By: Savvy Pre-Med Staff
The Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) is like a combination of speed dating, public speaking, interrogation, cross-examination, and ethical decision-making. Basically everything that strikes fear in the average person, or in this case, pre-med.
The MMI is nerve-racking, no doubt, but there’s actually a good argument for why you should prefer the MMI interview over a traditional one-on-one interview.
Okay… maybe you buy that argument, maybe you don’t.
But either way, we want you to have all the information you need about the MMI format. That’s why we developed this comprehensive guide and FAQ (including 250 MMI practice questions) to help you confidently prepare!
The Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) is a multimodal interview format used by many medical and graduate schools to assess an applicant’s ethical decision-making, situational judgment, past behavior, critical thinking, and problem solving.
The questions might also test for several other competencies like teamwork, empathy, communication, maturity, or self-awareness.
The MMI involves multiple stations (~6-10) with several different interviewers. It also uses evaluation rubrics to assess applicants as objectively as possible.
Here’s a list of schools using the MMI in the 2021-2022 application cycle. “Hybrid” means a combination of a traditional interview with MMI stations and sometimes a group exercise:
Allopathic (MD) Schools (46 total):
Osteopathic (DO) Schools (7 total):
It depends a bit on the specific medical school and whether it’s an in-person or virtual interview, but here’s what applicants can generally expect:
Each station at the MMI usually takes about 8-10 minutes. Keep in mind that you don’t need to talk for all of your allotted time in a station. It’s actually wise to save a minute or two for follow-up questions and conversations with the interviewers.
Some medical schools offer a break station where you’ll have 8-10 minutes to relax in between stations.
The entire MMI process will likely take about two hours, but it could be longer or shorter depending on the number of stations included.
We provide 250 MMI practice questions down below, but in general, there are several categories of MMI questions to expect:
Ethical Dilemma Stations:
Hypothetical scenarios (clinical and otherwise) where applicants are expected to make a decision and explain their reasoning behind it.
Acting/Role-playing Stations:
Exercises where applicants are expected to “act out” a situation (clinical or otherwise) with the interviewer to display their communication and conflict resolution skills.
Critical Thinking Stations:
Questions that are more open-ended and less dichotomous than Ethical Dilemma Stations, often asking applicants to create something new or improvise a solution.
Knowledge of Healthcare Stations:
Prompts that explain a real or hypothetical healthcare policy, which ask applicants to assess the potential implications, benefits, and drawbacks of the policy.
Writing Stations:
Prompts that require applicants to generate a written response; the writing tasks could be informative, persuasive, or creative in nature.
Situational Judgment/Past Behavior Stations:
Questions that ask applicants to speak about real experiences (i.e. past conflicts, difficult feedback, failures, stressful situations) and explain how they responded.
Traditional Question Stations:
Occasionally, medical schools will use some of their MMI stations to ask “traditional” questions like “Why medicine?” or “Why do you want to attend our school?”
Some of the hardest MMI questions we’ve encountered:
In an MMI, you’ll never be able to fully predict the questions you receive, so the best you can do is have strategies and frameworks that you can continuously draw upon.
Having a set of 10 do's and don'ts that cover all ground is not only convenient, but also logical. Sure, it’s reductive, but that’s the whole point. It needs to be.
The Do's:
Always Be Searching
In some MMI scenarios, it might feel like you already have all the evidence you need. You also might feel anxious and hyper-focused on the task at hand, but keep in mind that your role as an investigator is never finished.
Appeal to a Higher Authority
In some ethical dilemmas, you can escape or skirt the decision-making process by calling upon some higher authority. There’s a reason why we have laws as a society and why we have bosses in the workplace. We need strict rules and arbiters of the system so that we can navigate these grey ethical areas that present themselves.
Qualify Your Statements
It’s a fallacy to think that MMI scenarios have one “best” solution - the truth is that the scenarios could play out in a number of different ways, and your stance or approach should hinge on certain variables or conditionals. These conditional statements are like a cheat code for ethical dilemmas, because they let you create your own criteria for answering the question, while also showing yourself as someone who can think ahead and anticipate different outcomes.
Accommodate All Perspectives
The MMI scenarios can subconsciously narrow your thinking or your scope of consideration, and you have to fight against this. Some considerations might seem tangential, but they’re effective in showing you as outward-thinking and conscientious. As a doctor, your actions could have huge consequences on people, both directly and indirectly, so THINK BIG.
Focus on What is Unsaid
It's easy to treat the scenario on a surface level and only respond to the information that's directly presented to you, but most of the time, the missing information is what's most key to your decision-making. Explore the unspoken or unwritten factors at play!
The Don'ts:
Don't be the Exception to the Rule
We make exceptions for people all the time in real life, but you can’t afford to do this in the MMI interview. If you make exceptions to any rules, you’ll come off as someone who oversteps boundaries and cannot abide by regulations. NOT a good look for an aspiring doctor.
Don't Make Assumptions
The MMI prompts typically only give you partial information, and the information will often trap you into making assumptions. For example, if there's a prompt that makes you choose which patient to give a liver transplant to, you'd want to ask whether there's a transplant priority list and whether both patients indeed actually want the liver. You can't take anything for granted.
Don't Do All the Talking
Candidates are often concerned with the length of their responses, fearing that they won’t be able to fill all the time in their MMI stations. However, it’s important to remember that the interviewers usually have follow-up questions. By talking for all eight minutes, you will be depriving yourself the opportunity to receive these guiding questions.
Don't Overstep Your Boundaries
You're not ALWAYS positioned as a physician or authority figure in these ethical scenarios. You might be a resident, medical student, or even a student volunteer, so pay close attention to your role so that you don't extend beyond it in an unprofessional way.
Don't Dance Around the Question
As important as it is to consider ALL the information, ALL the perspectives, ALL the possibilities, YOU MUST take a stance! During mock interviews, I’ve seen students give brilliant responses, with all kinds of insightful considerations, but then they never actually explain the actions they’d take or where they officially stand on the issue. Even if you’re dealing with a multifaceted problem, you need to take a definitive stance. You can (and should) qualify what you say, but if you don’t follow through with a clear answer, you’ll likely lose points for that station.
Down below, we’ll provide helpful tips for you to practice for each type of common MMI interview station.
Ethical Dilemma Stations:
Ethical Dilemmas are the most common type of MMI interview question. For this type of question, you’re put into a hypothetical situation and asked to take a stance on a particular problem or issue.
These questions usually come down to making a specific choice between two or three possible options. In some Ethical Dilemmas, you’ll be placed in the position of a physician, but in others, you might be a college student, medical student, parent, teacher, coach, etc.
Sample MMI Ethical Dilemma Question:
Two patients need a liver transplant, but there is only one liver available at the time. Tell the interviewer how you would decide between: a 64-year-old retired politician who is a recovering alcoholic, or a 26-year-old mother of three who is on welfare.
Tips for Ethical Dilemmas in the MMI Interview:
Tip #1. Remember that you usually have 1-2 minutes to think and take notes after you read an MMI question, so use that time wisely.
Tip #2. We highly recommend using these five steps for any Ethical Dilemma, since they will give you a reliable formula that will help keep your answer structured (plus, it will give you more to say!):
Step 1: Restate the prompt
This gives you a little more time to think, shows the interviewer that you understand the situation, and gives the interviewer a chance to correct anything you’ve misinterpreted from the question.
Step 2: Pinpoint the competing ethical stakes (i.e. the central conflict)
Since these Ethical Dilemma questions often contain a lot of information, this helps you narrow your scope a bit and home in on what the prompt is asking. For our sample above, the competing ethical stakes are rather straightforward: the well-being of two patients is in conflict with limited resources (one liver).
Step 3: Discuss what else you’d need to know to make your decision (use if/then conditional statements)
This is KEY! The Ethical Dilemma questions will intentionally leave out details, and most of the time, these details would affect your decision. So you want to explore what’s being unsaid in the prompt.
