qsim Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 Apologies if this has been asked before, but for those who have had an MMI before, how were the interviewers in terms of responses/follow ups? For example, are you expected to give an 8 minute monolgue as an answer to "why do you want to go into medicine?" or it is structured as more of a discussion? I assume there is a fair bit of variablity with respect to interviewers, but should you expect a conversation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w8kg6 Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 This has been asked before, in multiple forums, so check there for your answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSgirl Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Hey Qsim, Expect more of a discussion. The main question will just get the convo flowing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qsim Posted March 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 NSgirl: Thanks very much for the response - I really appreciate it. w8kg6: I don't know why you feel the need to post on threads that you have no intention of contributing to. I've seen you do this a number of times already, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who is sick of it. I mentioned in my original post that I was asking a question which may have been asked before. Keep your condescending comments to yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meme me Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 Hey Qsim,Expect more of a discussion. The main question will just get the convo flowing Not sure if you're speaking from experience here or not, NSgirl, but the MMI is supposed to be non-interactive... the interviewer is supposed to refrain from giving any sort of feedback, personalized follow-up question or even body language... not sure if Dal's is the same, but at UofA the interviewers had a list of 'prompt' questions that were related to the question, so if an interviewee had finished speaking before time, they could be given a prompt question. I wouldn't be intimidated by thinking you have to enter each station with an 8 minute 'monologue'... for one thing, eight minutes goes by a lot faster than you would imagine... plus the prompt questions are always there to prop you up. With all that being said, some interviewers were more interactive than others and did engage more, but for the most part, interviewers were quiet and kept to the script. I would be prepared for stone-faced, non-interactive interviewers. I would certainly not enter into an MMI experience expecting conversation-like interactions... you may be taken off-guard for the worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSgirl Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 I am speaking from my experience with the Dal MMI last year. In general I did find the whole process quite friendly and relaxed. Of my 10 rooms only one interviewer really seemed to have a stern look and even she cracked a smile in the end! Perhaps not everyone had the same experience with Dal last year...? Definitely be prepared to enter a room and be the only one talking..Im just saying I found the interviewers put me right at ease so I didn't feel nervous at all and FELT like I was having a convo rather than an intense med school interview! There were definitely follow-up questions after the first question was answered and Im sure these questions were from a script, but it all flowed quite nicely. This is the Maritimes where people always smile at you, strangers hold doors for eachother, and if you step into a street every car stops immediately even though you aren't on a crosswalk. If you are an OOP and get into Dal Med..COME!! You'll love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngdad Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 If you are an OOP and get into Dal Med..COME!! You'll love it! Promise I'll love it? My top choice has been UBC all along (home province) with Dal as the runner up, but everything about Dal thus far from the application to the interview has been nothing short of PHENOMENAL. They have been nicer to me as an OOP than my home province school (not that they have been bad). If this is a good indication of what Dal is like all the way through I would LOVE to attend. I may not get the choice between the two, but if I do I will think long and hard about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Stark Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 I completely* agree with what NSgirl said. Dal is - unquestionably - awesome. To elaborate on her MMI comments, you won't face stony-faced impassive interviewers, but they also won't interrupt you much or give you feedback per se. What they will do is raise questions in response to what you say, and generally they will engage you in a conversation about the issue at hand. Just relax and you'll get through it okay. *Note that cars will stop for you in most smaller towns in NS, but this will not happen in general in Halifax. Especially not on South Park. Ahem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w8kg6 Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 w8kg6: I don't know why you feel the need to post on threads that you have no intention of contributing to. I've seen you do this a number of times already, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who is sick of it. I mentioned in my original post that I was asking a question which may have been asked before. Keep your condescending comments to yourself. That's a pretty legit post. I think I've just become a bit jaded with the enquiries of if an 84% in a class will inhibit a person's chances of entering medicine. Hopefully you'll accept my apologies. My Dalhousie MMI experience: It's unlikely, but not impossible that you'll be left with nothing to say when the 8 minutes comes and goes. The majority of my interviewers were