After writing choosing your medical schools, completing the UCAT and writing your Personal Statement, the last hurdle between you and your offer is the interview.
This is where you will have a chance to truly sell yourself to your chosen medical schools and demonstrate why you would be a great student for their course. However, this can be the toughest part of the process for many, as questions can be difficult and the pressure of speaking with the admissions team can get too much.
That’s why thorough preparation is essential to successfully getting you through the process. If you’re reading this, you likely haven’t started your preparation yet, so this guide provides a basic overview of what to expect from your medicine interviews and how to start your preparation. Let’s begin!
What Are Medical School Interviews?
The name is fairly self-explanatory, but there’s more to medicine interviews than you may initially think. The purpose of these interviews is to single out the best applicants from a shortlisted pool, but medical schools have different ways of doing this.
In the UK, there are two primary ways that medical schools will interview applicants; Panel Interviews and Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs). Let’s break these down one at a time:
Medicine Panel Interviews
Panel interviews are a very standard form of interview, but they aren’t used in as many medical schools as you’d think. A panel interview is essential a standard back-and-forth interview between an applicant and one or more interviewers.
At medical schools, most interviews will be conducted by at least two interviewers, who will be members of the faculty in the university’s medicine department. These will usually last around 30 minutes, during which could be asked about many topics, including your motivations, understanding of medicine knowledge and thoughts on current affairs.
Multiple Mini Interviews
MMIs are the interviews used at the majority of medical schools in the UK and follow a very different format to a standard panel interview. In an MMI, an applicant will navigate multiple interviews – referred to as stations – where they will spend 5 – 10 minutes answering a single question or task with an interviewer.
A standard MMI could have anywhere from 4 – 8 stations, with each one testing unique skills. These can range from standard interview questions to more unique tasks like role-play scenarios, ethical dilemmas and practical tasks. Depending on the university you apply for, some of these stations may be fairly difficult or even unusual.
While the idea of constantly moving around and doing something new may sound difficult, it can actually be beneficial to those who get nervous under pressure. This is because each station is a new chance to make a good impression, as stations don’t share interviewers. If you make a mistake at one station, you still have a chance to make up for it at the others!
Some medical schools may utilise slightly different interview methods, such as selection days, but these are usually very similar to either of these standard interview types. Each university will specify what types of interviews they use on their medicine course pages, so make sure you check them out when researching your options.
Where Are Medicine Interviews Held?
Medicine interviews can either be held virtually or in person. If held virtually, your interview invitation will feature a link to a virtual meeting room that you must use on the day of the interview. If the interview is in person, you will likely need to travel to the university campus, with exact details on where you’ll need to go being included in your invitation.
No matter where the interview is held, it’s vital that you’re well prepared on the day so you don’t arrive late. For virtual interviews, ensure you have the correct equipment and a quiet place to attend without distraction (this should be organised before the day of the interview). For in-person interviews, be sure to create a travel plan and know exactly where you need to go.
Dentistry Interviews
Although Dentistry is a different course than Medicine, the admissions process is fairly similar, including the use of interviews. Universities that teach both Medicine and Dentistry will often use the same interview format for both courses, although some questions will be different to remain relevant. Be sure to learn more about Dentistry MMIs and panel interviews if you’re applying for this degree instead of Medicine.
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When Are Medical School Interviews?
Preparing for your medical interviews means understanding the timeframes and knowing when to expect everything. Crucially, this means knowing when your interviews will be.
The interview season for Medicine courses varies from university to university. While Oxbridge interviews tend to be held over the first three weeks of December, non-Oxbridge universities will start interviewing applicants between January and Match. It is probably better to assume that they will be earlier (in December and early January) rather than later (February and March) in order to ensure you have sufficient time to prepare thoroughly.
When to Start Preparing For Medicine Interviews
You should start preparing for your interview as soon as you have completed the Personal Statement part of the application process (check out how to create an outstanding personal statement here). Oxbridge and medical applicants have a deadline on the 15th of October for their Personal Statement and UCAS application submission.
Therefore, in order to be organised and maximise your chance of success, it is around this time that you should start turning your attention to the interview. However, if you can start preparing for the interviews earlier, then do so! Working on basic interview skills as early as summer can help you to feel more confident when the date of the interview starts getting closer.
What Are Medicine Interviewers Looking For?
