Practical Tips for Medical MMI Interviews

Following our presentation regarding some general medical interview guidance for medical school applicants, we are now releasing a blog post summarising the practical tips we've previously provided for your medical interviews!

Firstly, as clarified by the Medical Schools Council, most medical interviews will be held online until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, without further ado, let's jump into these golden tips!

1. Reflect on a wide range of topics whilst preparing for your interview questions. These include hot topics that often make it to breaking news about health as well as more subtle values and skills such as integrity and conscientiousness that are important for doctors.

2. Make your own comprehensive list of common interview questions.

3. Record yourself whilst practising how to answer interview questions so that you can analyse your own facial expressions, speaking style, and body language.

4. Alternatively or additionally, ask your family to observe or question you whilst practicing answering interview questions so that you can obtain an exterior perspective and analysis as you would in a real interview.

5. Because your medical interviews are most likely to be carried out online, practicing with your family or friends on an online platform such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams can be very helpful. This will familiarise you with attending an interview through a video call.

6. Familiarise yourself with your personal statement, the course and structure, the type of teaching at the university, any major research undertaken by the university and the research opportunities that are available for undergraduates.

7. Read the instructions sent by the medical school(s) about the online interview platform to be used, how and when to join the interview, and whom to contact carefully, in case you face any technical issues during the interview.

8. Most likely, as was done for your UCAT and BMAT exams, you may be asked to perform a systems check for your device before or on the day of the interview. This will help ensure that you have a stable Wi-Fi connection and that your camera and microphone are functioning well.

Also, make sure that your device is sufficiently charged to last the duration of the interview.

9. We would recommend you to wear a complete formal outfit rather than just a formal upper half of your outfit in case you have to stand up for anything. For example, if a technical issue occurs, you will still be looking formal no matter what, thereby ensuring that you create no negative impressions of yourself!

10. If you are an international student, please be aware of the time difference between your country and the UK. The varying time zones can be confounding at times!

11. Be punctual for your medical interview so that you create a positive first impression.

12. Make sure you're seated in a separate quiet room. It's probably not the best idea to have family members/friends disturbing you whilst you are engaged in a deep conversation with the interviewers!

13. Last but not least, keep calm and nail your medical interview! It's okay if you make mistakes or feel like you did not answer a certain question to the best of your ability. Don't panic, simply move on to the next question/station of your interview. Chances are that you will still be able to make up for those questions by answering the rest effectively and confidently.

This is what we had in store for you: our top practical tips for your medical interviews.

Some of these tips are similar to the guidance that has been given by the Medical Schools Council for online interviews and, so, it will be very helpful for you to check out their website as well at: https://www.medschools.ac.uk/media/2735/guidance-for-candidates-taking-online-interviews.pdf