Mmi And Introverts

[Dr Marchant]

The MMI was developed by McMaster to try and minimize the perceived bias of traditional panel style interviews  -  assessed by many averages out versus assessed by few that may be biased either for or against an applicant.  However, the MMI style of interviews favours extroverts   -

 

Purpose: To examine relationships among applicant personality, Multiple Mini-Interview(MMI) performance, and medical school acceptance offers.

Method: The authors conducted an observational study of applicants who participated in the MMI at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine during the 2010–2011 admissions cycle and responded to the Big Five Inventory measuring their personality factors (agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, openness). Individuals’ MMI performance at 10 stations was summarized as a total score. Regression analyses examined associations of personality factors with MMI score, and associations of personality factors and MMI score with acceptance offers. Covariates included sociodemographic and academic performance measures.

Results: Among the 444 respondents, those with extraversion scores in the top (versus bottom) quartile had significantly higher MMI scores (adjusted parameter estimate = 5.93 higher, 95% CI: 4.27–7.59; P < .01). In a model excluding MMI score, top (versus bottom) quartile agreeableness (AOR = 3.22; 95% CI 1.57–6.58; P < .01) and extraversion (AOR = 3.61; 95% CI 1.91–6.82; P < .01) were associated with acceptance offers. After adding MMI score to the model, high agreeableness (AOR = 4.77; 95% CI 1.95–11.65; P < .01) and MMI score (AOR 1.33; 95% CI 1.26–1.42; P < .01) were associated with acceptance offers.

Conclusions: Extraversion was associated with MMI performance, whereas both extraversion and agreeableness were associated with acceptance offers. Adoption of the MMI may affect diversity in medical student personalities, with potential implications for students’ professional growth, specialty distribution, and patient care.

 

  http://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/Fulltext/2012/09000/Does_Applicant_Personality_Influence_Multiple.29.aspx   

 

What does that say about introverts?  Is there evidence that extroverts make better physicians?   If you read the book Quiet by Susan Cain and you may become concerned.  Introverts are excellent listeners. The least a patient deserves is to be heard. 

 

Susan Cain reflects on her introverted physician father in this blog  http://www.thepowerofintroverts.com/2012/01/01/are-the-best-doctors-cerebral-introverts/  

 

I coach students through the process of applying to medical school.  I have seen introverts do best at traditional interviews where they have time to shine and  the interviewers get to know them.  That does not mean that introverts cannot be taught some skills to manage the performance at the MMI. However, the increasing use of the MMI makes me worry that some people who would make great physicians will not be offered a place to study in Canada because they take time to warm to new people, have a quiet rather than aggressive manner and lead by fostering others rather than putting themselves forward. 

 

Good luck to the introverts on the MMIs!!

 

Cheers!  Dr Marchant      medicalschoolcoach.ca

 

 

 

 

[MathToMed]

Statistically speaking however, academic success (ie. high GPA and MCAT scores) correlates to being introverted (not always, but they are correlated).

 

I haven't seen statistics about this, however I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of med interviewees are introverted, and some measure of assertiveness is therefore prudent. You don't gain meaningful data if you play to the applicants' strengths.

 

It is therefore not necessarily correct to assume that because the last and only last stage of admission favours extroverts that extroverts are being accepted in droves, or that introverts cannot hold their own in the process. The extroverts who reach the interview stage as per your statistical citation have already demonstrated the good character traits that play to introverts' strengths.

 

Med admissions favour balance, and being too intro or extroverted is not a good thing. Hence applicants must stand up to tests that favour and discriminate both demographics.

[carazadie]

I am an extreme (extreme!) introvert, but did very well in the MMI. It is all about practice. Introverts can have good communication and social skills, too, but they might need to take more time to build confidence in those areas. Similarly, not all extroverts are born with natural social graces, nor with the confidence necessary to succeed in an MMI. 

