- 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. If you've found this video
helpful, hit the like button, and if you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that here so
that you don't miss out on any new videos. 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!
