Can I use ChatGPT to write my NHS supporting statement?

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude have completely changed the recruitment process across many sectors – including the NHS.

The NHS Payscales team is made up of experienced hiring managers working in the NHS. We review thousands of NHS job applications each year, and the reality is that most of those use AI in some form or another. In fact, this is part of the reason why the recruitment process takes so long – most jobs now receive hundreds of applications, each of which require manual scoring by a hiring manager.

From a technical perspective, there isn’t anything really stopping you from using ChatGPT or another tool to write your supporting statement; NHS job applications don’t automatically check for AI. However, if you actually want to make it to interview – we’d strongly suggest over-relying on AI to write your supporting statement.

The problem with AI-written NHS supporting statements

NHS jobs receive hundreds of applications. Each of those applications includes a supporting statement. When lots of candidates use similar tools, the same phrases and structure start to appear again and again. Sometimes the giveaways are particular phrases, such as:

• “I possess excellent communication and organisational skills…”
• “I am confident that my experience aligns with the requirements of this role…”
• “I am excited for the opportunity to contribute to the work of the team…”

Sometimes the similarities are more structural. Regardless – when you’ve seen several hundred supporting statements, it becomes very easy to identify the ones which give off an uncanny similarity. Wikipedia actually have a great article explaining why AI writing tends to have certain “tells”; even if you don’t have a degree in English, these are the things which give AI content away.

Fundamentally, the issue is that AI produces superficially polished writing, but it lacks substance. As hiring managers, we want to see some of your personality and passion come through. Unless you give ChatGPT some incredibly detailed instructions, it isn’t going to know that you first got into nursing after seeing the great care your mum got after she was diagnosed with cancer, or that the mistake you made 5 years ago in your previous job completely changed how you think about management.

AI-written supporting statements also tend to be overly generic – relying on “telling” the hiring manager how you fit the person specification rather than “showing” how your experience matches with specific examples.

In a sea of AI-generated applications, writing something for yourself gives you a golden chance to stand out.

Ways to use ChatGPT for an NHS application

With the above in mind, it is important to emphasise that AI is not all bad. In fact, it can be very helpful if you use it as an assistant rather than a ghost-writer.

For example, you could use ChatGPT to:

• Explain unfamiliar phrases in the job advert
• Search for recent news related to the role or NHS organisation you are applying for to mention in the statement
• Help you understand what a specific part of the person specification might mean
• Turn a rough list of achievements into clearer bullet points
• Check whether your draft covers the essential criteria
• Improve grammar, spelling and sentence structure

A useful prompt might be:

“Review this NHS supporting statement against the person specification below. Tell me which criteria I have clearly evidenced, which are weak, and where I should add more specific examples. Do not rewrite the statement for me.”

That kind of use keeps you in control. It helps you improve your own application without replacing your judgement, experience or personality.