I think that admissions interviews, for applicants who get that far, are getting more challenging. Some medical schools are switching from traditional interviews to a much more varied and challenging method called multiple mini-interviews (MMIs).
In an MMI, a candidate rotates through 8 to 12 stations, each with an interviewer in the room and a prompt outside the room. The candidate gets 2 minutes to study the prompt, then goes into the room and discusses or responds to it. for abut 6 to 8 minutes. It may be a prompt to discuss an issue of medical ethics, for example. In some cases, two candidates go in at once. Without being able to see what each other is doing, one candidate has to give the other one oral instructions of how to make a certain drawing, and then they reverse roles. It’s an exercise in communication, both giving clear information and receiving, interpreting, and acting on it. Or two candidates may be taken in at once and asked to debate opposite sides of a controversial medical issue while the interviewer just watches. Another I’ve heard of is for the candidate to be told to build something from parts provided, and explain the logic of why they’re doing what they do.This is a lot different from the traditional “Tell me about yourself; why do you want to be a doctor?” sort of interview. It seems to me much more challenging and a deeper probe into the personality and thought processes of a candidate.Twenty-eight of the 143 U.S. medical schools are now using an interview method called multiple mini-interviews (MMIs), and another 18 schools are using an MMI–traditional hybrid.
Ken Saladin, Emeritus professor of biology
Source:t
I think that admissions interviews, for applicants who get that far, are getting more challenging. Some medical schools are switching from traditional interviews to a much more varied and challenging method called multiple mini-interviews (MMIs).