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...

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...

Amidst the stress of preparing for the UMAT and studying for your other exams, it may be tempting to not spend time on extra-curricular activities, so that you can focus on getting the marks you need to get into medicine. After all, they won’t contribute directly to your score, right?    However, participating in extra-curricular activities, whether it be joining your local cricket team, volunteering for a soup kitchen or being captain of the chess club, will help you not only be a better person, but be a better candidate for medical entry. Don’t believe me? Here are three reasons...

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...

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...

Why doing well in English is  essential  for gaining entry into medicine and succeeding in your medical course and career. Some students love it. Others hate it: Reading books, writing essays and analysing articles where the content matter is highly subjective and there is no definitive ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer. English is the polar opposite of many subjects favoured by maths and science minded students because essay questions require a highly critical and subjective thinking style in order to write high scoring responses. However, like it or not, all students looking to study undergraduate medicine or other popular health science...

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...