How to Get Ready for an Interview in Medicine

Getting to an interview is the last step in applying for a medical job. Your admissions test score, personal statement, expected grades, and achievement thus far demonstrate your potential as a top-notch medical student.

The last consideration colleges consider when determining whether to award you a spot on the course of your choice is how well you performed in your medicine interview. That may seem like a lot of pressure, but you may succeed in this last phase if you have the correct advice and professional assistance.

Our medical admissions specialists have put together this guide on the various medical interview formats (such as standard panel interviews and Multiple Mini Interviews, or MMIs) and how to prepare for them effectively. Joseph Robbins, the Head of Consulting for the Profs, also offers his firsthand procedure expertise, having advised medical students for more than five years.

How is an interview offer made in the medical field?

When applying for Medicine, you must fulfill several conditions if you have not heard back from an interview. Among them are:

Fulfilling the standards for the grade

The university and medicine course you’re applying to will determine the A-level marks (or equivalent) needed for admission. Fulfilling these prerequisites is essential to your application and will significantly influence your chances of receiving an interview offer. Some institutions, like Oxford and Cambridge, use your GCSE subjects and grades (or equivalent) to narrow the pool of qualified applicants.

Obtaining a sufficient score on your admissions exam

The BMAT or UCAT must be taken as part of the entrance procedure for undergraduate medical schools. Your exam results will be considered when selecting who will be awarded an interview and a spot at the institution.

Please be aware that the BMAT is being discontinued. As a result, candidates will not be taking the exam starting in 2024 (for admission in 2025).

Establishing a solid academic reputation

Establishing a solid academic profile is equally as crucial as achieving the standards for grades and admissions tests to be invited for an interview. You may enhance your academic profile by gaining job experience, participating in extracurricular activities related to your field of study, and reading outside of your course material.

Composing an excellent personal statement

Your personal statement gives you the first opportunity to convince colleges of your suitability as a medical professional. It should include your professional experience, the lessons you learned from it, your passion for pursuing Medicine, and the abilities and traits that would make you an excellent doctor.

Note that the standard requirement of submitting a UCAS personal statement remains for all students applying to universities in 2023, 2024, or 2025. However, there will be changes to the UCAS application procedure starting in January 2025 (October 2024 for Oxbridge candidates), and students will no longer be needed to prepare a personal statement. Instead, each candidate will respond to UCAS-provided, more focused, and concise questions.

Before you go to the interview stage, there are many things to consider. Fortunately, the medical admissions tutors at Profs can assist you with every aspect of your application. Please speak with our knowledgeable consulting staff for assistance.

What is the interview for Medicine?

It’s critical to ascertain the nature of the interview before preparing for a medical interview. MMIs (Multiple Mini Interviews) and conventional panel interviews are the primary interview formats UK medical schools utilize. An outline of each interview is provided below:

What kinds of interviews are used by medical schools?

MMIs:

A majority of medical schools employ Multiple Mini Interviews or MMIs. During this kind of interview, candidates go through a series of quick tests, or “stations,” that typically take no more than ten minutes. Most MMIs have about ten stations and take about two hours to finish.

You will be given time to prepare a response before each mini-interview and will be given a situation to consider. An interviewer will ask you a question or require you to role-play a problem with an actor while the interviewer observes. MMI stations need extensive professional preparation since they are intended to evaluate your medical knowledge, soft skills, and capacity to function under duress in novel and unfamiliar environments.

Conventional panel discussions:

You may be more accustomed to traditional interviews because they have a more set structure, but preparation is also necessary for them. During a typical medical interview, a panel of medical specialists will question your motivation to study Medicine, your knowledge of medical school, your job experience, and your dedication to the field.

You’ll also be asked topic-specific questions about general science and human biology. In contrast to an MMI, your statement and the data in your UCAS application will be the primary sources of information used by the interviewers to pose questions and start conversations.

Which interview is used by every medical school?

Once you are familiar with the various interview formats and their contents, it’s critical to ascertain which sort of interview you will be attending so that you can adjust your preparation. You may need to prepare for an MMI and a conventional panel interview if you apply to many medical schools.

The institutions that employ these two primary interview methods are displayed in the table below.

It should be noted that Southampton University employs a dual interview approach (also called a Selection Day) that mixes a panel interview, which is customary, with an extra group exercise. If you need clarification on the format of your interview, always inquire directly with the university of your choice.

Getting ready for an interview in medical school

All medical school interviews aim to ascertain if you are qualified for your desired degree and whether you possess the necessary skill set for a successful medical career. To have the best chance of success, you must prepare specifically for these two sorts of interviews because they are very distinct.

The medical admissions specialists at The Profs have offered their best advice on getting ready for a regular panel interview and an MMI. Get in contact with our staff right now if you wish to implement these suggestions.