For our sample, here are just a few if/then conditional statements you could use:
If the 64-year-old is still abusing alcohol, then I would likely be unable to give him the liver, but if he has been clean for many years, he might be a suitable candidate.
If either patient has any current conditions or past medical history that could compromise or complicate the liver transplant, then I would likely give it to the other patient.
If I knew that other livers would become available soon, then I could give this liver to the patient that’s in more urgent need and hopefully arrange a future transplant for the other patient.
If the younger patient doesn’t have insurance or if the costs of the procedure could essentially bankrupt her, then I might need to consider how that would affect her view of the procedure or my ultimate decision.
These if/then questions help you qualify your eventual stance, while also helping you fill time during your response. They could also show you as being particularly insightful or considerate compared to other interviewees.
Most of the 1-2 minutes before your response should be used to write down as many of these if/then considerations as possible.
Step 4: Take your stance (can be conditional, but must be clear)
At this point, you want to filter down all of those considerations above to give your qualified yet definitive stance:
If both patients had a seemingly equal chance of surviving the procedure and supporting the liver, and if both patients were fully aware of risks and willing to undergo the procedure, and if I had to solely make this decision as the physician without any higher authority, then I would choose the younger mother since she has more life ahead of her and three dependent children. But I would only do this if I were left with no other choice or alternative solutions.
Step 5: Cover your bases by including any ethical, legal, or professional limitations/restrictions you’d need to uphold
We put this step last so that you don’t forget to do it, but it could actually come up earlier in your response (perhaps during Step 2 or 3).
For our sample above, it would be important to bring up the idea of an organ transplant waiting list. Patients are typically prioritized for transplants based on this list, so it would obviously be crucial for your decision-making as a physician.
You might think to yourself - “This prompt wouldn’t exist if I can just use a transplant list!” But you can’t make assumptions! You need to bring this up so that the interviewer knows you’re aware of it.
Acting/Role-playing Stations:
Acting Stations or Roleplaying Questions are less common than Ethical Dilemmas, but the idea of having to act out a scenario can be intimidating.
Sample MMI Acting/Role-playing Station:
You are working on a group project with 5 other students. One student, Emma, doesn’t show up for meetings or if they do show up – they are late and leave early. They have put very little effort into the group project, but they show up 15 minutes before the class presentation and act like nothing is wrong. Talk to Emma.
Tips for Acting/Role-playing Stations in the MMI Interview:
Tip #1. If the actor is angry at you for a mistake you made (i.e. forgot to do something for your boss or dented someone’s car, etc.), you want to “always be closing.” Go above and beyond, within reason, to provide ways that you’ll rectify the situation.
This doesn’t apply to our sample above, but there will be plenty of action stations where you need to quell someone’s anger.
Tip #2. If the actor is confused, scared, or withholding information, you want to “always be searching.” Make sure to ask questions (from a place of concern - not judgment) to learn more about the person and situation.
This would apply to any acting station where you need to confront someone or have a delicate/awkward situation, as in our sample above.
Tip #3. In most cases, use small talk to simulate real life and ease the actor into the conversation.
Tip #4. If the scenario calls for a confrontation, make sure you broach the sensitive issue and hold the person accountable, even if it’s awkward.
Tip #5. Always ask questions and give the actors options; that way, you’re not doing all the talking and you’re driving towards a resolution (without forcing one).
For our sample above, here are the steps you could follow:
The “friendly ultimatum” is a great strategy to avoid sounding cold and unforgiving while also making sure that you hold people accountable at the same time.
Critical Thinking Stations:
The Critical Thinking Stations are somewhat similar to Ethical Dilemmas, but they’re more open-ended. Rather than making you choose between a few options, the Critical Thinking Stations provide less guidance and fewer parameters.
Sample MMI Critical Thinking Station:
A co-worker shows you the “rate my doc” website where many of your patients have anonymously complained about your apparent lack of concern about their health and the high cost of your services. What would you do?
Tips for Critical Thinking Stations in the MMI Interview:
Tip #1. Unlike the ethical dilemma prompts, it’s more acceptable for you to draw upon stories from your own experiences when responding to these hypothetical situations.
Tip #2. Many of these questions will ask you to create something - a course, program, event, etc. Think about what has been lacking from your school or community, so that you can base your answer on past experience.
Tip #3. Make sure to accommodate both perspectives in any given situation and provide the pros and cons while weighing your decision/stance.
Tip #4. Try to mention any possible complications that could arise as a result of your decision. It’s good to show that you’re forward thinking and anticipatory.
In our sample above, the dilemma would stem from you discovering dissatisfaction with your performance as a doctor and having to address it in an appropriate way that maintains professional boundaries and facilitates improvement in the long-term.
You’d definitely want to explore the “rate my doc” website. Based on what you find (very few vs. many reviews, legitimate vs. questionable criticism, what’s in your control vs. what’s not, etc.), you’ll want to isolate possible trends in the feedback and create concrete plans of action.
Use if/then construction to present different likely scenarios. Don’t feel the need to discuss every single potential factor at play, but it’s okay if you have three or four conditional solutions.
For example…
If I reviewed the website and found only a small amount of anomalous complaints, then I would avoid an overreaction, make a mental note of what I could change, and then continue monitoring the website in the future.
Or…
If most of the patients’ complaints were about financial issues beyond my control (like insurance coverage), I would make a point to have discussions with patients individually to see how we could optimize their coverage and work within the system together.
Make sure to discuss the issue of patient confidentiality and the ethics you’d strive to uphold in terms of respecting the anonymity of the reviews. It’s not wise or appropriate as a physician to address the website’s criticism publicly or directly in your future patient interactions. You want to create concrete plans that help you be more conscientious, so that you can ensure your credibility through your actions.
Healthcare Policy Stations:
The Healthcare Policy questions will present a real or hypothetical healthcare policy and then ask you to assess its implications and whether you think it’s a worthwhile or viable policy.
Sample MMI Healthcare Policy Station:
Due to the shortage of physicians in rural communities it has been suggested that medical programs preferentially admit students who are willing to commit to a 2- or 3-year tenure in an under-serviced rural area upon graduation. Consider the broad implications of this policy. Do you think the approach will be effective? At what expense?
Tips for Healthcare Policy Questions in the MMI Interview:
Tip #1. If you’re stumped about a medical topic, spend some time researching (sound familiar?).
Tip #2. Be prepared with references, whether they’re articles you’ve read or discussions with actual physicians about the topic. It’s not good if your answer is merely conjecture or generalization.
Tip #3. Many issues presented will be controversial and they won’t have a clear answer. It’s in your best interest to explain what’s valid about the different positions (i.e. pros and cons) before taking your own stance.
Tip #4. Sometimes it’s smart to go micro with your answer, rather than trying to tackle all the complexities and nuances of a topic. For example, you could focus on the problem of high premiums instead of speaking broadly about the Affordable Care Act.
Tip #5. If you don’t know very much about a topic that’s brought up during an interview, don’t try to fake it. Discuss what you DO know, and then comment about what you’d need to research in order to make an informed decision.
Tip #6. Most healthcare policy questions are essentially asking “Do the ends justify the means?” Or in other words, are the benefits of this policy worth the drawbacks and costs of its implementation? Focus on this central question when giving your response.
In our sample above, let’s consider the pros and cons of the policy and then figure out whether the ends justify the means.
Pros: alleviate provider shortage in underserved areas, incentivize doctors to live and work in rural communities, increase healthcare access and detect preventable problems earlier
Cons: could potentially recruit people who aren’t committed to rural medicine and simply want an admissions advantage, could potentially lead to high physician turnover every two or three years as the required tenure ends, could limit the diversity within these medical programs
Ultimately, the provider shortage in rural areas isn’t going to solve itself, so it seems like the drawbacks of this policy would be worth the benefits it’s going to provide.
