The interview is typically made up of ten stations in an MMI (Multiple Mini Interview) format. Of these stations, nine will be assessed. One station will be a video station. The interview is designed to get the best out of students, and staff are encouraged to be friendly and welcoming. The entire selection day process will last around two hours, including an initial welcome, the MMI, a numeracy test, and a debrief afterwards.
There will be a degree of academic knowledge assessed during the questions, which is pitched at the level of AS, so should be relatively straightforward. Some stations will be one-to-one, others might have an actor or other person to interact with, or a pair of assessors.
In the interview stations, you will be assessed on a range of skills and aptitudes. These are highlighted as being:
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- Motivation/experiences informing your decision to pursue a medical career
- Empathy and insight
- Responsibilities and challenges of being a doctor
- Awareness of ethical issues in health and society
- Resilience in the face of difficult situations
- Comprehension
- Effective communication
- What have you done in the community?
In addition, each candidate must complete a numeracy test which will assess ability to perform ‘clinically relevant calculations.’ This test is pass or fail. The questions are designed to be simple enough that one does not need to be studying Maths at AS, rather the questions can be completed with the combination of thought / problem solving and simple mathematics. The time pressure of half an hour is designed to ensure that students work fast.