Leicester University Medicine Interview Questions

Leicester University Medical Interviews

Medicine interviews for Leicester University usually start in December and run until February.

To shortlist candidates for interview, all applications are first checked to ensure that they meet the minimum academic requirements (e.g. 6 in Mathematics, English Language and two sciences at GCSE).

Those who pass this requirement are then allocated a score out of 64, obtained through a 50:50 weighting given to the UCAT score and GCSEs. This score is obtained by converting the UCAT score into a score out of 32, and likewise converting the GCSEs into a score out of 32.

These two values are added together to give a score out of 64. In a tie-breaker situation, interviews will be allocated to students based on their Medicine Personal Statement and references.

For 2023 entry into the A100 course, there were 3,658 applications and 1,351 interviews were held. 538 offers were made post-interview for the 290 places to study Medicine at Leicester.

Leicester sends interview invitations via email on a rolling basis from late November onwards.

How Is Leicester Interviewing For 2024 Entry Medicine?

Leicester University uses the MMI (Multiple Mini Interviews) format for its Medicine interviews. Leicester has returned to face-to-face interviews for 2024 entry.

The number of stations in the interview will depend on the situation at the time of interviewing. There are usually 8 stations, and each one is 7 minutes long.

International applicants should also be prepared to attend an interview.

Common Medicine Interview Question Topics At Leicester Medical School

At Leicester, the following topics are often covered in the Medicine interview questions:

• Motivation to study Medicine
• Strengths and weaknesses
• Reflection
• Personal organisation
• Academic ability
• Problem-solving
• Dealing with uncertainty
• Managing risk
• Taking responsibility for actions
• Conscientiousness
• Insight into your own health
• Communication (reading, writing, listening and speaking)
• Teamwork abilities
• Compassion, respect and dignity
• Resilience and difficult situations
• Empathy
• Honesty
• Emotional intelligence
• Ethical judgement

Sample questions might include:

• What do you think the difference between empathy and sympathy is?
• Tell me about a time you were in a challenging situation and how you overcame it.
• What is your biggest weakness?
• What would you do if someone was not pulling their weight in a PBL group?
• What are the pros and cons of working in a team?

Tips For Answering Leicester Interview Questions

1. Understand what makes a good patient consultation:

• Leicester focuses a lot on communication skills, particularly in the context of patients.
• Brush up on what makes a good and bad consultation, since this will help you to succeed in these stations.
• You may be asked to talk to a simulated patient about a problem they have, or to analyse a video. You don’t need to be able to talk to a patient exactly as a Doctor would, but it’s good to remember some key things, such as asking open questions and demonstrating good body language.

2. Practise talking through your Personal Statement:

• Often, one station will require a more in-depth discussion of your Personal Statement.
• They may ask you what you got out of your work experience, or how your experiences have improved a certain skill, such as leadership or teamwork. It’s helpful to practice these questions beforehand, as this will make you feel more confident in the interview itself.

In terms of structuring your response, use the STARR structure:

S = situation – briefly describe what the situation was
T = task – describe what you wanted to achieve from the task
A = action – describe what actions you took to complete your task
R = result – describe the outcome of the situation, i.e. did you succeed?
R = reflect – reflect on the experience; describe how it made you feel and if you would approach it differently in the future

This structure should just be used as a prompt. Sticking to it too rigidly may make you seem over-rehearsed. The reflection part is particularly important, as showing insight into your experiences and how they have shaped you as a person will impress your interviewer.

3. Keep up-to-date with medical news and ethical scenarios:

• Reading the health section of newspapers or online news sources is a great way to ensure you have a basic understanding of any important issues.
• You should also try to develop your own opinion on NHS hot topics and learn to apply ethical principles to any controversial issues.

4. Practise your calculation skills:

• Another common station at Leicester involves numeracy and calculations. The maths will not be too complex, but it will test your ability to perform calculations quickly and in a logical manner. For example, drug calculations may require you to put numbers into the formula for concentration, dose and volume.
• Make sure you go through the steps logically and remember to use the correct units. Preparing beforehand can make you less nervous during the station.

How Are Interviews At Leicester Assessed?

The decision to make an offer will be based on interview performance. For candidates whose interview score is borderline, other aspects of the application, including academic qualifications and widening participation factors, will be considered.

Sometimes candidates may be invited to a second interview, based on the interviewers’ comments from the first interview. This provides an additional opportunity to secure an offer. This second interview will be in a panel format.

Leicester anticipates that the majority of offers will be made in late February or March 2024. However, some offers will continue to be given until May 2024.