How long does it take you to answer, “why medicine?”
Go ahead and try it. Time yourself if you’d like. Go on. I’ll wait.
Most students can answer that question in about 45 seconds to two minutes. Maybe more if you really stretch it out.
Most MMI stations, though, are 8 to 10 minutes long. And a common station asks, “why medicine,” which begs the question:
Do medical schools really expect you to use every bit of that time to answer a question that only takes you two minutes to answer? What if you run out of time and don’t have anything to say?
Though it seems awkward, it isn’t.
We’ve written articles in the past to help candidates eat up time during MMI stations, but here’s a little secret:
If you don’t use ALL the time in an MMI, it’s not the end of the world. In fact, it can be a good thing.
It’s important to remember that the interviewers usually have follow-up questions based on your responses. By talking for all eight minutes, you will be depriving yourself the opportunity to receive these guiding questions.
For example, let’s look at an example MMI station and its follow-up questions given to the evaluator:
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. Discuss these issues with the interviewer.
A. What's wrong with the way Dr. Blair treats his patients? Why?
B. Why do you think Dr. Blair does it?
C. Can you see any circumstances under which recommending a placebo might be the appropriate action?
D. What is the difference between (C) and Dr. Blair’s practice?
E. What action would you take regarding Dr. Blair?
In assessing the student, consider the following issues:
If you follow our five steps to answering MMI ethical dilemmas, you’ll have answered most of the follow-up questions already, but you may have not considered Dr. Blair’s motivations (B) or the larger ethics surrounding placebos (C). These are more nuanced questions that are impossible to predict.
So, you should certainly be prepared with things to say, but having some wiggle room for a follow-up discussion lets the interviewers cover important parts of their rubric or guidelines, thus making a huge difference in how you’re evaluated.
The interviewers are not playing a game of “gotcha,” where they let you squirm nervously in your chair as they silently jot down notes of judgment (unless you let them). In fact, the interviewers should be viewed as a lifeline. It might feel intimidating to talk to them, but your conversation with them will make it easier for them to assess you.
However, it’s important to note that every MMI is different, and there’s a chance your evaluators will have much different directions than the ones listed above. There’s even the possibility of no follow-up questions at all, which brings us to…
Our five-step approach to MMI ethical dilemmas involves: listing the competing ethical stakes, discussing what else you’d need to know to make your decision, and outlining any legal, professional, or ethical limitations/restrictions you’d need to uphold.
The notes you write down for these steps are great fodder for conversation-starters if your interviewers happen to give you the silent treatment. Don’t let the conversation die!
Asking questions like these does more than just break the ice. It shows your genuine curiosity to learn from your interview, as opposed to just viewing it as a means to an end. Plus, it gives you another opportunity to convey some of the ideas and qualities that the interviewers might be looking for (empathy, critical thinking, moderate course of action, etc.).
All the tips in this article can be applied to the acting stations in MMIs as well. There’s no reason why you can’t engage with the actor once your scenario has finished playing out.
It might be a bit trickier to ask them direct questions about your roleplaying scenario (you don’t want to sound like you’re fishing for clues on your score/evaluation), but you can still ask them valuable questions about the school or their experiences as doctors/medical students.
Get inspired by our best and worst questions to ask at your medical school interview.
Remember - forcing yourself to use all the time in an MMI response is like adding to a secondary essay simply to meet the maximum word or character count. You think it’s making it stronger, but most of the time, it’s only detracting from your answer.
No doubt - there’s such a thing as TOO short, but overall brevity is a strength during MMI interviews. You can fluff up your response until you’re blue in the face, but your best bet is to focus on delivering a balanced, quality answer and let the conversation build from there.
Best of luck!
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