MMI Advice from a Previous Interviewer: How to Prepare for the MMI

[P1234]

6 years ago I applied to medical school for the first time and with the help of this forum I was accepted to my dream school. I am now a second year resident physician and I have had the privilege of serving as an MMI interviewer for the past 2 years and I wanted to pass along some advice to those of you who were in the same position as I was 6 years ago:

1. The key to success is practice. Some people will tell you you cannot prepare for the MMI, however as an interviewer I have seen how a lack of preparation can lead to a nervous, disorganized and poorly developed answer. You are not meant to memorize answers so you can give a rehearsed response, but rather practice a structure and approach to the common types of questions, learn about current events, practice your verbal and non verbal communication skills, practice being in situations that challenge you or make you uncomfortable. 

2. The best way to practice is to simulate the MMI as much as possible and practice with another person who can provide quality feedback. Find a group of peers and practice 2-3 times per week. Create your own unique questions relevant to current events and issues in healthcare. Time your answers and prep. Discuss what a 7/7 response would look like. Reflect on your responses. Give each other quality written and verbal feedback. I formed an MMI practice group on this forum with 15 other people. We practiced 3 days a week  leading up to the interview and dedicated one weekend to full length Mock MMIs. We always used a timer and provided feedback to each other. 9 of us were accepted our first year, the remaining 6 continued to practice and were accepted the year after. 

3. You have to know yourself to be yourself. Time and time again people say "be yourself", which taken at face value doesn't sound too hard, right? I have seen people really struggle during the interview when asked standard personal questions of why do you want to be a doctor or tell me about yourself. These questions are hard because you need to open up and be personal. Everyone who applies is smart, everyone wants to help people. We want to hear what unique experiences you have had that set you apart. We want to know who you are and what you are passionate about. What shaped you into the person you have become today? What challenges have you overcome? People who try to say what they think the interviewer wants to hear instead of share their true experiences will come off an ingenuine and perform poorly. 

4. The MMI is hard- it is designed to be challenging. There is truly NO perfect answer for the questions you are presented with- they are designed to be vague and produce a wide variety of responses on purpose. They are designed to see how you perform under pressure and how you think about the problems critically. They are testing you ability to be creative, to show empathy and to think about the broader societal issues at play. However, there are definitely wrong answers and red flags. The best advice I have is this: if you wouldn't say it face to face with the Dean of Medical Admissions- don't say it in your interview. 

5. I think Medical Ethics Questions are becoming a thing of the past. In all of the interviews I have done myself or interviewed for, I haven't come across many true textbook medical ethics scenarios. Some schools may still be very traditional and include these, but I personally think it is ridiculous to ask undergraduate students to have extensive knowledge about medical ethics (literally we spend 2 years learning about this is medical school). It is important to have a basic understanding of ethical and moral principles, and you may be able to apply these principles to open ended opinion questions, but the days of reading "Doing Right" and debating if you should transfuse the Jehovah's witness patient who is bleeding out in front of you are in the past. What you should focus your time on is learning about the current events and important topics in Canadian healthcare. Educate yourself about the problems and inequalities in our current society. Learn about the most marginalized individuals in our society. Think critically about the impact of technology and innovation.

6. If you are rejected post interview, never give up! The average medical student applies 2.7 times before they are accepted. I actually had a classmate who applied 7 times before getting accepted to medical school, and now they are pursuing their top choice of residency. Every interview is a learning opportunity and an opportunity to reflect on yourself and improve. 

Best of luck with your interviews, if you are struggling with the MMI and want to pursue coaching, PM me and I would be happy to help!

 

[Scrubadubdub]

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