Preparing for MMIs
HOW TO PREPARE FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL MULTIPLE MINI INTERVIEWS (MMI'S)
There is a good chance that at some point along your interview trail, you will end up interviewing at a school that employs an MMI format for their medical school interviews. That realization often induces a great deal of stress and anxiety in applicants – it’s an awful lot easier to talk about yourself than it is to think critically through complex ethical dilemmas! Fortunately, the MMI stations do not expect you to bring in a great deal of outside knowledge to effectively answer the prompts. They focus on assessing your thought process, your ability to articulate yourself, as well as other soft skills in the context of non-rehearsed responses. Understanding what the MMI is and what it is not is crucial for success on your interview day!
WHAT IS THE MMI STRUCTURE?
As opposed to the traditional medical school interview where you meet for 30-60 minutes with 1-2 faculty members or medical students, you’ll have a series of “mini interviews.” This is one of the key features of the MMI structure – there will be many different interviewers that will judge your performance using standardized questions and rubrics, which is intended to decrease (not eliminate) some of the subjectivity associated with traditional medical school interviews. Each mini-interview includes a short amount of time to consider the prompt (usually 2 minutes) before entering the room. The prompt is often placed in a folder next to the door of the interview room, and you’ll be instructed when it is time to enter the room. Typically, you’ll have around 8 minutes once inside the room to deliver your response. The number of stations as well as the type of question asked at each station vary. Here are some of the types of questions that you might find yourself being asked:
1. NON-ACTING ETHICAL STATIONS
This is probably what you think of when you think of MMI interviews. You’ll be given a prompt that details some ethical dilemma, and you’ll be expected to enter the room and discuss your response with the interviewer.
The key to feeling comfortable answering these prompts is settling on a template that you feel comfortable with. In contrast to traditional interviews, you likely won’t have a prepared answer for the specific MMI question you receive. Instead, having a systematic approach will help make sure that your response is comprehensive. Practice utilizing your template and adjust it as necessary; one of the best ways to prepare for these types of questions is to practice under test like conditions with friends/family/other applicants. Set a 2 minute timer for yourself to review the prompt, and then set a timer for 8 minutes for your actual response.
One useful template I utilized is S.P.E.D (Summary, Problem, Explanation, Decision)
For the full explanation of a systematic approach to an MMI ethical station and an example of how to apply the S.P.E.D template, click here.
2. ACTING STATION WITH ETHICAL DILEMMA
You’ll be given a prompt that explains a situation and when you enter the room you will be expected to take on a particular role. The interviewer might be your patient, your colleague, or anyone else the situation calls for!
For an Acting Station that poses an ethical dilemma, you can consider the same general framework described in the template. Instead of simply talking through your thought process, however, you would do that quickly when brainstorming outside of the room. Next, you’ll want to make sure you understand the role you are assigned to and who you’ll be communicating with. The key differences in these acting stations are the following:
Instead of talking through your thought process, you’ll be talking with the actor and assessing their understanding of the situation as well as explaining your understanding of the situation. If you are working with a patient, for instance, you might check in to see what their understanding of their current condition is
You will have the opportunity to directly ask them your clarifying questions, which you should certainly do when appropriate
Things such as empathy, non-verbal body language, and ability to communicate difficult concepts in simple terms become more important in these types of acting stations
You still want to close these stations by communicating your decision and addressing any questions that the actor may have. It’s tough for many people to take these acting stations seriously, but remember that professionalism is still expected of you. As awkward as it may be, I highly suggest practicing these types of encounters with your support system.
3. ACTING STATIONS WITHOUT AN ETHICAL DILEMMA
In these stations, your soft skills will be paramount. There might not be a specific ethical dilemma, but they are analyzing your ability to communicate effectively and compassionately with others. You might be asked, for instance, to enter a room and break bad news to a patient. There’s no real way to prepare for these stations outside of making sure that you focus on being empathetic, supportive, and non-judgmental during these encounters.
4. PSEUDO MMI STATION
These stations are essentially traditional interviews nestled under the structure of the MMI. You may have one or more stations that simply ask you questions about yourself (why medicine, an adversity you’ve faced, etc) or you may simply enter the room and chat with the interviewer for 10 minutes. You’ll be able to treat this station in the same way that you would any traditional interview!
5. TEAMWORK STATION
In these stations, you’ll be asked to complete a task either with other interviewees or interviewers. They are assessing for your ability to work well in a team setting, which is something that is a fundamental component of the modern practice of medicine. The way you communicate with your team is very important here; you want to be involved and participatory without taking up too much space. Encourage your teammates and ensure that everyone’s voice is heard, while communicating effectively and making sure that the task at hand is completed (with the task itself being less important than what they learn about your ability to work in team settings).
CONCLUSION
While the Multiple Mini Interview format appears daunting, all it takes is a bit of preparation and an understanding of what exactly you are being evaluated on. So, go on out there and get to practicing! And make sure to check out our S.P.E.D template for MMI responses, which you can find here.