However, it seems best to propose modifications that would incentivize doctors to remain in these areas more long-term, as well as greater vetting/recruiting policies by the programs to ensure they’re attracting candidates who are truly committed to rural medicine.
This may very well be the largest single collection of MMI practice questions (250) on the internet. We’ve carefully categorized them for you as well:
Ethical Dilemma Stations:
1. A 14-year-old patient requests birth control pills from you and asks that you not tell her parents. What would you do?
2. A member of your family decides to depend solely on alternative medicine for the treatment of their significant illness. What action would you take, if any?
3. If you have the choice of giving a liver transplant to a successful elderly member of the community and a 20-year-old drug addict, who would you allocate the organ to? And what factors would influence your decision?
4. An 18-year-old female arrives in the emergency room with a profound nosebleed. You are the physician, and you have stopped the bleeding. She is now in a coma from blood loss and will die without a transfusion. A nurse finds a recently signed card from Jehovah's Witnesses Church in the patient's purse refusing blood transfusions under any circumstance. What would you do?
5. Your mother calls you and asks you to help with a major family decision. Your maternal grandfather is 70 years old and has been diagnosed with a condition that will kill him sometime in the next five years. He can have a procedure that will correct the disease and not leave him with any long-term problems, but the procedure has a 10% mortality rate. He wants to have the procedure, but your mother does not want him to. How would you help mediate this issue?
6. You are a genetic counselor. One of your clients, Linda, had a boy with a genetic defect that may have a high recurrence risk, meaning her subsequent pregnancies have a high chance of being affected by the same defect. You offered genetic testing of Linda, her husband, and their son to find out more about their disease, to which everyone agreed. The result showed that neither Linda nor her husband carries the mutation, while the boy inherited the mutation on a paternal chromosome that did not come from Linda's husband. In other words, the boy's biological father is someone else, who is unaware that he carries the mutation. You suspect that neither Linda nor her husband is aware of this non-paternity. How would you disclose the results of this genetic analysis to Linda and her family? What principles and who do you have to take into consideration in this case?
7. A woman enters the emergency room with stomach pain. She undergoes a CT scan and is diagnosed with an abdominal aortic aneurysm. The physicians inform her that the only way to fix the problem is surgically and that the chances of survival are about 50/50. They also inform her that time is of the essence, and that should the aneurysm burst, she would be dead in a few short minutes. The woman is an exotic dancer; she worries that the surgery will leave a scar that will negatively affect her work; therefore, she refuses any surgical treatment. Even after much pressuring from the physicians, she adamantly refuses surgery. Feeling that the woman is not in her correct state of mind and knowing that time is of the essence; the surgeons decide to perform the procedure without consent. They anaesthetize her and surgically repair the aneurysm. She survives and sues the hospital for millions of dollars. Do you believe that the physician's actions can be justified in any way? Is it ever right to take away someone's autonomy?
8. You are a general practitioner and a mother comes into your office with her child who is complaining of flu-like symptoms. Upon entering the room, you ask the boy to remove his shirt and you notice a pattern of bruises on his torso. You ask the mother where the bruises came from, and she tells you that they are from a procedure she performed on him known as "Cao Gio," which is also known as "coining." The procedure involves rubbing warm oils or gels on a person's skin with a coin or other flat metal object. The mother explains that Cao Gio is used to raise out bad blood, and improve circulation and healing. When you touch the boy's back with your stethoscope, he winces in pain from the bruises. You debate whether or not you should call Child Protective Services and report the mother. When should a physician step in to stop a cultural practice? Should the physician be concerned about alienating the mother and other people of her ethnicity from modern medicine?
9. A patient with Down’s syndrome became pregnant. The patient does not want an abortion. Her mother and husband want the patient to have an abortion. What should a physician do in this situation?
10. A 12-year-old boy is diagnosed with a terminal illness (e.g., malignancy). He asked the doctor about his prognosis. His parents requested the doctor not to tell him the bad news. What should the doctor do in this situation?
11. A couple has decided to have a child through artificial insemination. They asked the physician for sex selection of the child. What should a physician advise in this situation?
12. A physician became sexually involved with a current patient who initiated or consented to the contact. Is it ethical for a physician to become sexually involved?
13. A 17-year-old boy lives independently. He is married and has one child. He wants to participate in a medical research study. Does he need his parents’ permission?
14. A physician went on vacation for two weeks. He did not find another physician to cover him. One of his patients with hypertension developed a severe headache. The patient has an appointment with the doctor as soon as he comes back from vacation. The patient did not look for another physician and decided to wait. The patient suddenly collapses and was diagnosed to have an intracranial hemorrhage. Is the physician responsible for this patient?
15. A 40-year-old schizophrenic patient needs hernia repair. The surgeon discussed the procedure with the patient who understood the procedure. Can the patient give consent?
16. A physician picked up a car accident victim from the street and brought him to the ER in his car. He did not want to wait for an ambulance because the patient’s condition was critical. Physical examination in the ER reveals quadriplegia. Is the physician liable for this consequence?
17. As a physician at a local hospital, you notice that there is a man with an alcohol dependency who keeps on consuming the hand sanitizer offered at the hand sanitizer stands throughout the hospital. He is not a patient at the hospital at present but has been many times in the past. Consequently, there is often no hand sanitizer for public use. What do you do? Do you remove/change the location of hand sanitizer stands? Do you approach him?
18. An 18-year-old man is diagnosed to have suspected bacterial meningitis. He refuses therapy and returns to the college dormitory. What should a physician do in this situation?
19. There is an outbreak of an incredibly contagious life-threatening disease. The disease is spreading across the country at a rapid rate and the survival rate is less than 50%. You are a senior healthcare administrator, and when the vaccine is developed, you have priority to receive the drug. Do you take the vaccine yourself or give it to another person? Why or why not?
20. You are a health researcher at an academic institution. You have been asked to work on a top-secret vaccine that would treat biomedical weapons or other communicable diseases. Before your breakthrough, you are instructed by the government to stop all research and turn over all materials and copies of your work to be destroyed. You know you are very close to finding a cure. What do you do?
21. A patient requests needles and syringes at his/her local pharmacy. They do not present with a prescription and based on the records you can access, they are not receiving treatment for diabetes. Do you sell the syringes or not?
22. Dr Blair recommends homeopathic medicines to his patients. There is no scientific evidence or widely accepted theory to suggest that homeopathic medicines work, and Dr Blair doesn't believe them to. He recommends homeopathic medicine to people with mild and non-specific symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, and muscle aches because he believes that it will do no harm, but will give them reassurance. Consider the ethical problems that Dr Blair’s behavior might pose.
23. In 2007, The American Family Physician Journal published an article exploring the issue of physicians as role models, using a scenario in which an obese physician is offering nutrition and exercise counseling to his obese patients. According to the authors’ research, patients have more confidence in the health-counseling advice of non-obese versus obese physicians, and physicians with poor personal lifestyle habits are less likely to counsel patients about a healthy lifestyle. Based on these research findings, do physicians have a responsibility to act as healthy role models to their patients? Please elaborate.
24. Every week, your classmates gather at the local coffee house to review the lessons from that week. In the last month, everyone has been working on a major paper on Roman history which accounts for 40% of the course grade. One of your classmates has copies of two of the papers that last year’s students wrote for the same course. Your classmate has emailed copies of the papers to you and the other people in the group. What would you do in this situation and explain why?
25. Would you tell a terminally ill patient the stark reality of their condition or be optimistic?
26. Would you ever perform euthanasia or an abortion?
27. Do you think that asking people to donate their tissue to a lab is coercive?
28. An 80-year-old terminally ill man calls you up to tell you that he is going to take a lethal dose of painkillers. He has called you to tell you that you have been a great doctor and many thanks. How do you handle the situation?
29. How would you handle a situation as a medical student if an attending physician demanded (at the risk of you not getting your first-choice residency program) that you take pictures of a patient for a research paper without getting approval from the patient?
