authority.
Band 6 nursing varies from setting to setting, sometimes called Charge Nurse, Sister or
Deputy Ward Managers in inpatient units, or Team leaders, Lead practitioners in the
community.
As a Consultant Nurse having worked in the NHS for over 14 years, I have interviewed many
nurses for a range of posts.
Q2. “What do you think are the main differences between a Band 5 and Band
6 post?”
This question is designed to see if you have an understanding of the role and added
responsibilities of working at Band 6.
It will be different depending on the post but you need to be able to demonstrate that you are
aware of leadership, governance, communication and managing tasks.
It is great if you can give real examples; have genuine experiences ready to talk about.
Perhaps a particularly difficult shift where you took the lead, a patient outcome you are proud
of, times that you acted up as a Band 5 when no Band 6’s were around.
As you move forward in your career as a nurse, you will begin to be more exposed to the
managerial structures within the NHS or private organisation.
In can often feel conflicting with clinical practice and contact with patients but healthcare is a
system and you need to begin to familiarise yourself with the various parts which contribute
to its functioning.
When I interview people for Band 6 posts, I will always include a question about governance.
Governance simply is healthcare’s way of knowing if we are doing well.
Via audits, services can monitor outcomes and benchmark against other services.
An example of a question which looks for your knowledge about governance, may be:
Q4.“A staff member who you are supervising is consistently late for work,
how might you go about dealing with this?”
You can then refer to various policies that you have read up on, considering supporting your
colleague, informal processes and then more formal processes.
A perfect answer might sound something like:
“I would meet with the staff member and try and establish why they are late. There may be
some support needs regarding childcare, travel, stress or anxiety. I would meet in supervision
to discuss this. If they continued to be late, I may refer to their contract of employment or
capability policy and remind them of contractual obligations. Throughout this process I
would refer to Human Resources and speak to my manger about informal and formal
processes”.
A further consideration for preparing for a Band 6 job is thinking about your progression as a
nurse.
What does your future career look like? What are your areas of interest?
If you have worked as a Band 5 nurse, you may have developed particular clinical expertise
or have begun to think about future training needs or further study.
A question which will invite you to share some of your reflections may be:
Q5. “Can you tell us of any experiences which helped develop your identity as
a nurse and promoted your interest?
As before, have examples you can draw upon.
I know in my early career there were patients I worked with who shaped the kind of nurse I
wanted to be.
Complex, interesting, required me to think creatively and research a variety of interventions.
It may be that your area of clinical interest became more specialised as a result of working
with a particular patient group.
Don’t be afraid to share what your career hopes are, I love to hear passion and commitment to
nursing.
Lastly it is always positively received by interviewers if you come equipped with questions
yourself.
Maybe you want to ask about development opportunities, what training will be on offer?
Try and find the balance between being teachable yet confident, ask about what support will
be available as this is your first Band 6 post, like supervision, inductions and shadowing
shifts.
It is difficult to feel fully prepared for any interview, as you will never know the exact
questions you will be asked.
However, there are three golden rules for answering any interview questions which I have
found useful over the years.
With any question think “what is this question asking?” so if it is a scenario about managing
staff, say “ok, so this is about managing staff”.
Secondly always, and I mean always, give an example from your practice and thirdly, talk
about how you would achieve this if you were appointed to this new role.
Gaining a Band 6 nurse post is an excellent career progression for any qualified nurse.
I remained as a Band 6 nurse for many years as it offered me the leadership and supportive
responsibility as well as remaining directly involved in clinical patient care.