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University of Aberdeen Medicine Interview Questions

Past Interview Questions & Tips

Aberdeen Medicine Interview Format

Aberdeen candidates will sit an in-person interview, in an MMI format. This means that you will rotate through a number of stations – each lasts five minutes and the entire interview lasts an hour, so expect as much as 10-12 stations in total. Each station has two interviewers who will rate you against pre-set criteria.  

Aberdeen provides the following examples that you should be ready for:

  • Discuss preparation for entry to Medicine e.g.
    • Research into undergraduate curricula and postgraduate training
    • Research and understanding of the implications of a medical career
    • Experience of caring or other environments
  • Consider a new situation and discuss your thoughts or suggest a solution to solve a problem
  • Outline any learning points from previous experiences
  • Reflect upon their own and others’ skills and abilities
  • Consider your potential contribution to the care of others

Communication and interpersonal skills are also scored at each station. 

Aberdeen Medicine Key Application & Interview Statistics

Overall Success Rate (Total Applicants : Total Spaces)
Overall Success Rate
Percentage of Candidates Interviewed
Percentage Interviewed
Interviewee Success Rate
Interview Success Rate

Before the Interview

The MMI format requires the candidate to impress a larger number of people in a short time frame. Therefore, it is essential that you approach each station as a fresh opportunity to impress the interviewer, even if the previous station did not go as well as it could have. Using the two minutes between each station to recollect your thoughts and compose yourself before you begin the next interview is highly recommended.
 

  • Research the unique aspects of Aberdeen, specifically their curriculum relating to remote and rural options and how this would suit you. There is a shortage of medical practitioners in rural settings, so if this type of career is appealing to you, plan to communicate this in your interview.
  • Review the General Medical Council’s role and the main points of the Good Medical Practice Guidance Book. This includes knowledge of the variety of career pathways available in medicine. Ensure that you can talk about potential career paths you would like to pursue as a doctor. 
  • Reflect on your work experience, the skills you have learnt and how these will relate your eventual career as a doctor.
  • Regularly read your personal statement and ensure that you know it well. You need to be able to summarise it, as well as highlight and elaborate on any point in it.
  • Be aware of any current medical issues in the media, as well as issues pertinent to NHS Scotland. 

During the Interview

Many of the questions that come up in the interview will not have a ‘correct’ answer. In these cases, the interviewers are often scrutinising your ability to reflect upon and discuss the diverse aspects of a problem. It is essential to verbalise your thought process by painting a picture of the issue, before making your position or opinion clear to the interviewer. In doing this, you are demonstrating that you can consider multiple viewpoints as well as your own (something that you will regularly face in medicine).


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University of Aberdeen Medicine Past MMI Stations & Interview Questions

​General/Personal Statement Station: This station will involve typical interview questions regarding the attributes you possess such as your ability to work as a member of a team, your ability to take responsibility for your actions, honesty and be self-reflective: 

  1. How do you cope with stressful situations/studying/exams?
  2. What do you think are your worst qualities/weaknesses?
  3. What do you think are your best qualities/strengths?
  4. How would you cope being older than your peers (for mature students)?
  5. How would your best friend/parents/colleagues describe you?
  6. What would you do if a member of your team wasn’t pulling their weight?
    1. What would you do if they did it again?
    2. Would you involve a 3rd party?
  7. What personal qualities do have you to offer?
  8. Are you a leader or a follower?
  9. Do you have any leadership experience?
  10. Is anyone else in your family a doctor?
  11. What careers do your parents have?
  12. Are you the 1st of your siblings to go to University?
  13. How are you going to finance medical school?
  14. How did your work experience make your choice to study medicine stronger?

Motivation and Insight into Medicine: This station will not only examine your motivation to study medicine but also your genuine interest in the medical profession and medical based topics. It may lead to questions along the lines of:

  1. Why medicine/why do you want to be a doctor?
  2. What first made you realise you wanted to be a doctor?
  3. Have you considered any other career paths prior to medicine?
  4. Why are you considering Aberdeen?
  5. What appeals to you about the course at Aberdeen?
  6. What would you do if you didn’t get into medical school this year?
  7. How will you adjust to University life?
  8. How did you go about finding out about a career in medicine?
  9. Have you considered a gap year/what are the advantages of having a gap year?
  10. What do you want out of life other than being a doctor/are you considering any other professions?
  11. What area of medicine do you see yourself in and how long will it take you to get there?
  12. What are the main qualities of a doctor/build your ideal doctor/what qualities do you have which means you would make a good candidate?
  13. What makes good teamwork/How do you fit into a medical team?
  14. Besides communication skills, what other skills must a doctor possess?
  15. Can you learn communication skills/how have you developed your communication skills?
  16. What would you prefer in a doctor – Good communication skills and bad clinical skills or good clinical skills and bad communication skills?
  17. How did your GP possess good communication skills?
  18. Should there be a leader in a team?
  19. How doctor should treat patients?
  20. What do patients expect from their doctor?
  21. How long do you think it takes to become a consultant surgeon?
  22. Where do you see medicine going in the future?

Role play Station: The candidate is given a scenario and is asked to work with the actor/helper to attempt to reach a solution. Specific Role Play Station examples and model answers can be found in the Online MMI Question Bank.  

The General Medical Council (GMC): This station involves questions around the role of the GMC, the Good Medical Practice Guidance Book and why there are standard regulations for medical schools. It may also require the candidate to have knowledge of specific career paths e.g. becoming a GP/Consultant.

The Remote and Rural option offered by the university: This station probes the candidate’s awareness of Aberdeen-specific aspects of the curriculum such as the remote and rural option offered by the university. This may include comparisons between rural and urban practice, issues faced by rural GP’s, and the Regent and Student Pairing Schemes offered by the university.  

Science/Medicine Station: A selection of recently asked questions in this station include:

  1. What problems exist in the NHS other than lack of funding/how could these issues be fixed?
  2. Why does one measure blood pressure, and what does it reflect?
  3. Have you ever measured blood pressure, how?
  4. A patient is lying in bed, his pulse is racing and his blood pressure is difficult to take, what’s wrong with him and how would you treat him?

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