30. Suppose you are against abortion. I am a 15-year-old girl and I come to your office asking for an abortion. What do you say to me?
31. What is your opinion on a patient giving their doctor gifts for work performed?
32. You’re a family practitioner who is seeing a 75-year-old woman in your practice. She reveals to you that she’s being physically abused by her husband. What do you do?
33. A woman comes into the ER after a car accident. She requires a blood transfusion but she states that her religion is against blood transfusions. What decision do you make?
34. You’re a pre-med student and have been studying for your biochem exam until midnight. You come back to your dorm room and your roommate tells you that she has decided to cheat. What do you do?
35. Would you tell someone they have a debilitating disease (e.g. cancer) even if their spouse begs you not to because it would crush them because a relative died of the same disease previously?
36. You recommend chemotherapy for your teenage cancer patient, but his mother refuses treatment because she's afraid chemotherapy will make him sick. What action would you take, if any?
37. What would you do if a woman with two children came to you and asked for a tubal ligation (fertility management)? She requests that you do not inform her husband.
38. You have a patient who just lost his wife and found that he has prostate cancer but refuses treatment. His family is begging you to force him to have the treatment done. What are the main ethical issues in this scenario?
39. Suppose you have two teenage daughters and one of their 15-year-old friends comes to you as a physician asking for birth control without parental consent. What would you do? What would you do if her mother finds the pill pack with your name on it and angrily confronts you about it in the supermarket?
40. You’re a practicing pediatrician and a mother brings in her little boy who's about six and is very sick. Just after you get them situated in an exam room, an administrator comes to you and says that they are illegal immigrants, have no insurance, your clinic has met its quota of Medicaid and Medicare patients for the month and you can't afford to treat the boy. What do you do?
41. A mother brings in her 12-year-old son and says he is very ill and needs a note to excuse him from school for the next few days, but when you examine him you find no abnormalities. Explain your actions in this scenario.
42. You are caring for a terminally-ill patient and he repeatedly asks you for medication in surplus to his actual weekly requirement. You suspect that he has been storing them up and is going to take them to end his life. How would you address your concerns?
43. A patient is suing another doctor for medical malpractice and comes to see you; would you treat that patient and how would you deal with them?
44. Your patient is on a ventilator and wants to have it removed even though he won't live without it. How would you manage this scenario?
45. A woman has expressed in the past that she never wants to be on a breathing machine. Three months later, she must go on a breathing machine or die. You get her to try it for a week. After six days on the machine, she is progressing positively and she wants the breathing machine removed. You are not certain that she is ready, but she wants it done now. What do you do?
46. You have a patient who was a chronic alcoholic and wants a liver transplant. Would you add this patient to the transplant waiting list?
47. A patient with a serious but relatively time-tested successful treatment plan wants to be disconnected from her ventilator before treatment is initiated. She is a nurse, and thus understands the implications of her request. Do you grant her wish or refuse, knowing that she will probably be fine with treatment but die without it?
48. You are an ED doctor and your patient (a Jehovah’s Witness) refuses blood transplant, without it, they will die. What do you do? Does your decision change based on whether the patient is old patient/young, conscious/unconscious?
49. Would you prescribe a lethal dose of morphine to a patient who was terminal if requested?
50. How would you go about making the decision on whether or not to discontinue life support for a brain-dead patient?
Acting/Role-playing Stations:
51. You are a third-year medical student doing your rotation in OB/GYN. You notice that a fellow classmate, Michael, often shows up late or slightly hungover. One day you find him in the break room alone. You decide that you want to talk to Michael about this. Please enter the break room.
52. The night after college graduation, you attend a party with your best friend Julia and some other friends. Midway through the night, you see her leaving the party with a group. The next morning, Julia calls you and reveals that she drove home despite drinking that night. Enter the room and talk to Julia.
53. You are an emergency room physician taking care of a patient who has come in requesting painkillers for his back. After a physical examination, you find no injuries or other causes of pain. You review his medical chart and realize that he frequently comes to the hospital requesting painkillers. You politely tell the patient that you cannot provide painkillers. He tells you that he will inject himself with heroin if he does not get the painkillers. What do you do? Enter the room and proceed with the conversation.
54. You are a student working in a free clinic. After going through the scheduling, you notice that some appointment times are double-booked. Enter the room to talk to the receptionist about this.
55. You are a physician taking care of a male patient. After a complete physical exam and workup, you discover he has HIV. He tells you that he doesn’t want his girlfriend to know about this diagnosis in fear that she will leave him. Enter the room and have a discussion with the patient.
56. You are a family doctor taking care of a child with flu-like symptoms. Upon physical examination, you notice a pattern of bruises on the boy's torso. You begin to worry that this may be a case of physical abuse. You ask the mother where the bruises came from but she speaks minimal English. When you touch the boy's chest with your stethoscope, he winces in pain from the bruises. What should you do?
57. You are seeing a patient with kidney failure who refuses dialysis, a life-prolonging procedure. He tells you that he is tired of this procedure and would rather die. His family members request that you dialyze him immediately. Enter the room and talk to the family members.
58. A 13-year-old girl is diagnosed with early stage lymphoma and has a great chance of survival due to advancements in cancer therapies. When you tell her parents about the treatment, they refuse and tell you that they are planning to travel out of the country for alternative, experimental therapies. Enter the room and talk to the parents.
59. A chronically ill patient has requested that she would like to have her code status changed to DNR. As she is eating dinner, she suddenly goes into cardiac arrest and her daughter who is visiting requests CPR to resuscitate her mother. Enter the room.
60. You have a non-English-speaking patient who has recently suffered a stroke and is currently not allowed to eat or drink. You hear from the nurses that there are currently family members feeding him. What do you do? Enter the room.
61. A man brings his elderly mother to you because he is concerned about her driving. She insists that she is fine. After examining the woman, you agree that it is no longer safe for her to drive. However, you don’t want to breach doctor-patient confidentiality by talking to her son. Enter the room and talk to the woman.
62. Your niece cut class to see a movie and missed an important test. She calls you asking if you can write her a doctor’s note explaining that she was absent due to illness; otherwise, she will fail the class. Enter the room and talk to your niece.
63. Your next-door neighbor frequently asks you for medical advice or to “have a quick look” at his ailments. While you want to be helpful to your neighbor, you are tired of working for free. You decide to address the issue the next time he asks you for advice. Enter the room and speak with your neighbor.
64. You’re spending time with your sister and her four-year-old daughter. Your niece is misbehaving, causing your sister to become frustrated and hit her daughter. Your sister becomes deeply upset and tells you this has never happened before. Enter the room and talk to your sister.
65. A pregnant patient and her husband have learned that their child will be born with Down syndrome. They have decided that they do not have the financial resources to care for a child with disabilities and want to seek out an abortion. Enter the room and talk to the couple.
66. A terminally ill patient calls you to say goodbye because she is planning to take a lethal dose of painkillers. Enter the room and speak to the patient.
67. You have a five-year-old patient with severe autism. His father plans to take him overseas to receive a stem cell treatment not offered in the U.S. Enter the room and speak to the father.
68. You are a medical student doing clinical rotations. One day in the hospital you walk in on a fellow student putting medical equipment in his bag. Enter the room and talk to the student.
69. You have promised your best friend that you would attend their wedding; however, the day before the wedding, your dad has a stroke and is hospitalized. Enter the room and talk to your friend.
70. Your patient is getting ready for surgery but is extremely anxious and nervous. Enter the room and talk to Maddie.
71. A close co-worker has recently lost their child due to a car accident. Enter the room and talk to your co-worker.
72. Your friend Jonathan hasn't come to class for a few days. He usually doesn’t miss class so you’re worried. You decided to pay him a visit after your classes. Enter the room and talk to Jonathan.
73. You and your best friend try out for the varsity soccer team. You find out you got in, but your friend was rejected for the second time. Enter the room and talk to your friend.
74. You are late to work. As you reverse your car in the driveway, you feel a bump. After getting out of your car, you realize that you have accidentally run over your next-door neighbor’s outdoor cat. You decide to go over to their house to break the news. Enter the room.
75. Your family is worried about Tim, your favorite uncle, who has been drinking and smoking heavily after his recent divorce. As the medical student in your extended family, people have asked you to have a conversation with Tim so that he can change his ways before it is too late. Enter the room and talk to Tim.
76. You are a first-year medical student and you have just failed your first block final. The school’s academic advisor wants to talk to you about this. Enter the room and talk to the advisor.
77. Your medical school roommate is feeling overwhelmed with the amount of material that is being covered. He tells you that he has failed his last block final, the midterm from last week, and is thinking about dropping out. Enter the room and talk to your roommate.
78. You are a cardiologist who has just finished your shift, and you need to run over to your daughter’s high school graduation ceremony. As you are leaving the hospital, Jennifer, a patient who knows you well, sees you from the waiting room and grabs your attention. Enter the waiting room and talk to Jennifer.
79. You are a manager of a tech company and have a very busy schedule ahead of you, filled with meetings and important deadlines. As you drive to work, you get a call from the office saying that there has been an incident in the parking lot involving two of your employees, Kate and Amanda. Tensions run high between the two. You ask that they be put in a room together so that you can talk to them when you enter the office. After you enter the office, you take a deep breath. Enter the room where Kate and Amanda are waiting for you.
80. You are a supervisor at a fast food restaurant and have received multiple complaints about the hamburgers being poorly cooked since the shift change. There are two people (one male, one female, both 18-years-old) who have been cooking the meat for the past hour. The female is the store owner's daughter. How would you handle the situation? Enter the room to talk to them.
81. You are taking a history class in college with Jessica, a close friend. You are partners for a group project but notice that she hasn’t been coming to class or helping out with the project. Enter the room and talk to Jessica.
82. You tell your close friend Kevin a secret that’s been weighing you down and ask him to keep it confidential. However, later that week, another one of your friends tells you that Kevin told them your secret. You ask Kevin to talk. Enter the room.
83. You are the captain of your competitive basketball team. Your team has one last chance of tying the game, but your teammate loses the ball and your team ends up losing the game. You enter the locker room after the game and see your teammate who cost your team the championship. Enter the room.
84. You are with your co-worker, Tom, on an important business meeting. When you get to the meeting, you learn you have to go to the 35th floor. Tom has a severe fear of heights and refuses to get in the elevator. Enter the room and talk to Tom.
85. A patient has terminal cancer and will only live for three more months. Enter the room and deliver the prognosis.
86. You get to work early and notice that your employee, Sally, has been sleeping in her office. Based on other evidence, you realize that Sally has been sleeping in her office every night this week. Sleeping at work is prohibited by your office building’s management. Enter the room and talk to Sally.
87. You’re grabbing food with a friend during your lunch break. You’ve had a hard morning and are venting about your boss. Suddenly you realize your boss is also in the restaurant and has heard everything you said. When you get back to work, you ask your boss if you can have a word. Enter the room and talk to your boss.
88. You overhear two of your male co-workers making degrading comments about a female co-worker’s appearance. Enter the room and talk to your co-workers.
89. You invite your friend to dine with you at an expensive restaurant, but she declines and says she’s trying to save money. You offer to pay, which leads her to reveal that the real reason she doesn’t want to go is that she feels out of place. Enter the room and talk to your friend.
90. You are working the reception desk in an emergency room. A seven-year-old boy is waiting to be seen after falling off his bicycle. His mother becomes angry because they have been waiting for a long time. Enter the room and talk to the mother.
91. A patient leaves a bad rating for your medical office on a reviews website due to the high cost of their bill. Enter the room and talk to the patient.
92. You are a current undergraduate student. During the week of graduation, you attend a number of parties around the Lower Mainland with your best friend, Kelly. The last party is held at a campground in Squamish. The morning after the party, you receive a call from Kelly. She asks that you come over and talk. Kelly reveals that she left early and drove home despite drinking that night. Enter the room and talk to Kelly.
93. You are a teacher and your student has cheated on his/her final exam. If he/she fails this exam he/she fails the class. Go into the room and confront him/her.
94. You are a gas station attendant and someone asks to use the bathroom key. You suspect they might be up to something. Go into the room and talk to them.
95. You are an attending, and you notice that a medical student has been having some trouble keeping up with their classmates on rounds. Today you asked them if they did a physical exam on one of the patients they were assigned and they said they did. You get the feeling that they did not actually do the work.
96. You are a third-year medical student and you have a patient who is a three-pack a day smoker. They do not believe smoking is bad for them. Your attending has given you the task of convincing them to cut back to only two packs a day. Go into the room and talk with them.
97. You are an employee at a retail store. A customer comes in and wants to return something that has clearly been well used. You aren’t even clear if that is something they bought at this store. Go into the room and talk to them.
98. One of your co-workers has started to make you feel a little bit uncomfortable. He frequently and openly talks about his growing interest in hunting and all the different types of guns he owns. You would like to talk to your co-worker about how uncomfortable these conversations make you feel.
99. You are faced with an actor playing a 65-year-old man who has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He is coming to you for advice on how to cope with his diagnosis as he has heard a lot of stigma over the years about dementia and its burden on both his family and the healthcare service.
100. An actor hands you a card which states that they are a patient who recently had a hip replacement. As part of the surgical care team, you must inform them that some nerve damage occurred during surgery which means that they may not regain full use of their leg.
Critical Thinking Stations:
101. Are there any situations when a physician is justified in lying to a patient?
102. If it's survival of the fittest, why even bother to work to save people who are impoverished or who are sick abroad?
103. Is it ever okay to lie to a patient?
104. It's the end of the world and you can save two people (from a given list of 10) who would you choose and why? What sort of information about these people might change your mind?
105. A serial killer is moving in next door after being released from his sentence. What are his rights and what are your rights in the community?
106. What would you do if a patient didn't want to modify his diet from one of high fat to one more nutritious?
107. Should the government directly fund the education of medical students as opposed to funding other professions such as law and engineering? Discuss this question with the interviewer.
108. A high school student has to choose between two colleges. The student has several friends who are similar to himself in values and abilities at each school. All of his friends at School A like it on both educational and social grounds; all of them at School B have deep reservations on both grounds. The student visits both schools for a day and his impressions are the reverse; he enjoys School B, but has reservations about School A. Dr. James Wanstedt has provided a testimonial that School B provides a superior education. Furthermore, the registrar at School B has just released a report claiming that the employment rate for graduates of School B is 93%, 10% higher than 10 years ago. Finally, an unbiased consumer advocate reports that 98% of the alumni association have indicated that they were “happy” or “very happy” with the education they received at School B. Which school should the student choose? Discuss the student’s decision with the examiner.
109. How would you advise patients who are interested in visiting an acupuncturist or a chiropractor?
110. Do you think medicine should be more about changing behavior to prevent disease or treating existing disease?
111. You are on the committee for selecting a new Dean of Science at your university. What characteristics and/or qualities would you look for when selecting an effective dean?
112. A co-worker shows you the “rate my doc” website where many of your patients have anonymously complained about your apparent lack of concern about their health and the high cost of your services. What would you do?
113. As part of a “big sibling” program, you meet your pre-teen “little sib” for the first time. This child comes from a very “tough” background, as he/she has experienced tragedy as his/her older brother was involved in dangerous inner-city gang warfare and his/her older sister is a single parent with a substance abuse problem. Your “little sib” is scared to go to school as a victim of hostile treatment from classmates, and his/her grades have suffered. In your introductions, he/she discloses that he/she doesn’t have much to dream about regarding his/her future, but he/she wants to know what you dreamed about when you were his/her age. How would you answer?
114. You are working as a laboratory assistant who has been handed a project by your research supervisor that was begun by a previous undergraduate assistant (who has since graduated to a health professional program). The data from the previous assistant is being incorporated into a paper that the supervisor wants to publish, but after three weeks of trying, you have been unable to reproduce the data. The supervisor calls you in for a meeting about your productivity on the project. Describe what you would prepare and say to your supervisor.
115. You are running for an elected campus position as a class representative against one other opponent. One night a week before election day, several of your own posters were vandalized with insensitive graffiti that disparaged you or your character. Several of your friends tell you that the perpetrators were close allies of your opponent, and that it appears your opponent was involved in the act. What actions would you take to confront your opponent?
116. You are extremely nervous and are interviewing at one of your top choice schools. The interview is two-on-one and open-file (meaning both interviewers have seen or are reviewing your file). One of your interviewers asks you, “I am really impressed with your application. Could you tell us the type of significant assistance you received in preparing your application, including your test preparation?”
117. As a parent of a young teenager, you are cleaning up your child’s room and find a supply of contraceptives. How do you confront your child about this discovery?
118. In trying to figure out why his/her dating history has not been successful, a platonic friend of yours asks you out on a simulated/mock first date. You agree to participate and give him/her feedback. In asking for how critical you would be in giving feedback, he/she asks you what the worst date you ever had was. How would you answer?
119. If you had to create a program for your medical school community, what would you choose and why?
120. Universities are commonly faced with the complicated task of balancing the educational needs of their students and the cost required to provide learning resources to a large number of individuals. As a result of this tension, there has been much debate regarding the optimal size of classes. One side argues that smaller classes provide a more educationally effective setting for students, while others argue that it makes no difference, so larger classes should be used to minimize the number of instructors required. Discuss your opinion on this issue with the examiner.
121. In June 2011, the infamous Vancouver riots took place after their hockey team lost in the Stanley Cup Finals. Stores were ransacked and cars were burned. Hundreds of people were injured and sent to overcrowded hospitals. As the police chief in Vancouver, what measures or policies would you put in place to make sure this does not happen again?
122. If you couldn’t become a doctor, and money weren’t an issue, what would you do instead?
123. At your current age, what was your mid-life crisis?
124. What are 5 small daily items that you can’t live without?
125. “You need to perform an ethically justified heist of a top-secret laboratory. Name 4 people you would incorporate into your team.
126. What is your self-evaluation of yourself? Are you an introvert, or extrovert? Are you a generalist or specialist? Thinker or tinkerer?
127. On the table, there’s a graph which shows the plasma insulin levels of several patients over the course of one day, with the times that meals were consumed indicated. The interviewer asks you to describe the graph for Patient 1. You are then asked to provide an explanation for the changes in insulin levels at different times of the day.
128. During your first semester of medical school, your anatomy team (5 students to 1 cadaver) is holding a review session on Thursday evening for the big midterm on Friday. Your cousin’s wedding is that weekend (out of town) and you had planned to attend – leaving Thursday and returning Sunday. What will you do?
129. Your best friend’s parents have just recently contracted COVID-19. He is scheduled to visit his grandmother whom he hasn’t seen in 6 months due to the pandemic. He doesn’t have any symptoms and tells you it’s ok for him to visit his grandmother. He tells you he is worried about her because she is lonely. How do you approach this situation?
130. You are stranded at sea in a lifeboat with 3 other survivors of a cruise ship accident that occurred 3 days ago. As the cruise was a very small, privately chartered operation, you are unsure whether or not a rescue operation is underway. Your food and water rations have become dangerously low. Tensions have begun to mount over the last 24 hours as one of the other survivors, Lucy, has fallen ill and is in need of significant drinking water to cope with dehydration. You and the 2 other survivors are discussing how to address Lucy’s situation. What do you do?
131. Food recalls due to possible contamination are a common occurrence. Sometimes, the recalls only occur in the aftermath of a major disease outbreak or a food-related death. Often the products linked to these outbreaks were manufactured in large factories with hundreds of employees on production lines. These factories usually meet the required food safety standards. Critics of large, multinational food producers claim that the contaminations are simply the inevitable consequences of food production en masse. How should we require large food producers to more effectively confront the issue of product contamination?
132. You are the candidate for leader of a major political party. As part of your campaign, your team has strongly recommended that you go on a cross-country speaking tour. This tour is especially important for your campaign because you are a first-time candidate. To finance the tour, an anonymous private donor has come forward with a significant donation – far beyond the legal limit for a single campaign donation. There are no other readily available funds to finance your trip and the election is fast approaching. Will you go on the speaking tour? Please explain.
133. Describe a situation in which you accomplished something that you were proud of. How will the personal traits you developed from accomplishing this goal benefit you during medical school?
134. Jim and Sandy come to you for advice about their 15 year old son Dan. Both parents have a different idea about how to raise Dan to become financially responsible. Jim says that they should not give Dan any allowance to force him to get a job and earn his own living. Sandy thinks they should give Dan whatever he asks for to provide him with a smart initial investment. Who do you agree with and what advice would you give them? Justify your answer to the interviewer.
135. Malcolm X once said, “The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” Discuss this quote and your thoughts on the role of the media.
136. You are the education minister for your state/province. Due to budget cuts this year, you are forced to get rid of one program in all secondary schools (arts, science, physical education, etc.). Which program would you choose and why?
137. You are a long-time member at your local gym. You have been visiting this gym five days a week for the past year, so you know the staff fairly well. While running on the treadmill one night, you glance over at the front desk and notice the staff member taking five dollars out of the cash register and putting it in his pocket. You decide to let it slide today, but you see him do the same thing a week later. What do you do?
138. You are a customer. You are shopping at the pharmacy and see a young mother with her baby steal formula and walk out of the store. She seems well dressed and healthy. It doesn’t seem like anyone else in the store noticed this happening. What do you do? What are the ethical, legal, and psychological implications of your decision? Would your answer change if you were told this was the first time the mother did this?
139. Consider the following quote: “To say nothing is to say something.” – Germany Kent. What does this quote mean to you? How is this quote relevant to the Black Lives Matter Movement? Discuss a time where you were an advocate.
140. You are a university student and you haven’t seen one of your closest friends, who also happens to be in many of your classes, all week. This is unusual for them. You attempt to call them, but they don’t answer your calls. Their roommate bumps into you in the hallway and mentions that your friend hasn’t been looking so good lately. How do you handle the situation? What factors do you consider in deciding whether or not to show up at your friend’s dorm room? How do you decide if/when to involve the help of other individuals (professionals, parents etc.) in this situation?
141. Patience is an essential skill in any field, and particularly in medicine. Discuss a time where you lost your temper. What strategies do you practice to foster patience in your everyday life? How does having patience make you a better person and professional?
142. Air Force One, the private flight service for the President of the United States, makes frequent unscheduled landings at major airports. Because of security concerns, all flights landing at or taking off from these airports are grounded in these instances. The situation often leads to several hours of flight delays for thousands of passengers.Is it fair that the security of an important elected official such as the President of the United States take precedence over the travel plans of thousands of his/her constituents? What guidelines should be followed to determine how often these delays should be tolerated? Describe a situation where you have experienced a travel delay at a time that was inconvenient for you. How did you handle it?
143. The following skills are deemed essential for success in many professional environments: collaboration, communication, problem solving, empathy, motivation, and self-awareness. Please select what you view as the three most important skills listed above. Please select what you view as the three least important skills listed above. Discuss a time you acted professionally.
144. Describe the major differences between schoolyard bullying and cyberbullying. How would you respond to an act of cyberbullying? What are a few strategies to detect, monitor, and confront acts of cyberbullying?
145. Think of a time when you had to make a sacrifice in order to accomplish a goal. Briefly describe the situation and the sacrifice you made. Do you regret your decision to make the sacrifice? Why or why not? Did you learn anything from this situation that can be applied to your desired career? Explain your response.
