The Med School’s MMI Interview: Final Thoughts

Mary Jacobs

December 19, 2023

Small But Giant Prompts. Not every MMI prompt will be hypothetical-scenario-based. Some will be like those comically brief traditional interview questions encouraging huge, important answers. Yes, "Why our school?" could rear its head again. To answer this, connect the dots between your past experiences and current interests, with what is happening at the school, what resources they have, etc. Be ready for “Tell me about a time that you failed” and “Tell me about a time when you had a conflict” again too. Review your secondary essay responses and go right ahead and reuse any applicable content. Those were your experiences and your takeaways, after all. There's no need to invent a whole new self.

Critical thinking. Every question you’re asked in an MMI is going to require critical thinking and explaining your thought process. We’re simply adding this short selection of questions that obviously require critical thinking so that you can more consciously practice meeting those goals.

A patient with breast cancer is curious about Eastern Medicine, particularly acupuncture. How would you discuss this topic with her?
How would you handle multiple patients leaving negative reviews about you online?
What should be the primary focus of medicine—preventing or treating disease?
What is responsible conduct in medical research?

On Blowing It at an MMI Station. You obviously want to do well at all these stations. But what if you blow one of them big-time? Welp, take a deep breath and move on. At your next station, you’ll be assessed by a new interviewer who has no idea what just happened. If you come in strong at other stations, having one fumble will not lose you the game. Your score is cumulative, with each station being worth between one and 10 points. And it is relative. Your performance will be compared to other applicants’. (Maybe the other applicants bombed too!) You almost certainly will make a mistake at some point—probably right out of the gate. “There is research on it—the first response is shakiest no matter what competency is being tested,” said a test facilitator. “Most applicants will get better at this in a matter of minutes. And by mid-interview season, they’ll be a pro.”

The Med School’s MMI Interview: Healthcare Policy Questions

The Med School’s MMI Interview: Role Playing Scenarios

The Med School’s MMI Interview: Teamwork Activities

The Med School’s MMI Interview: Writing and Picture Stations

Mary Jacobs

December 12, 2023

Medical School Admissions

The Med School’s MMI Interview: Writing and Picture Stations

Mary Jacobs

December 12, 2023

Medical School Admissions

The Picture Station. It’s possible that your MMI will include a picture station, where you are presented with an image and asked to describe it. The image could show something emotionally evocative or medicine-related or look like a vacation photo. Like most MMI stations, this one tests your communication skills. The most important thing to do here is to deliver a comprehensive response. Don’t just share what is in the image, share how the image is presented. (“On the right side…”) If the image is related to a current event or medical task, share what you know about it. If the picture makes you feel a certain emotion, share that too.

The Writing Station. Not every school will have a writing station, but the ones that do will present you with their prompt (or two and you can pick one) and a time limit. That could be eight minutes, it could be 30. Our previous blog posts cover the type of material you might be presented with at the writing station—it could be a scenario, policy, or personal question. The only thing that makes this station different is that it is testing your written communication skills.

As we have often said, you’ll want to focus on clarity in your writing. If you complete your answer, don’t feel the need to add more. You’re allowed to be done early. You might find that you run out of time and that you’re cut off before you complete your response. That’s a shame—but it happens. Don’t dwell on it. The content you have hopefully expresses some strong reasoning, etc. You likely did just fine.

The Med School’s MMI Interview: Healthcare Policy Questions

The Med School’s MMI Interview: Role Playing Scenarios

The Med School’s MMI Interview: Teamwork Activities

The Med School’s MMI Interview: Final Thoughts

Mary Jacobs

November 21, 2023

Medical School Admissions

The Med School’s MMI Interview: Healthcare Policy Questions

Mary Jacobs

November 21, 2023

Medical School Admissions

As you move through the MMI stations, a blunt quiz show question on healthcare today may be in the mix. Something like: "What is an HMO?" While interviewers will never ask you to diagnose anything, they will try to find out how much you know about the world of healthcare. How well read are you? How informed? The only way to answer a question like this is to be informed. So, know some basics.

And follow the news: Is there an antibiotic shortage? Is there a controversial new Alzheimer’s treatment? Did research scientists recently grow a human nose on a pig’s back? You don’t have to have read every behind-a-paywall study that has been written in the last two years, but certainly be up on the stuff that’s in the mainstream media. The New York Times is great for current events related to health care, as are MedPage Today, MedScape, and Stat News. We also recommend that you set up Google alerts for key phrases related to healthcare and/or your research interests and desired specialty to ensure you’re up to date.

An interviewer may ask for your opinion on hot-button issues in healthcare. Think: "What are your thoughts on stem cell research?" If you don’t have an opinion on a topic because you don’t know much about it, acknowledge that it is an important or controversial topic, then pivot to something relevant that you know about in-depth. Something like: "I have not done a ton of reading on stem cell research. But because of my clinical research position, I have worked with a novel treatment and believe that…" will have to do.

Here are some other Healthcare Policy Questions to ponder: