- Today I'm going to share detailed strategies
to help you tackle your MMI interview.
How to ace the MMI interview.
The unique format of the MMI interview tends
to make medical school applicants anxious.
This is because you can't prepare
by simply rehearsing answers to commonly asked questions.
Instead you'll be required to think on your feet
and problem solve.
So, what's the best way to prepare
for the MMI interview?
I'm Dr. Mindy Hoffmann,
medical school admissions expert
at Shemmassian Academic Consulting.
In this video we'll take a close look
at what types of questions you can expect
during the MMI, how to approach them,
and pitfalls you'll want to avoid
to maximize your chances of receiving
an acceptance after your interview.
Let's get started.
What is the MMI interview?
In your medical school application,
you're given ample opportunities to describe
the unique skills and qualifications
that will make you a great doctor.
But how can interviewers determine
that your self-assessment is a reliable one?
How will you really behave
when you're confronted with the various interpersonal
and ethical challenges that physicians often encounter
in clinical medicine?
Just telling AdComs in a one-on-one interview
that you're a great problem solver isn't enough.
Personal anecdotes are more helpful, but still imperfect.
To address the shortcomings
of the traditional interview format,
McMaster University in Canada developed
the multiple mini interview or MMI in 2004.
The MMI interview is now used by dozens
of medical schools throughout the US.
This format gives admissions committees or AdComs
a more reliable assessment of skills like teamwork,
communication, self-awareness, maturity, empathy,
and critical thinking.
The MMI interview is broken up into three
to 12 independent interview stations.
You're given two minutes before entering a station
to read the prompt and prepare.
Then you'll have eight minutes to respond.
This means that your interview could last anywhere
from 30 minutes to two hours.
After you've completed each station you will receive
a score on a scale of one to 10,
10 being the highest score.
Many students dread the MMI
because it feels like more of a test than an interview,
but instead think of this as an opportunity
to demonstrate what a great physician you'll be.
Additionally, the MMI interview works to your advantage
in several other ways.
First MMI interviews are conducted
by more than one interviewer which means the assessment
of your performance won't be based
on the subjective opinion of one individual.
Second, the MMI interview is scored using a rubric
which limits the amount of interviewer bias
that can influence your score.
MMI questions can be broken down into three main categories.
One, ethical scenarios.
Two, character development.
Three, teamwork.
Note that each of these three categories
involve role-playing and non role-playing questions.
Let's take a look at the first category,
ethical scenario questions.
Ethical scenario questions tend
to be the most stressful for interviewees
because they are designed
to test your decision-making skills
in situations that require ethical considerations.
As you are reading the prompt
for an ethical scenario, there are two questions
that you should keep in mind.
First, what is the primary problem?
Often times a scenario will contain
a lot of details.
It will be your job to filter through all the information
and determine what's important and what's not.
By identifying the primary problem,
you can focus your thinking
and develop a clear and effective response.
The second question you want to ask yourself
is what is this question testing?
Ask yourself what are AdComs looking for in this question?
You can also click the link in the description
for a list of questions and answers
that you can use to practice.
But for now let's take a look at the following example.
You are an emergency room physician.
A 31-year-old female patient comes in complaining
of severe back pain,
but after a physical evaluation and several tests,
there is no evidence of an injury or other cause of pain.
You look at the patient history
and notice that this patient
has visited the ER several times
in the past six months,
each time requesting medication with no success.
You politely inform the patient
that you will not prescribe her painkillers.
She then says that if you cannot provide her
with the prescription,
she knows someone who can provide her with Vicodin.
Walk into the room and continue the conversation.
First, let's identify what the problem is.
In this case, the patient
is showing signs of drug-seeking behaviors
and she is threatening to endanger herself
by using illegal drugs
if you do not prescribe the requested medication.
Next, what do admissions committees want to see?
They want you to prioritize the patient's wellbeing.
They also want you to maintain your integrity as a physician
and only prescribe medication when necessary.
Next you'll want to obtain key information needed
to make your decision.
Asking questions will help you make the right decision
and show AdComs that you are deliberate
and measured in your thinking.
Make sure you maintain a non-judgemental attitude
when asking questions.
Some key questions you might ask
the patient include what have you done
to manage the pain between this visit and your last visit?
Do you understand the risks of using Vicodin?
Then you'll need to make a decision.
Your decision should always fall in the gray area
between two black and white extremes.
In this scenario the two extremes are giving into
the patient's demands and prescribing
the requested medication or refusing to prescribe medication
and sending her home without any explanation.