146. A co-worker whose wife is pregnant is conflicted whether or not to take paternity leave. He and his wife would both like him to spend time at home with the baby, but doing so might take him out of consideration for an upcoming promotion at work. Should he prioritize family or career? In addition, his industry doesn’t seem to support men who take paternity leave. A former colleague was penalized for taking leave and spent years stuck in the same position before finally leaving the company. As his co-worker, what do you think he should do? Would you recommend he take paternity leave? Why or why not? What strategies could you offer to help him make a decision that he feels comfortable with? Maintaining a work-life balance can be challenging. Why do you think people struggle to find balance?
147. You’re the manager at a retail store. A man tries to return a toy for a refund but doesn’t have the original receipt. Due to store policy, the cashier states she can only offer him store credit. The man says his daughter came down with pneumonia, and he needs the cash to fill her prescriptions. He asks the cashier to make a policy exception for him. She turns to you. What do you think she should do? As the store manager, would you give this customer a refund? Why or why not? If you decide to abide by store policy, how could you refuse the refund in a way that shows empathy for the customer? In your opinion, what is the most essential quality to possess in a customer service position? Explain your response.
148. Your project group members are frustrated because one member—Paul—left the group last minute, leaving everyone else with a lot of work to complete before the approaching deadline. Paul said he had to leave the group due to a worsening medical condition, but your classmate sees a photo of him at a pool party on social media. Your group members are conflicted. One wants to report Paul to the academic coordinator so he doesn’t receive a grade for the group project he left. But your other classmate doesn’t want to do anything without having all the facts—maybe it’s an old photo, after all. It’s your call, what should you do? What do you recommend to your group members? Do you think it is okay to report a concern to a supervisor based on a suspicion? Why or why not? Do you believe that one false or inappropriate post on social media can have a lasting effect on someone’s career? Explain your response.
149. You are sharing a hotel room with a coworker, Lisa, during a business trip. She’s left her suitcase open and you notice a vial of marijuana in it. You ask Lisa about it and she tells you that she is epileptic and that it’s medical marijuana. Medical cannabis is legal in your state; however, your workplace has a strict no-drugs policy. What would you do? Part of your company’s drug policy includes reporting other employees who disobey the policy. Would you report Lisa? Say Lisa tells you that she only uses marijuana during off-work hours. Would that change your course of action? Which is more important: Lisa’s medical needs or your company’s drug policy?
150. You’re a college professor. One of your students struggles with writing and typically does not turn in high-quality papers. Halfway through the semester, you notice that the quality of his work dramatically improves. You suspect that he may be plagiarizing, but you are unable to find any evidence that the work is not his own. How would you handle this? Would you confront this student? What would you say? Say the student was on probation and would certainly be expelled if he were found guilty of plagiarism. How would this affect your course of action? How important do you think it is to give people the benefit of the doubt?
Knowledge of Healthcare Stations:
151. What kind of relationship should exist between pharmaceutical companies and physicians?
152. The American Pediatric Association has recommended that circumcisions “not be routinely performed.” They base this recommendation on their determination that “the benefits have not been shown to clearly outweigh the risks and costs.” Doctors have no obligation to refer for, or provide, a circumcision, but many do, even when they are clearly not medically necessary. Medicare no longer pays for unnecessary circumcisions. Consider the ethical problems that exist in this case. Discuss these issues with the interviewer.
153. A Vancouver biotech company was hired by the US Military to develop a cure for Ebola. They successfully developed a vaccine to treat the symptoms of the virus and lowered the mortality rate for infected patients. Discuss the implications of this on a global scale.
154. Is it ethical for doctors to strike? If so, under what conditions?
155. What is your response to people who say that all use of animals in experiments is wrong and unethical?
156. A health authority implements an enhanced influenza control policy which, among other things, requires all hospital staff to receive the flu vaccination or wear a mask during flu season. If you were in charge of a committee investigating whether to implement a mandatory flu vaccination policy for healthcare workers, what information would you want to collect before making a recommendation?
157. In the current age of medicine, should stem cell research be supported?
158. Is cloning acceptable under any circumstances?
159. What is your opinion on physician-assisted suicide?
160. Stem cell research has generated heated debate. What are the pros and cons of this issue?
161. Discuss the ethics of treatment resources being used on patients who knowingly ignore public health advice on smoking and exercise.
162. A message that recently appeared on the Web warned readers of the dangers of aspartame (artificial sweetener – Nutrasweet, Equal) as a cause of an epidemic of multiple sclerosis (a progressive chronic disease of the nervous system) and systemic lupus (a multisystem autoimmune disease). The biological explanation provided was that, at body temperature, aspartame releases wood alcohol (methanol), which turns into formic acid, which 'is in the same class of drugs as cyanide and arsenic.' Formic acid, they argued, causes metabolic acidosis. Clinically, aspartame poisoning was argued to be a cause of joint pain, numbness, cramps, vertigo, headaches, depression, anxiety, slurred speech and blurred vision. The authors claimed that aspartame remains on the market because the food and drug industries have powerful lobbies in Congress. They quoted Dr Russell Blaylock, who said, 'The ingredients stimulate the neurons of the brain to death, causing brain damage of varying degrees.' Critique this message, in terms of the strength of the arguments presented and their logical consistency. Your critique might include an indication of the issues that you would like to delve into further before assessing the validity of these claims.
163. Recently, the Prime Minister of Canada raised the issue of deterrent fees (a small charge, say $10, which everyone who initiates a visit to a health professional would have to pay at the first contact) as a way to control health care costs. The assumption is that this will deter people from visiting their doctor for unnecessary reasons. Consider the broad implications of this policy for health and health care costs. For example, do you think the approach will save health care costs? At what expense? Discuss this issue with the interviewer.
164. Due to the shortage of physicians in rural communities, it has been suggested that medical programs preferentially admit students who are willing to commit to a 2- or 3-year tenure in an under-serviced area upon graduation. Consider the broad implications of this policy for health and healthcare costs. For example, do you think the approach will be effective? At what expense?
165. “Liberation Therapy” (LT), a vascular operation developed to potentially cure multiple sclerosis (MS) in certain patients, has recently come under very serious criticism - delaying its widespread use. Among other experimental flaws, critics cite a small sample size in the original evidence used to support LT. As a healthcare policy maker, your job is to weigh the pros and cons in approving novel drugs and therapies. Please discuss the issues you would consider during an approval process for LT.
166. Because of federal and provincial subsidy policies and return-of-service agreements, international medical graduates (IMGs) now make up an increasingly large proportion of rural doctors. As a consequence, the shortage of doctors in rural areas has prompted many family medicine residencies to increase their quotas for IMGs in their programs. Effectively, this development is leading to a relative reduction in spots available for US medical graduates. Please discuss the pros and cons of such a development.
167. Clostridium Difficile (C. difficile) is a type of bacteria that increases its activity with most antibiotic use, and is therefore very difficult to treat. Research shows that the most effective way to prevent the spread of infection is frequent handwashing. However, many people have flat-out refused to wash their hands in hospitals. The government is contemplating passing a policy to make it mandatory for people entering hospitals to wash their hands or else risk not being seen by doctors and being escorted out of the building against their will. Do you think the government should go ahead with this plan? Consider and discuss the legal, ethical or practical problems that exist for each action option and conclude with a persuasive argument supporting your decision.
168. Many states are starting to legalize marijuana for medical and/or recreational purposes. What are your thoughts on this?
169. “A new study has shown that the incidence of recreational drug and alcohol use in medical professionals is correlated to burnout. Do you think medical professionals should be penalized for this use if they are caught?”
170. Getting a job during the pandemic has become increasingly challenging. More and more employers are relying on online tools that help prioritize candidates. Do you think online methods of evaluation will overtake traditional in-person interviews? You are recently appointed to the head of HR and Company ABC and are addressing your team of interview recruiters. What do you tell them? Please provide at least 5 points favoring online tools for recruitment.
