Many of you may be well into preparing for interviews. Practicing how to answer tough personal questions and scenarios are vital. However one aspect of doing an interview that people may not focus on is how to present yourself in front of the interviewer. Presentation is just as important as the content you say in an interview. Now you might be thinking, ‘there’s no way that’s true’ however let me put it in perspective for you. In an MMI, the interviewers are sitting in a room by themselves for an entire day asking many different students the same question/s...

First things first, congratulations on getting an interview! That’s a massive achievement all on its own! Now is the time to be prepping for that interview as it’s not the sort of thing you should be winging. There are already a couple of blogs on how to ace an interview (all of which you should read!) so this one is just about how to answer that one big question. So why do you want to be a doctor? Every medical school will ask you this in some shape or another. Here are a couple of ways it might be phrased...

By now you may have finished your year 12 exams. For those who sat the UMAT this year, it almost seems like the end of the road. However, there is one crucial component for entry into medicine that many major universities require – the interview. It is important you prepare and practice for this last step, especially because this time, you are competing against a tough cohort: all those students who performed outstandingly in both the UMAT and ATAR. The first step to preparing for any interview is to start practicing. Whether this be attending the MedEntry Interview Training sessions,...

You have made it through the UMAT, found out your Year 12 results... now it's time for the interview! Not sure where to start? In this blog, I have outlined three common medical interview questions, and how to prepare for them.   Why have you decided to study medicine and not pursue another field where you can help others, such as pharmacy, education, nursing or social work? This question is designed to reveal your motivation for studying medicine, and to avoid the common answer of "I want to help others." Whilst this is a valid part of your reason for...

In preparing for something as mammoth as a medical school interview, there are a lot of things to consider. When preparing you have to understand what type of language the interviewers might use, what to include in your answers and how you can respond both verbally and through your body language.   General advice for medical interviews • Walk into the room with a big smile. • Be confident, honest, friendly, understanding, respectful and empathic. • It doesn’t matter which side of the argument you decide to adopt, take your stance and defend your arguments until the end. Give reasons...

I was fortunate enough to have jumped through the hurdles that lie on the way to medical school, and there are quite a few benefits on the other side. One of these is being able to talk to doctors, health professionals or community members that have had previous experience as interviewers. The following is an excerpt from a conversation I had with a past interviewer to understand what they are looking for in medical interviews.    1. As a community member are you concerned about the medical/dental focus of some of the scenarios? “The scenarios in the MMI (multiple mini...

Many of the personal qualities that the UMAT aims to assess in prospective medical students are the same qualities that are required to be a good doctor. Whilst the UMAT can only assess what you put on a paper in multiple choice format; the medical interview that will follow, can look for these qualities in person.    Your choice of words, body language, attitude and way of thinking will all be up for examination in the medical interview. Without some internal self-reflection, you will not be able to paint a detailed enough picture of yourself. A lot of these qualities...

Delivering coherent answers in a medical interview is no easy feat, but unfortunately, that is only half the battle. The interviewer is trying to see if you have the qualities that would make a good medical student and more importantly, a good doctor. These qualities can include being resilient, motivated and self-aware. And thus, the questions and/or activities they ask of you are all trying to assess if you possess these qualities. The first step in you presenting desirable qualities to your interviewer is you being aware that they are looking for them instead of blindly answering each question. A...

Receiving an interview offer brings you one step closer to gaining a spot in medical school. The hard work, however, is not yet over! Interview preparation will maximise your opportunity to secure a place as a medical student. Some applicants believe that there is no point in doing preparation for the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI), as they believe that performance in the interview is solely based upon your personality. Although your personality will affect your interview to some degree, practice can improve your ability to express yourself and your thoughts. Practice will allow you to showcase to the interviewer those...

The Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) is now used by several universities, alongside the UMAT and ATAR, to determine entry into medicine courses. Unlike traditional panel interviews, the MMI features multiple stations, in which you are marked by different assessors. Therefore, the ideal approach to the MMI is different to the approach for a panel interview. Each station in the MMI has a strict time limit. Many applicants may find the process rather rushed, as you are spending a short time in each station, before being quickly moved on to the next. There are a set of questions which are designated...

Scenario: Vaccinations are an important part of an individual’s immunity and keeping a community safe from disease. It is ideal that all children get immunized at the appropriate age to prevent contraction of preventable diseases. However, there are some in Australia that oppose vaccination. They argue the harm of vaccinations outweigh the benefits, and the lack of freedom of choice in how their children should be raised. Their claims often have no scientific basis, and create unnecessary fear in society. You are on the advisory board of the Australian Government looking to change the laws on how to deal with...

Medical interviews Congratulations to those who got a medical interview. It is a good idea to prepare for the interview. You may need to have examples of role models during the interviews. If you need some some inspiration for finding your role model, we have found some inspiring doctors below. These short biographies of their notable work will be great for medical interviews.  Remember, MedEntry offers great medical interview training packages  and medical interview guide .  Frank Macfarlane Burnet An Australian virologist best known for his contributions to immunology . He won the Nobel Prize in 1960 for predicting acquired immune...

Does patient confidentiality always prevail? Scenario:  You have been working at Pinehills Prison and Corrections Centre as the in-house physician for approximately six months. Being a physician in a prison has required you to slowly build a sense of trust with the inmates (many of whom suffer from serious psychological illness) over a long period of time. The process has been arduous and often emotionally draining, but you finally feel like you are building a positive rapport with the some of the inmates and have seen a steady improvement in both their physical and mental health as a result of your ongoing...

Does patient confidentiality always prevail? Scenario:  You have been working at Pinehills Prison and Corrections Centre as the in-house physician for approximately six months. Being a physician in a prison has required you to slowly build a sense of trust with the inmates (many of whom suffer from serious psychological illness) over a long period of time. The process has been arduous and often emotionally draining, but you finally feel like you are building a positive rapport with the some of the inmates and have seen a steady improvement in both their physical and mental health as a result of your ongoing...

Monash Multiple Mini Interview  (MMI) Format Multi station Mini Interviews or Bellringer Interviews are used by Monash University and the University of Western Sydney. They are also used by Australian National University, Sydney University, Deakin University and Wollongong University for selection into graduate entry medicine. The following information provides some guidelines on the format of MMI: There are typically a total of 8 to 10 MMI stations. A candidate will therefore be interviewed by a total of 8 to 10 individual interviewers. The 8 to 10 MMI stations take place in 8 to 10 corresponding rooms that open out onto a single corridor and...