Medicine interview questions: MMI and panel practice
Four original stations free, each with a better answer. 80 in the course.
One from each core skill. Read a first try and a better answer, see what changed, then practise the station yourself against the clock.
Ethics and confidentiality
Overheard in the lift
You are a sixth-form student on a week of hospital work experience.
In a busy hospital lift, you hear two members of staff talking about a patient on the ward you are visiting. They use her full name and mention her diagnosis. Visitors are standing next to you. What would you do, and why?
2 minutes to plan, 6 minutes to answer
What a strong answer covers
- Sees the privacy risk. Explains that the patient can be identified from her name and diagnosis, that strangers heard it, and that patients need to trust staff with private information.
- Acts within your role. Chooses a discreet, proportionate response, such as a quiet word or saying nothing in the lift and raising it afterwards, and knows the limits of a work-experience student.
- Knows when to raise it. Tells their supervisor or work-experience lead factually and privately. If dismissed while the concern remains unresolved, seeks help from the work-experience coordinator.
- Reflects and prevents. Draws a practical lesson for their own conduct, such as never discussing patients in public, and allows that the staff may not have realised.
I would tell them straight away that they shouldn't be talking about a patient in a lift, because it breaks confidentiality. Confidentiality is really important in medicine and doctors have to follow GMC guidance on it. Then I would report them.
Role play: an angry patient
Ninety minutes late
You are a volunteer helping at an outpatient clinic.
Mr Clarke has been waiting 90 minutes past his appointment time. He comes to the desk, clearly angry. Speak to him.
Mr Clarke: “I've been sitting here for an hour and a half. Nobody's told me anything. I've had to take the day off work for this. It's ridiculous.”
2 minutes to plan, 8 minutes to answer
What a strong answer covers
- Acknowledges his frustration. Introduces themselves, acknowledges his frustration without being defensive and apologises for the wait.
- Responds to what he says. Asks what matters most to him and changes course when he mentions feeling dizzy and not eating.
- Stays honest. Does not invent a waiting time or promise to move him up the list; offers to find out.
- Gets the right help. Tells a nurse or clinic staff about the dizziness promptly, helps him sit down, and checks with staff before offering food or drink in case he needs an empty stomach.
I'm really sorry for the wait, it's very busy today. The doctors are doing their best. It shouldn't be much longer, maybe another twenty minutes, so if you could just take a seat that would be great.
Data and risk
Halves the risk?
You are explaining a result to an interviewer.
A headline says: "New tablet halves heart attack risk." Using the table, explain what the tablet actually did, in words a patient would understand.
| Group | People | Had a heart attack within 5 years |
|---|---|---|
| Dummy tablet | 1,000 | 40 |
| New tablet | 1,000 | 20 |
2 minutes to plan, 6 minutes to answer
What a strong answer covers
- Gets the numbers right. 40 in 1,000 is 4% and 20 in 1,000 is 2%: a 2 percentage-point absolute drop and a 50% relative drop. About 50 people take it for 5 years to prevent one heart attack.
- Explains baseline and time. Says the relative figure depends on the starting risk, and names the group and the 5-year period.
- Considers the trial's limits. Asks about side effects, who was in the trial, its size and length, and cost, before trusting the headline.
- Explains without exaggerating. Puts the result in plain terms a patient could follow, using natural frequencies such as out of 100 people, and makes clear that most people would not have had a heart attack either way.
The new tablet halves your risk of a heart attack, from 40 down to 20, so it works really well and people at risk should take it.
Motivation: why medicine?
Why medicine?
You are being interviewed.
Why do you want to study medicine? Use one real experience to show it. (Keep any people you mention anonymous.)
2 minutes to plan, 6 minutes to answer
What a strong answer covers
- Uses real, specific evidence. Uses one concrete experience, saying what they did or saw, rather than general statements.
- Links it to what doctors do. Links the experience to specific aspects of medical training and work, such as scientific reasoning, uncertainty, shared decisions and teamwork, without claiming these belong only to doctors.
- Knows the hard parts. Names a real challenge (long training, uncertainty, workload, breaking bad news, emotional toll) and how they would cope.
- Shows how the view developed. Explains how their understanding changed, what they learned and the limits of the experience. Ordinary experiences and different defensible reasons count; template phrases alone do not.
I have always wanted to help people, and I love science, so medicine is the perfect career for me. Doctors make such a difference to people's lives, and I find the human body fascinating.
More stations in the course
Ethics and professionalism: He does not want the operation, Promise you won't tell, Just a quick photo, The questions in the group chat, A gift for your university fund, She is fifteen, The back of the queue?, The smell of alcohol, No blood, whatever happens, Registered to donate, Her son will translate, When a doctor objects, His sister should know, Still driving
Role play: A friend who is falling behind, You sent her the wrong way, The video your aunt saw, While she was away, Can you tell me how she is?, Three extra shifts, I'm going home, The tablets on the floor, Late again
Data and evidence: A positive screening test, Does the app work?, The most dangerous hospital?, The average wait, Cases more than doubled?, Takeaways and diabetes, Check the dose, Above 90 per cent, Did the falls clinic work?
Prioritising: Three things at once, Too much for one week, One afternoon in a care home, Saturday at the food bank, Rank the qualities
Motivation and reflection: What an experience taught you, Feedback that changed you, When it went wrong, How you learn best, When you led, Why not another health career?, The hardest part, What does a GP do all day?, A weakness you are working on
The NHS and healthcare: From hospital to community, An AI deciding who is seen first, Assisted dying and palliative care, Antibiotics for a cold, Should the NHS pay for it?, Whose job is obesity?, Winter in A&E, Doctors on strike, Well enough to leave, Years in good health
Teamwork and leadership: The group project that stalled, Choose the project, The team after a stroke, A decision you disagreed with, Lost at handover, When you were not in charge, They took the credit, The pit crew, The quiet newcomer, The health fair budget
Explaining and instructing: Why do I need this injection?, Tie a shoelace, What does high blood pressure mean?, Explain your hobby, Describe the drawing
Academic and science: Why do we shiver?, Does music help revision?, How many heartbeats?, Two kidneys, one heart, Same germ, different illness
All four stations with both answers on paper: free questions and answers PDF.
More questions to practise: the interview question generator and dentistry interview questions.