171. As a result of the pandemic, many healthcare institutions have prevented volunteers, peer workers and students from their usual roles within the healthcare infrastructure. What effects do you think this has had? Please address the various stakeholders that have been impacted. Follow-up questions will be asked following your response.
172. A biotechnology company has been hired by the military to develop a cure for the Ebola virus. They have successfully developed a vaccine to treat the symptoms of the virus and have reduced the mortality rate of infected patients. Discuss the implications of this on a global scale.
173. COVID-19 is an infectious disease that has quickly taken over our world. Many people feel that we will not be able to return to our “normal” lives until a vaccine is developed. It is likely that when the vaccine is developed, there will not be enough vaccines for everyone to receive it right away. How should priority be determined for the COVID-19 vaccine? What are the ethical concerns to consider in any priority or ranking system? Discuss a time where you had to choose one person over another in a personal situation and how you came to your decisions.
174. There is some evidence to suggest that the widespread use of certain wireless tablet devices in hospitals has led to significant improvements in patient satisfaction as well as some small decreases in physician error. During the product launch of technologies such as the tablet, product shortages frequently occur, leaving some prospective consumers empty-handed. Knowing that these technologies may benefit patients in hospitals, some believe that hospitals should be given priority treatment to receive devices before being offered to the community at large. Should companies be forced to discount their products when there is a societal benefit? What are some of the security issues related to the use of tablets in hospitals?
175. Recently, a drug company has been aggressively marketing their HPV vaccine for young girls to protect young women from cervical cancer. The vaccine has gained support because it will be protecting girls from this potentially deadly, and costly, disease. However, some people think there haven’t been enough clinical trials. Others argue that vaccinating for a sexually transmitted disease will encourage young girls to become sexually active. Discuss the issues involved. What would you recommend to patients?
176. ACME insurance company is raising co-pays to $100 as a way to control healthcare costs. The assumption is that this will deter people from visiting their doctor for unnecessary reasons. Discuss the broad implications of this policy for health and healthcare costs. For example, do you think the approach will save healthcare costs? At what expense?
177. A general principle in the pharmaceutical industry is that a drug is not real unless it has been tested in English-speaking countries. A “real drug” is one that actually works and can be an economically viable product. Do you think this general principle is valid and/or acceptable? Discuss this question with the interviewer.
178. What is the difference between HMOs and PPOs?
179. What is the difference between Medicare and Medicaid?
180. A needle exchange program is a free service that provides STI screening, immunizations, and physician referrals, while also letting people exchange used needles for new ones. Discuss the social, legal, medical implications of a needle-exchange program with the interviewer. What are some viable alternatives?
181. What is your opinion about stem cell research using fetal tissue?
182. Discuss the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana in the healthcare system. Would legalization cost the healthcare system more or less after it was passed?
183. Do you think general practitioners have an obligation to report their patients' health status to a public health agency if their patients have active infectious diseases?
Situational Judgment/Past Behavior Stations:
184. What would you bring with you to a desert island?
185. What would be your three wishes from a genie?
186. What are your biggest strengths?
187. What is your biggest weakness?
188. List three adjectives that best describe you.
189. Explain a weakness in your application.
190. Tell me about your family.
191. What would you look for in a medical school applicant if you were in my shoes?
192. Why do you think so many people want to be doctors?
193. How do you handle stress?
194. How do you go about making important decisions?
195. If you could change one aspect of your personality with a snap of your fingers, what would you change?
196. Who would you say has been the most influential person in the last 100 years?
197. If you could invite four people to dinner, whom would you choose? Why?
198. Describe how you can effectively deal with someone in a crisis.
199. What are the best and worst things that have ever happened to you?
200. How will you keep in touch with community needs?
201. Have you ever broken a promise to someone to keep something secret? Under what circumstances did you break this promise?
202. Tell me about a time you had to decide between two (seemingly) equally good and/or bad choices? What did you choose and why?
203. What's your biggest regret? Why?
204. Best and worst gift you ever received?
205. Give yourself a nickname and explain why you chose it.
206. Tell me about a time you felt overwhelmed at school.
207. Tell me about a time you saw someone do something unethical and what you did about it.
208. Discuss an experience that allowed you to learn something important about yourself. How will this lesson help you succeed in your career?
209. Describe a time when you got more out of a situation that you anticipated. What happened?
210. Describe an event in your life that made you feel angry. How did you respond? Tell us what you would do differently if it happened again.
211. What makes you feel guilty? Revisit a moment that you are ashamed of or feel guilty about and explore why that is. Describe the event and communicate why you feel this way.
212. What would you like to change most about the future world? Why?
213. Tell me about a time when you felt privileged.
214. What's the best and worst advice you've ever received?
215. Tell me about a rule or directive that you disagreed with. How did you respond?
216. What's the most offensive thing someone has said/done to you?
217. What surprised you most about a particular shadowing experience?
218. Have you ever disagreed with a doctor? Why? When?
219. Name one thing on your bucket list (other than being a doctor) and explain why.
220. What's your biggest fear?
221. Tell me about a time when your emotions threatened to get in the way of your decision making, and how it was resolved.
222. Tell me about a time you lied to someone else. Why? If you can't think of one, tell me about a time someone lied to you? How did you find out and handle the situation?
223. Tell me about a time when you tried to help someone who didn't want your help. What happened?
224. Most challenging coworker or supervisor - why were they difficult to work with? What problems arose, and how did you solve them?
225. What’s the worst/meanest thing a patient has done/said to you? How did you react or handle the situation?
226. If you had to give one piece of advice to hopeful doctors, what would it be?
227. Are you an introvert or extrovert? Or both? Is one better for a physician? Why?
228. What's the biggest risk you've taken?
229. Tell me about a time when you “put yourself out there” and it didn’t pan out.
230. Describe the worst misunderstanding you were involved in at school or home. What was the situation? What did you do and what happened as a result?
231. What was the best experience you’ve had as a member of a team? What was your role on the team? What made this a great experience?
232. Tell me about the last time where you had to do a lot of hard thinking and analysis to solve a problem. What difficulties did you encounter in the process and how did you address them?
233. What is the toughest feedback you’ve received and what did you learn from it?
234. Describe a time when you were faced with a problem that tested your coping skills. What did you do?
235. Tell me about a time you built a relationship with someone you didn’t like.
236. What are people likely to misunderstand about you?
237. Tell me what irritates you about other people and how you deal with it.
238. Tell me about a time when you had to make an unpopular decision. What was the situation and what was the result?
239. Tell me about a time you unintentionally offended someone else. How did you deal with the situation then and how would you deal with it now?
240. Tell me about a time when you had to present complex information. How did you ensure that the other person understood?
241. Tell me about a time when you felt embarrassed. How did you deal with that feeling then and how would you deal with it now?
242. Give a specific example of how you have adapted to a culturally different environment.
243. What was the most difficult decision you’ve made? What made it difficult?
244. Tell me about a time when you felt humbled by a situation or circumstance.
245. Have you ever had to report something to an authority about someone who was acting in an unethical or unlawful manner?
246. What do you think is a big ethical issue facing people today?
247. How would you react if you discovered a classmate cheating?
248. Discuss an ethical dilemma that you have experienced.
249. Describe a time you needed to ask for help.
250. How do you define “success”?
Besides utilizing the 250 practice questions above, we invite you to take advantage of our Interview Generator! Just set it to “MMI,” and it will produce random questions for you to respond to, complete with a timer to track your pacing along the way.
We can also try a Free Practice Virtual Interview through our Savvy Pre-Med homepage! This lets you record yourself and save the video so that you can review your performance and make necessary adjustments to your approach.
If you want more personal, one-on-one coaching, Book a Free Meeting with one of our medical school advisors and see if you’re a good fit for an Interview Prep Package.
Best of luck with your preparation for the MMI! We’re here to help if needed!
.png){kind=spacer}
.png)
.png)