Candidates will take part in a two day selection process including clinical assessment of skills and techniques; competency based interviews; external clinical participation; chairing a multi-disciplinary discussion of complex cases; and pyschometric testing.
This in-depth method allows the interview panel to assess clinical understanding as well as interaction with colleagues. It also determines how well a candidate fairs against key competencies such as patient focus, leadership, teamwork, communication, quality, resilience and research knowledge.
Alistair Flowerdew, medical director for the Golden Jubilee National Hospital, said: "This method allows us to look at candidates in different environments, ranging from looking at their clinical skills to how they react to real case studies. We believe that this process provides a full rounded view that would not be possible from a review of a CV and single interview panel for one hour.
"There is no doubt that we have arrived at a robust decision and the outcome provides us with the best person to look after our patients. It is our patients from across Scotland who will benefit most from this process."
And Lindsey Ferries, HR director at the hospital, added: "NHS Scotland recently provided guidance on the use of external advisors in recruiting consultants and using other well tried methodologies in other professions. This provided us with an opportunity to completely redesign the way we select our senior medical staff.
"This exercise appears to be considerably more thorough and we will be ensuring that all our senior medical staff are appointed in this way in the future."