 

Being introverted means I tend to dislike highly social situations, not that I am inherently bad at those interactions. Actually I found the MMI to be more comfortable than panel type interviews because it is usually a one-on-one interaction and it is time-limited. In a panel interview you have a lot more time to fill, so the interaction tends to be more dynamic and conversational. That kind of environment is much more stressful for me, as an introvert. The MMI is a highly structured situation where you are basically "performing" for 8-10 minutes at a time to answer a specific question, and there is not as much room for dynamic social interactions. In that way, an MMI station is more similar to a real interaction with a patient in today's medical system (and I would also argue that introverts can be very good at patient interactions for the same reason).   

[medici]

Ugh I'm sick of this introvert extrovert stuff, people at my school talk about it to no end. People are outgoing in different situations. It's all about being comfortable with a situation, which largely has to do with past experience.

[Stegalls]

If you can't be a bit more social for an interview, you probably are too introverted. 

[LeBronto2019]

Great, there's some hope for me  

[rmorelan]

By the books I am an introvert but also scored top 10% for the MMI I took at Sask. Not unusual to be introverted and shy I guess, which won't help you with the MMI. However introvert is not the same thing as shy at all, and yeah a lot of very successful people are introverts. 

 

what would be interesting is to see if shyness is actually the confound here - if more introverts are shy than extroverts is it really that shy people don't do as well on the MMI.

[katakari]

I am an extreme (extreme!) introvert, but did very well in the MMI. It is all about practice. Introverts can have good communication and social skills, too, but they might need to take more time to build confidence in those areas. Similarly, not all extroverts are born with natural social graces, nor with the confidence necessary to succeed in an MMI. 

 

Being introverted means I tend to dislike highly social situations, not that I am inherently bad at those interactions. Actually I found the MMI to be more comfortable than panel type interviews because it is usually a one-on-one interaction and it is time-limited. In a panel interview you have a lot more time to fill, so the interaction tends to be more dynamic and conversational. That kind of environment is much more stressful for me, as an introvert. The MMI is a highly structured situation where you are basically "performing" for 8-10 minutes at a time to answer a specific question, and there is not as much room for dynamic social interactions. In that way, an MMI station is more similar to a real interaction with a patient in today's medical system (and I would also argue that introverts can be very good at patient interactions for the same reason).   

 

Agreed. As an introvert, I actually succeeded a lot more on the MMIs as opposed to more traditional style interviews. My traditional interviews there was a few misunderstandings in communication that I wasn't able to resolve (one interviewer gave me a 'look' as I correctly guessed their question in advance and openly mentioned preparing for it the night before; another didn't read my application fully and insisted I did activities that I hadn't -- both were quite awkward). In the MMI you give essentially an 8 minute pre-prepared speech -- this is something much easier to practice at and improve on.

[ploughboy]

Q. How do you tell an introverted engineer from an extroverted engineer?

 

A. The introverted engineer looks at his shoes when he's talking to you.  The extroverted engineer looks at your shoes.

[youngdad]

Most clinical medicine (except radiology, pathology) is delivered in a highly social context.  Face to face communication skills are paramount.  I would think only the extreme introverts would have trouble in this type of setting, as one on one is pretty "safe."  Many extroverts may actually have a hard time in one on one situations.  Some extroverts have a hard time knowing when to be quiet, can be very impulsive with speaking, have short listening spans, speak over others, speak too loudly or too quickly, and can convey arrogance.  Any of this, even if subtle, can hurt an interviewee.

 

It behooves each interviewee to know their communication weaknesses and find ways to ensure they do not encumber the conversation.  Some introverts may need to work on speaking louder, with more content, or more expression.  Some extroverts may need to consciously make sure they listen carefully and don't interrupt.

 

That being said, as an extrovert, I do feel that my personality lent itself well to the format of MMI with all the meeting, greeting, smiling, shaking, and talky talky.  I really don't fear any social circumstance.

 

It would be a shame if the MMI is (still?) selecting out introverts who would do a great job in medicine.  I hope the training the interviewers get is increasingly focused on how to spot the intelligent, mature, fair, compassionate, responsible candidates across a wide range of personalities and "social styles."