fairly encouraging with what I had to say, and never did I feel like any of the prompts were an attack on what I had said so far in my response, even though they did a lot to help me take a different perspective on the question being asked. Not all questions are directly posed by the interviewer, however, and some even rely on how you interact directly with another candidate (I won't go any further in depth, since I would hate to give away anything about the actual questions asked last year). As a disclaimer, I didn't get accepted last year. One of the things that was mentioned in my feedback session with Dr. Sutton was that, although I was very personable (which may be surprising ), my answers lacked a certain amount of complexity. I expect this stemmed directly from my approach of "oh, I'm a nice guy, and I can talk on my feet, so I don't need to prepare". It's no surprise I had to start an engineering degree with that mindset, haha. Maybe that will offer you a bit more. Sorry if I came off as abrupt earlier. Just don't ask me if you can get into medicine without having volunteered in an Indian orphanage, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc2B Posted March 21, 2009 Report Share Posted March 21, 2009 I've done both the MMI and traditional style interviews. I much preferred the MMI last year. It helped that I was accepted though. Anyway, I actually had a lot of fun doing it and a lot of other people in my class that I've discussed it with also had the same feeling of the MMI. Every interviewer is going to be different, but they have a few things that they are supposed to/will do. First, they do have prompt questions, so although they aren't necessarily having a free and open "conversation" with you, it might seem that way based on the fact that if you stop speaking and they don't think you have touched on all the points they might be looking for they will prompt you with one of their prompt questions. Good interviewers will make this seamless so that it is actually conversational rather than drilling you. The other thing that they do (or rather won't do) is give actual feedback, they aren't supposed to let you know that you've done a "good job" and for the most part they'll keep to that, plus there isn't that much time for it anyway. In my experience at some stations I was still talking when the time was up and that was that. In others I had finished and was actually just chatting with the interviewer, especially with the med student interviewers. I asked them how they were liking school, etc and they were happy to answer and have a regular conversation in the left over time. In other rooms we kind of just sat and didn't really talk once it was done. But I never felt like I was sitting for copious amounts of time just staring at the interviewer waiting for the buzzer to go. My advice to anyone doing the MMI, is to relax and enjoy it. Read the prompt and consider some main points you'd like to touch on before you go in the room, and if you don't have anything else to say don't just start rambling let them prompt you or not if its not necessary. Be friendly and personable but professional. Relax during the break stations, and forget about any of the stations you've done before because you get a whole new interviewer and situation in the next room, remember you get a fresh start at each station so you don't have to worry about one bad answer because the next interviewer will never know about that. Good luck, I look forward to meeting everyone at the interviews. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 That's a pretty legit post. I think I've just become a bit jaded with the enquiries of if an 84% in a class will inhibit a person's chances of entering medicine. Hopefully you'll accept my apologies. Wow an actual example of grace and respect on the forums. refreshing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qsim Posted March 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 Thanks for all the thoughtful responses and personal experiences - much appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THX Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 I'm not sure about Dal's MMI, but I have taken part in one at McGill. It's a lot of fun, just go in with a positive mindset and you will do well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futuremedstudent? Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 That's a pretty legit post. I think I've just become a bit jaded with the enquiries of if an 84% in a class will inhibit a person's chances of entering medicine. Hopefully you'll accept my apologies. My Dalhousie MMI experience: As a disclaimer, I didn't get accepted last year. One of the things that was mentioned in my feedback session with Dr. Sutton was that, although I was very personable (which may be surprising ), my answers lacked a certain amount of complexity. I expect this stemmed directly from my approach of "oh, I'm a nice guy, and I can talk on my feet, so I don't need to prepare". It's no surprise I had to start an engineering degree with that mindset, haha. Maybe that will offer you a bit more. Sorry if I came off as abrupt earlier. Just don't ask me if you can get into medicine without having volunteered in an Indian orphanage, lol. How did you get feedback??? I had no feedback from my interview directly. I was just told that my interview was average and my GPA was not competitive when I received my rejection letter. I didn't know more feedback was allowed. How did you get your feedback? Do you think there is any chance I can get feedback from last year's interview this late??