I got destroyed during my MMI interview - how can I do better next time?

[Daiichi]

I'll preface this by saying I did a lot of research prior to my MMI on how to handle it - I learned how to construct questions to develop the conversation, acknowledge both sides of an issue, etc.

Then the MMI happened and none of that research helped me at all. In quite literally every scenario they put me in, the actors I role-played these scenarios with would not say anything. They would just shrug their shoulders, say 'I don't know', or not even respond to my question and just say something irrelevant.

This got to be really frustrating because I could only come up with so many questions before I just started repeating myself. I'm not sure about others, but I cannot come up with 8 minutes of solid, meaningful questions when I'm getting no response from the other person. In some scenarios their silence made a little sense.. in others, it was ridiculous and not how any real conversation would go. Is this common or just a one-off from this school?

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[ReapPremed]

I did rather poorly in an MMI myself (but for different reasons. I thought I could take notes and drew too heavily from personal anecdotes.)

I don't believe it's expected to proceed like a conversation. How valid that makes the MMi is another matter. You're not meant to ask questions they know the answer to so much as lay out contingencies, and walk them through your thought process.

It is very awkward.

 

[hubbsbubbs]

I had a patient acting scenario recently where the actor answered every question with just a few words, even the open-ended one. I thought I did miserably because I couldn't extract any information. But during our debriefing afterwards, he said I did a really good job.

You may be misinterpreting your own performance. Don't stress until you hear back from the school.

 

[•Syzygy•]

I'll preface this by saying I did a lot of research prior to my MMI on how to handle it - I learned how to construct questions to develop the conversation, acknowledge both sides of an issue, etc.

Then the MMI happened and none of that research helped me at all. In quite literally every scenario they put me in, the actors I role-played these scenarios with would not say anything. They would just shrug their shoulders, say 'I don't know', or not even respond to my question and just say something irrelevant.

This got to be really frustrating because I could only come up with so many questions before I just started repeating myself. I'm not sure about others, but I cannot come up with 8 minutes of solid, meaningful questions when I'm getting no response from the other person. In some scenarios their silence made a little sense.. in others, it was ridiculous and not how any real conversation would go. Is this common or just a one-off from this school?

this scares me lol. i feel like mmis are so random and awkward

 

[FlowRate]

This reminds me of USMLE Step 2 CS. I hated it because the actors acted nothing like real patients.

I have no clue what goes into the MMI thing, but it's not the last time you'll deal with being judged on your interactions with actors.

 

[ODea]

I had a patient acting scenario recently where the actor answered every question with just a few words, even the open-ended one. I thought I did miserably because I couldn't extract any information. But during our debriefing afterwards, he said I did a really good job.

You may be misinterpreting your own performance. Don't stress until you hear back from the school.

What's MMI? I have a pretty good strong suit for reading people and reading between the lines and it makes me a better EMT being able to do so. What exactly is MMI though?

 

[•Syzygy•]

What's MMI? I have a pretty good strong suit for reading people and reading between the lines and it makes me a better EMT being able to do so. What exactly is MMI though?

multiple mini interviews. some medical schools are moving toward this interview format as a way to more fairly judge an applicant and to get a better feel of their overall character i suppose

it basically consists of several stations, each of which has a different prompt for you to respond to for about 8 minutes. you read the prompt, and then enter the room and respond to it. some prompts will be ethical scenarios asking what you would do in the situation, and others will have actors that create a situation for you (i think ? thats what i am getting from this)..and you are subsequently graded on that interaction

 

[allantois]

Stupid interview format. Just do well in a normal interview at other schools

 

[ODea]

Stupid interview format. Just do well in a normal interview at other schools

I personally don't think they should judge someone entirely on just that but I can see why they want it incorporated in the interview to see how they react to problem-solving on the spot.

 

[aldol16]

Don't overthink it. MMIs are easy to overthink and get bogged down in all these frameworks and all. They all really just want you to think about the situation and come at it from your values and be yourself about it.

