Tell me a time you have had to be professional?

This is a personal, reflective question, so the exact example you use will naturally depend on your own experiences. What matters most isn’t the specific scenario you choose, but how you demonstrate that you recognised the issue and actively addressed it, rather than ignoring it or letting it go unresolved.

What makes a strong answer

• Choose a genuine ethical or professional issue you’ve encountered — for example, noticing someone being bullied, finding lost money, or catching a friend attempting to cheat or steal.
• Make sure your response to the situation was proportionate and reasonable. For instance, if you noticed a friend cheating in an exam, the appropriate response would be to speak to them privately rather than calling them out in front of others. Handling it this way shows you’re rational, compassionate, and honest — all qualities that translate directly into good dental practice.
• Where relevant, connect your example to the GDC’s principles around justice and fairness, showing you understand the professional relevance of your experience, not just the personal one.

Why this question matters

Interviewers use this question to assess whether professionalism is something you already practise instinctively, rather than something you’d only apply once qualified. Ignoring a problem, or handling it poorly (e.g. publicly, aggressively, or dishonestly), would suggest you might respond the same way to a professional dilemma later in your career — which is exactly what this question is trying to rule out.

Suggested structure for this question

• Name a specific, valid example of an ethical issue you’ve had to deal with personally.
• Explain exactly how you handled it — who you spoke to, what you said, and how you approached the conversation (privately, calmly, respectfully).
• Link this back to dentistry, showing how the same instinct to act appropriately would apply in a clinical setting.
• Explain the potential consequences of ignoring the issue, and relate this to a similar situation that could arise in a dental practice — for example, staying silent about a colleague’s inappropriate behaviour, or failing to address a patient safety concern.
• Reflect on your actions, reinforcing what this experience taught you and why it demonstrates that you already hold the qualities of a good, professional dentist.