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick83 Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 I'm assuming they're speaking about a meeting with Dr. Sutton. Anyone that was rejected was allowed to schedule a meeting with Dr. Sutton where she goes over your application in more details, makes suggestions, offers advice, etc. I didn't receive much feedback either and went to see her. While I didn't get too much more information out of the meeting, it was nice to speak to someone in person and get some advice/info for the next application cycle. I'm not sure if you could still do this now... I assume they are busy with the current cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futuremedstudent? Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 How did you set up this interview??? I didn't even know it was an option. I just assumed everyone had to stay in the dark about their interview results.... I'm a little sad now knowing that I"m going into my interview on the 19th blind when others had feedback...I feel like I"m going to make the same mistakes again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick83 Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 If I remember correctly- it was on the rejection letter. Said applicants were welcome to set up a meeting with Dr. Sutton after the application cycle was over. I emailed her as soon as I got the letter and had the session in late June I think. My rejection letter had absolutely zero feedback. Nothing was checked off as being below average/non-competitive, and the written comments just said that my supplemental section was good. So... I was VERY keen to go. All I was told about my interview was that it was fine- "right up there with everyone else" I believe was the exact quote. I asked if there was anything I could do to make it go from average to stand out and she said that the conversations were different with every person and there was no magic formula. She did say the research into MMI shows that people overwhelmingly do better the second time so to just keep doing what I was doing. The main benefit I got out of the session was not any real pointers/feedback from my last application, but just a bit of reassurance that I was on the right track and there were no glaring problems. Unless you had specific questions, or your interview was below average I'm not sure you got very detailed interview specific feedback... from my experience anyways. Hope that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr.ontario Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Do you get to write notes down on paper before entering? Do you get a 1 minute warning bell (at 7 minutes)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w8kg6 Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 How did you get feedback??? I had no feedback from my interview directly. I was just told that my interview was average and my GPA was not competitive when I received my rejection letter. I didn't know more feedback was allowed. How did you get your feedback? Do you think there is any chance I can get feedback from last year's interview this late??? I don't think Dal holds onto apps from previous years, so unfortunately you're out in the cold on that one. I got feedback the way most other people did, just by scheduling a meeting with Dr. Sutton. Do you get to write notes down on paper before entering? Do you get a 1 minute warning bell (at 7 minutes)? I think there's a warning bell (don't remember), but you definitely don't get to write notes on paper or anything. In fact, you're not allowed to bring anything with you except for the clothes you're wearing and the name sticker sheet they'll give you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombiegirl1979 Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 For those who took it last year, do you think they'll repeat any of the same prompts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w8kg6 Posted April 2, 2009 Report Share Posted April 2, 2009 For those who took it last year, do you think they'll repeat any of the same prompts? I would be extremely surprised if they did this. I'd say there is a 99.99999% chance that nocne of the same questions will be asked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombiegirl1979 Posted April 4, 2009 Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 I would be extremely surprised if they did this. I'd say there is a 99.99999% chance that nocne of the same questions will be asked. Thanks for the response. I figured the same, but I thought I'd throw it out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qsim Posted April 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 Hey, not sure if anyone can shed any light on this question. For MMI stations in which it is scenario based (ie. the prompt instructs you to enter someone's office to meet with them), are you expected to go in an introduce yourself to the examiner or just ignore them and play out the scenario? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurkandJD Posted November 7, 2010 Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 Hey, not sure if anyone can shed any light on this question. For MMI stations in which it is scenario based (ie. the prompt instructs you to enter someone's office to meet with them), are you expected to go in an introduce yourself to the examiner or just ignore them and play out the scenario? sorry to bring up an old thread. but i am curious about this question: do you play your role as soon as you enter or do you introduce yourself to the evaluator and actor first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w8kg6 Posted November 7, 2010 Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 sorry to bring up an old thread. but i am curious about this question: do you play your role as soon as you enter or do you introduce yourself to the evaluator and actor first. That's a style thing. For time purposes, I'd just jump right into it, but if you're more comfortable after introducing yourself and you think you'll interview better, then do that by all means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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