 

[Tenk]

Whoever invented MMIs is a jackass. I did one of those when I applied to medical school many years ago and I actually decided to ask one of the interviewers during it if they actually thought this was actually a meaningful interview. It was funny because their eyes got big because I totally caught them off guard, they sighed, shook their head and said some canned response "it's a work in progress." (I definitely didn't get in there but I made it pretty clear they could go F themselves... no regrets either!) Worst way to interview. Best interviews I've ever had were watching sports, drinking, eating and playing games. MMI is the culmination of a fake game where people play make believe on both sides and nobody knows who the hell anyone really is. What a joke. Sorry OP, cut your loss and move on to a school that doesn't blow.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

For me, practicing MMIs before my interview was just not enough. I needed real world experience from an actual interview with the added stress, pressure, etc.

So I researched the schools I applied to, attended an early invite that was doing MMIs to get real experience to better prepare for another II that came later on that also had MMIs.

Hopefully, I was able to learn from my 1st and did better on my 2nd.

 

[djtallahassee]

I think it is just a way for them to get "data" that is less biased on the interviewer. I get the point, but I'm unsure how effective it is. The acting scenarios are just weird as it promotes you to "pretend" your something your not. The discussion ones on ethics are OK where you basically give a 5 min speech and answer a question or two following.

To the OP, read the Washington bioethics internalize it and practice giving a quick speech on it using key points and the recommended format. Also don't fear silence from the interviewers. On acting MMIs just try to show compassion and keep calm and your 1/2 way there.

 

[twentyeightmiles]

MMIs also vary widely from school to school. Some schools specifically ask their interviewers to not indicate how you're doing, whereas others stress that the sessions should be conversational. This is just to say your next one might go better just because its format matches your abilities better 🙂

 

[ReapPremed]

Whoever invented MMIs is a jackass. I did one of those when I applied to medical school many years ago and I actually decided to ask one of the interviewers during it if they actually thought this was actually a meaningful interview. It was funny because their eyes got big because I totally caught them off guard, they sighed, shook their head and said some canned response "it's a work in progress." (I definitely didn't get in there but I made it pretty clear they could go F themselves... no regrets either!) Worst way to interview. Best interviews I've ever had were watching sports, drinking, eating and playing games. MMI is the culmination of a fake game where people play make believe on both sides and nobody knows who the hell anyone really is. What a joke. Sorry OP, cut your loss and move on to a school that doesn't blow.

Did you get in?

I recall McMaster publishing something showing MMI's 'sort of' correlate with traditional interviews in terms of rank order. I guess it protects against hitting it off badly with one faculty member. Or at least it proves that first impressions are everything and the content of your answer doesn't matter. Smile like a friendly chimpanzee, look them in he eye to establish dominance, show flawless skin and symmetrical features to demonstrate you're healthy and will be an asset to the troupe...

You would think the ability to sit down and have a frank conversation with someone, and answer questions, would at least be a better predictor of whether or not a patient wants you around... compared to telling a brick wall how you'll handle a misbehaving coworker given 2 minutes to mull over the scenario.

 

[Tenk]

Did you get in?

I recall McMaster publishing something showing MMI's 'sort of' correlate with traditional interviews in terms of rank order. I guess it protects against hitting it off badly with one faculty member. Or at least it proves that first impressions are everything and the content of your answer doesn't matter. Smile like a friendly chimpanzee, look them in he eye to establish dominance, show flawless skin and symmetrical features to demonstrate you're healthy and will be an asset to the troupe...

You would think the ability to sit down and have a frank conversation with someone, and answer questions, would at least be a better predictor of whether or not a patient wants you around... compared to telling a brick wall how you'll handle a misbehaving coworker given 2 minutes to mull over the scenario.

To that school? Nope! This was over a decade ago (damn I'm old...) and this school was one of the first to try this and it was just for a waitlist spot. Of course they didn't tell us that when we dropped dime on a hotel and plane ticket. I was pretty pissed off at being a lab rat and in retrospect I should have given the dean the finger and walked out when he told us that. It's criminal what some of these schools do to pre-meds.

I've done some other MMI and did a few on the residency trail. They always feel impersonal and just meh. Oh well. Gotta jump them hoops!!!!