Despite the differences in formats, practically every medicine interviewer in the UK will be looking for the same things from their applicants. These interviews are designed to give applicants a chance to show off their best characteristics, so here are some of the things you should be prepared to demonstrate when speaking with interviewers:
Commitment to Medicine
The medicine interview is about selecting applicants who demonstrate a real drive to undertake this course. Medicine is a long degree requiring immense hard work and dedication, so the interviewers want to see that you are enthusiastic about becoming a doctor.
To demonstrate this, talking about examples of work experiences is the best way to relate your ideas of medicine to reality. This is not only limited to hospital and GP experiences but also voluntary experiences such as in care homes. Think about particular events or interactions that embody why you want to study this vocational degree, and be ready to talk about these as examples.
Commitment to medicine is not just about enthusiasm. The medicine interview is an opportunity to show that you have a realistic understanding about not only the rewarding aspects of a career as a doctor but also the negative sides and challenges. To talk about this, and then explain why you are still committed to medicine, demonstrates as pragmatic approach to studying medicine for the interviewers.
Self-Reflection
Relating to work experience, the medicine interview will consist of questions that will be opportunities to discuss various reflections that you have had since your experiences. From your work experience, it is useful to jot down several examples of events that really stuck with you – for example, patients receiving certain diagnoses, communication between members of the multi-disciplinary teams, or the way doctors may have explained certain topics to patients.
Think about what made these interactions so successful, or what the challenges of that event were, as well as qualities that members of the teams had to demonstrate. Think about the key roles of other professionals within the medical teams such as nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dietitians and medical students and how they would work together with doctors.
In the medicine interview, the interviewers are not just looking for you to reel off lists of work experience, but for you to think and talk about how medical teams work effectively.
Communication
Looking for communication skills in a medicine interview ranges from the manner in which you talk to the panel in a standard interview format, to your approach and use of language in a role-play station of an MMI interview. This is of course a key selection criteria, given that medicine is a career based on social interactions with patients. Remember to use full eye contact, and be aware of your body language such that you can be expressive but not appear too nervous.
In a role-play MMI station, let the patient actor time to say everything they would like and think carefully about words that you are using to deliver information – for example, if you were explaining something to a patient, try not to use complicated jargon.
If you’re able to demonstrate these key qualities in your interview, you’re more than likely to leave a good impression and have a great chance of earning your offer!
Starting Your Medicine Interview Preparation
The last topic to discuss is how to start your preparation. There are a lot of ways to prepare for a medicine interview, but it’s important to not rush straight into intense mocks.
The best first step you can take is to research essential details about your medical schools. This doesn’t just include the interview formats they use, but their ethos and mission statement as well. By understanding what the university values, you can begin to understand how you can present yourself as a viable candidate. Keeping a database of the information you find will help you with your preparation in the future, as you’ll have a bank of important information to reference.
Beyond this, you should also make sure you’re comfortable with each interview format, understanding exactly how these interviews work and what you should expect from them. Keeping a bank of all the example common questions and stations you find will be a great resource for when you start practising.
One of the best ways to demonstrate your interest in medicine is to be knowledgeable about the latest events in the field, so it’s a great idea to start following medical news and learning more about stories that interest you. This is also true for books, as you should aim to read several books before attending your interviews, especially ones that cover a specific niche that interests you.
Once you have all of your information prepared, it’s time to start planning your preparation. If you haven’t already, you should create a timetable that details when you’ll be practising each week and what you’ll be doing. This can be as in-depth as you want it to be or could leave a little bit of flexibility if you want to leave your options open. As long as you dedicate a few hours per week to your preparation, you should be ready in time for the big day!
From there, you’ll be practising questions with your peers, creating mock interviews for yourself and continuing to review your Personal Statement and work experiences to finalise your talking points. Don’t over-stretch yourself during this process, but preparation is vital to earning your offer, so spend your time wisely.
That concludes our guide to medicine interview basics. There’s a lot more to learn about your interviews, including how to set up a mock interview and why medical ethics is so important to understand, so be sure to continue your research. One thing to consider is whether you think you could use some additional support during your preparation.
Most medicine applicants would benefit from professional support in their interview preparation, be it through tutoring, mock interviews or expert resources. At UniAdmissions, we offer all of this and more in one package – our Medicine Interview Programme. If you’d like to learn how we can triple your chances of getting your offer, explore our programme page today or book a free consultation with our admissions team.
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