Some other decisions that fall between those two extremes
on this spectrum are prescribing a small amount
of the medication to mitigate the risk of an overdose
or refusing to prescribe the medication
and instead directing the patient
to the appropriate resources
for substance dependence or abuse issues.
In this particular case you have done a thorough workup
to rule out any illness or injury.
Therefore the second decision is the best one.
When refusing to prescribe the medication you
should demonstrate compassion for the patient
and explain why you cannot do so.
Then, discuss resources
that are available to the patient
so she can address possible substance abuse issues.
Character development questions.
These questions are the easiest to prepare for
because you've likely thought about them
when completing other areas of your application
like your personal statement or secondary essays.
Here you can expect traditional questions
that require some self-reflection
like what is your greatest weakness?
Or tell me about a time when you dealt
with an unmotivated coworker.
The purpose of these questions
is to understand how you've responded
to personal challenges or difficult conflicts.
The best way to approach these questions
is to, one, describe the situation clearly
and what the problem was.
Two, explain how you responded and why.
Three, explain how the conflict inspired
your personal development.
Here's a sample response to the prompt.
Tell me about a time when you had
to share negative feedback with a teammate.
When I worked at a pizza restaurant in college,
one of my coworkers kept leaving work several minutes
before her shift was officially over.
As a result, my coworkers and I had to spend extra time
completing her closing tasks.
One day I approached her and said that the team
had been working extra hours to close the restaurant.
I asked her if everything was okay
and if there was anything I could do to help her.
I made sure to first find out if there was a situation
where something outside of work was happening
that she needed support with.
I also made it a point to speak about the problem:
her leaving work early.
I also made it a point to address the problem at hand
rather than making it into a personal attack.
It was difficult because I really enjoyed working with her,
but by sharing the feedback in a delicate way,
we were able to resolve the problem
and preserve our relationship.
This response demonstrates that the interviewee
is a compassionate person
with sound interpersonal skills.
Instead of criticizing her teammate,
she shows leadership by approaching her one-on-one
and by asking if she needs support.
MMI teamwork questions.
Doctors are constantly working in teams
with other physicians, physician assistants, nurses, etc.
There are many skills required for teamwork.
Some important ones that you might be tested on
are communication, decision-making,
motivation and listening.
MMI teamwork stations typically require
the interviewee to complete a task as part of a group.
Your team might consist
of other applicants, actors or the interviewer.
No matter what teamwork scenario you're presented with,
you'll want to demonstrate that you're a team player
by validating other's ideas
and communicating constantly throughout the task
to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Let's go over a sample teamwork scenario in which
you could be asked to role-play.
Two teammates are sitting at a desk with blocks.
One teammate is assigned the role of the builder
and the other is assigned the role of the instructor.
The builder teammate is blindfolded
and is the only person allowed to touch the blocks.
The instructor is given a photo
of a structure and must give directions to the builder
to recreate the design.
If you are assigned the instructor role,
keep in mind that your teammate
cannot see this structure at all.
Put yourself in their shoes.
Anticipate what information you would need to know
to complete the task at hand.
For example, you might be tempted to say something
like move the block to the left.
However, this direction is not specific enough.
Instead you'll want to say something like,
"Okay, move the block slowly to the left
until I tell you to stop."
Some other important tips
for this task include speaking slowly and clearly
and providing positive reinforcement whenever possible.
If you are assigned the builder role,
listen to instructions carefully
and do exactly as you are told.
Make sure you ask questions whenever you are uncertain.
After the task is complete,
your interviewer might ask some followup questions.
A helpful tip here,
make sure to never criticize or blame your partner
for making an error or failing to finish the task.
Always be more critical of your own performance.
Final thoughts. Using the frameworks we've outlined,
you'll be prepared to tackle any scenario
that you encounter during your MMI interview.
As you review practice scenarios,
make sure to focus less on the content of the prompts
and more on your thought processes.
And resist the temptation to do
and say everything perfectly.
Remember, interview committees understand
that these are stressful situations.
They aren't expecting perfection.
You'll develop these important skills further
as you transition into the role of a clinician.
But medical schools want to ensure
that you have a strong foundation to build upon.
Approach your interview with confidence
and know that if you've made it this far in the process,
you have what it takes to do well.
By acing the MMI interview you can seal the deal
and get accepted into medical school.
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If you'd like to learn more about
how to ace your medical school interview,
including a bonus lesson on harnessing psychology
to impress medical school interview committees,
you can also click the link in the description below
to get a free copy of our guide,
'How to Get Into Medical School.'
This guide contains all of the strategies we use
to help students get into top medical schools
like Johns Hopkins, MAYO, and UCLA.
All right, thanks so much for watching.
See you next time!