Interviews aren’t just about testing your knowledge. They’re a chance for medical schools to get to know you. They want to see how you communicate, why you’re interested in medicine and whether you have the right qualities to become a good doctor.
Multiple mini-interviews are often referred to as MMIs and consist of a variety of different ‘stations’, or small interview scenarios. Each station will assess candidates for specific attributes and will only last for a short period of time. Stations can range from discussing personal statements and experience (like in a regular panel interview) to more practical scenarios that involve candidates interacting with an actor who will be playing a role. MMIs often include more creative stations, such as teamwork and communication stations.
Panel interviews are conducted by a group of two or more interviewers. These interviewers could be a mixture of clinical and admissions staff, a senior student or a member of the public. Usually they are around 20 to 30 minutes long, though some universities may offer longer interviews, or two interviews over two days.
Panel interviews can follow a structured or semi-structured format. In structured interviews, a specific set of questions are followed, whereas in semi-structured interviews, questions can be influenced by the interviewee’s answers so the process is more conversational.
Assessment centres involve a variety of interview formats and tasks, and can take up to an entire day to complete. Tasks might include completing written work, group interviews and individual panel interviews. Universities should provide applicants with all the relevant information before the interview, but you should try and find out as much as possible from the school you will be interviewing at.
Some universities may choose to run interviews online. Another type of online interview involves candidates recording themselves answering set questions and then submitting videos of their answers to the university’s admissions team. These are called asynchronous interviews.
Looking for help with interview preparation? You can find more advice on our applicant website Studying Healthcare.
Multiple mini interviews are used by several medical schools during the interview stage. You can access a step-by-step guide on how to conduct a mock MMI, created by Olivia Eguiguren Wray, a medical student at the University of Exeter. This guide includes tips for both students and interviewers, as well as practice stations and marking criteria.
