Looking for top tips for a Leeds medicine interview? You’ve come to the right place!
Interview format: MMI
Applying to Medicine this year? Book a space on our MMI Circuits!
Book an MMI Circuit1. Learn some roleplay techniques
If you’ve been invited for an MMI, chances are you’ll have to do a roleplay station. Leeds state that they may use roleplay as one of their stations, so make sure you are prepared and comfortable with how you will respond to a role play situation – have a basic framework in mind.
- Make sure you introduce yourself and shake the person’s hand upon entering the cubicle (as you would do on any other station).
- After that, a good tool is to explain to the person why you are there/why you have come to speak to them today (you will get this info from the scenario description before entering the station) – by doing this you can sort of summarise the scenario you’ve been instructed to respond to in your own head, and it also gives you a bit more time to begin to think about what you’re actually going to say/do.
- Also ensure that you maintain eye contact, respond to what the person says and how they act – and show empathy!
I remember feeling nervous about the prospect of a roleplay, but it’s not so bad…just be yourself and it’ll be okay!
It may help if you pick out a few roleplay questions from a book or question bank and practice with family members or friends beforehand, just to get used to the format. You don’t want the actual thing to be the first time you’ve attempted a roleplay scenario!
See over 100 interview questions and answer guides>>
2. Justify everything you do if you have a Situational Judgement station
On their ‘invitation to interview’ email for 2017 entry, Leeds Medical School stated that situational judgement may feature in the interview (although obviously this will vary from year to year, so read your email carefully!).
If you do face a Situational Judgement station, this could be in different forms – for example, you might discuss whether you think a response to a particular situation is appropriate, very appropriate, inappropriate, or very inappropriate (like in the UKCAT SJT section) or you could be asked to rank different responses to a particular situation.
You should try to verbalise your thought process. This will help you to come to a final answer and will also demonstrate to the interviewer your ability to problem solve and prioritise.
Read our 10 tips for MMI success here>>
3. Forget about the station you’ve just done, and move on!
When I did my MMI, Leeds had eight stations – so it’s of the utmost importance not to dwell on your previous performance at other stations.
Remember – the interviewer in one station has not seen your performance in previous ones, so when you go into their station, you can almost act like a new person.
I’ve yet to meet anyone who said that ALL of their stations went amazingly well – it’s normal for some of them to go a bit pear-shaped. Just because a few stations didn’t go as perfect as you would have liked, doesn’t mean you won’t get an offer!
So, that’s my top 3 tips for a successful Leeds interview, I hope they have been helpful. Best of luck!
Words: Tahmeena Amin
