The multiple mini interview, or MMI, is a medical school admissions tool that assesses prospective medical students beyond their academic and work histories and interests.
The MMI format consists of several stations at which students are asked to respond to a variety of prompts. Students are not briefed on the prompts prior to interview day, and many schools ask that interviewees keep the content of the prompts confidential even after they interview.
[Know what to expect during a medical school multiple mini interview. ]
Because the MMI does not follow the general interview format and does not address typical interview questions, many applicants are unsure about how to proceed between stations. If you are embarking on a medical school admissions cycle that will likely feature one or more MMIs, avoid these four common mistakes.
1. Overpreparing for stations you are likely to encounter: Though you cannot predict the exact scenarios you will be presented with during an MMI, you may encounter several common subjects on interview day. These topics include academic and clinical integrity, as well as interpersonal conflict on a team.
While it is a great idea to consider how you might respond if you are confronted with a cheating classmate or discover that a fellow physician is falsifying vital signs, developing formulaic, word-for-word answers to these situations is ill-advised. The purpose of an MMI is to capture your true responses to novel scenarios. Canned responses may ultimately sound inauthentic.
[Discover six ways to ace scenario-based questions in medical school interviews.]
2. Underpreparing for modules you are likely to encounter: While overpreparing for MMI stations can lead to answers that seem inauthentic, underpreparing for common topics may affect the logic or organization of your responses.
As you peruse sample MMI scenarios — which are sometimes available online — ask yourself how you would respond in each situation and why you think that is the best course of action. Practice supporting your opinions aloud with arguments and evidence so that speaking coherently and logically about important topics is easier come interview day.
3. Failing to account for your body language: Almost as important as what you say in an MMI is how you carry yourself. Remember, you are interviewing for a professional school — so adopt a professional demeanor.
Maintain eye contact with your interviewer, sit up straight and avoid the types of exaggerated gesticulations that can arise from anxiety. Interviewers typically will not react to your answers, which may contribute to heightened nerves.
[Learn to avoid three common mistakes during medical school interviews.]
Ensure that the structure of the MMI does not prompt you to adopt nervous habits, like wringing your hands, sitting on your fingers or gripping the table or chair. As you practice responding to MMI scenarios before your interview day, also practice presenting yourself as a relaxed, confident preprofessional student.
4. Allowing your experience at one station to color others: The MMI asks you to shift through several different scenarios, each within minutes of one another. With this constant motion, it is all too easy to let your experience at one module influence how you respond to the next.
Whether you feel like you’ve succeeded or failed at a station, view each as a clean slate. If you feel that you answered the prompt poorly at a station, don’t let that deflate you as you approach the next. Equally so, if you feel you answered the prompt well, don’t allow that euphoria to overinflate your confidence at the next station.
Remember that each scenario is distinct from the others and that it likely assesses different skills. Though it may be hard to forget your response at the last station, MMI success is contingent on you being able to move smoothly between modules.
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4 Ways Multiple Mini Interviews Trip Up Medical School Hopefuls originally appeared on usnews.com
