Interview Format (Historically)

​Hull York’s MMI format varies greatly from other medical schools in that it has four different tasks. Note that the tasks may occur in any order.

Two structured, equally weighed individual interviews, each lasting ten minutes, with no more than three questions per interview. There are two interviewers in both interviews who assess the candidate on:

1) Interview One: Personal Qualities

• Motivation and commitment to a career in medicine
• Experience and understanding of a career in medicine
• Awareness and understanding of current medical issues

2) Interview Two: Issues in Medicine

• Communication skills
• Personal qualities
• Critical thinking

3) A five-minute scenario station which includes an actor and two assessors. As soon as the candidate enters the room, they are expected to be in the scenario. Candidates are expected to interact with the actor in the same way as they would in real life, no medical or specialist knowledge is required to complete this station.

4) The 20-minute group exercise which assesses:

• The interviewees’ ability to work with their peers.
• Their contribution of relevant information to a group discussion
• Their ability to articulate their thoughts effectively and clearly in a focus group discussion setting.

COVID-19 Update for 2021 Entry

Hull York will be running its MMIs through December 2020 and January 2021, online. There will also be a virtual pre-briefing session to familiarise students with the new format. The MMI will be six stations, each of five minutes – three mini interviews, a student station exploring your desire to be a doctor, a group work station and a student scenario station.

Before the Interview​​

• Explore the positive and negative aspects of a career in medicine and ensure that you can verbalise your decision to pursue medicine.
• Research the Hull York MBBS course and what it has to offer.
• Ensure that you have carried out and reflected on your extracurricular activities, particularly those related to the medical profession.
• Be aware and have some understanding of the current issues facing the NHS, as well as any medical issues in the media.

Interview Focal Points

• The Group Interview – this is a ‘live’ assessment of your ability to work effectively with others. Your level of contribution is scored using a prescribed set of grade descriptors, by an experienced problem-based learning tutor and one other trained assessor. In particular, they are interested in: your ability to work collaboratively in a group, how you contribute relevant information to the group discussion, and how well you articulate your thoughts in this setting. Essential information on how to succeed in a group interview can be found in our MMI Question Bank.
• The First Structured Interview – this interview focuses on your motivation and commitment to a career in medicine: why do you want to be a doctor? Experience and understanding of a career in medicine: your work experience, and what you learned from it.
  Your awareness and understanding of current medical issues: these are a topical issue, which requires a balanced and well-reasoned answer, and considers both sides of the argument, as well as your stance on the issue.
• The Second Structured Interview – this interview focuses on your communication skills and your personal qualities such as empathy, tolerance of ambiguity and resilience.
  It also assesses critical thinking and explores your ability to understand a complex issue, verbalise your approach to it and reach a conclusion. In these types of questions, it’s important to take a moment to consider your answer. You may be asked to make a hard decision, so consider both sides and reach a reasoned conclusion