St George’s University of London Medicine Interview Questions

Advice & Insight From Interview Specialists

General Interview Information

In 2020, St George’s had 1358 applications from domestic students, of whom 712 were invited to interview. Of these 712, 353 were made an offer. There were an additional 254 international student applicants, of whom 120 were invited for interview and 44 made offers. Around 190 students will take up their place to study at the university each year. The average UCAT score for interviewees was 2652.

Standard Interview Format

At St George’s University of London, an MMI (Multiple Mini Interview) format is used. It will consist of between six and eight short stations, of each around five minutes’ duration. The interviewers will be sat at a station, and the interviewees move between the stations. Stations might involve answering questions, completing a task, or undertaking a role play. All stations are marked separately. The interviewers are looking for the following:

why you want to follow the profession of Medicine
what skills you have that demonstrate that you will be a good doctor and a good student
whether you are committed to quality of care
whether you are up to date with research and aware of government policies on healthcare, especially with focus on Medicine
whether you are respectful and treat people with dignity
whether you are committed to improving the lives of others

how good you are at teamwork.

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Before the Interview

St George’s University of London provides a list of topics that you should prepare before your interview. These are divided into sections. Firstly, is current issues affecting the profession, which includes the following:

NHS politics.
7-day NHS.
NHS long-term plan.

Next is ‘past and present areas of research and exploration’ which includes:

Breakthrough treatments, vaccinations and other developments.
Key events in the history of medicine and healthcare at St George’s (for example Edward Jenner’s smallpox vaccine, or John Hunter’s role in the development of modern surgery.

Then, you should focus on preparing your work experience reflections:

Reflect on what you saw and learnt about the profession and your own strengths and weaknesses in relation to key skills.
Focus on the skills and qualities you can offer, such as teamwork, leadership and communication skills, and how you can demonstrate these.

Lastly, the university advises that you should prepare thoroughly, and ensure that you are confident on why you want to study at St George’s in particular. You should also be able to show a good motivation for Medicine, as well as a clear understanding of what life as a doctor will actually be like.

Exemplar & Recent Interview Questions

The following questions are drawn from the university’s MMI information, and are all questions that have been asked of students in the past:

Explain, without gesture or mime, how to tie a shoelace
Explain to someone with a learning disability how to tell the time using an analogue clock
Travelling on the underground in London, one of your friends becomes separated from the group and it is their first time in London. Explain your plan of action.
You were cat-sitting for your neighbour while they were on holidays and the cat ran away. Explain how you would break the news to your neighbour and how you would comfort them.

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MMI Question Bank

You will note that they largely avoid the typical MMI questions here. However, the following questions are also suitable examples, which fit their ethos:

– While you are working at a cornershop in your town, you realise that one of your colleagues has been stealing small items, like food and toilet paper. How do you approach this situation?

Imagine that one of your fellow students comes to you and explains that he has the answers for your end of term test. He says that you should both learn them, in order to do well. How do you proceed?
A patient is demanding that you explain their test results to them. You are a junior doctor, and think that the test results are negative, but are not confident in the result without speaking to a supervisor.
Explain how to access the internet to an elderly patient who has not used it before.
Tell me how you would go about breaking bad news to a patient. What might you want to consider in particular in a situation like this?