The interview process is designed to help assess your suitability for a career in medicine aside from academic excellence so that we can train students to become doctors who will embrace the values of the NHS including respect, compassion, resilience and commitment to quality of care.
We interview approximately 1200 candidates for the five-year MBChB and 100 candidates for the four-year graduate MBChB. We use the multiple mini-interview format (MMI), which is comprised of seven stations that are a mix of interviews and calculation tasks. These allow you to demonstrate the skills you have, which are relevant to studying medicine, such as: motivation for medicine, communication; reflection; empathy, self-insight, ethical reasoning, data analysis and interpretation and ability to evaluate information. Further details are provided below.
Whilst it’s not possible to ‘revise’ for MMIs, preparation for interview should include keeping abreast of medical issues appearing in the news and media and discussing and debating them with friends and family. Relevant work experience can also offer great insight into the demands placed on staff, the strategies staff employ to handle difficult situations and the benefits they obtain from caring for people and working in teams.
Advice and tips for Medicine Multiple Mini Interviews at University of Birmingham
Watch our handy Medicine MMI video below, delivered by some of our current students, that offer you some handy tips before your interview.
Advice and tips for Medicine Multiple Mini Interviews at University of Birmingham
Interviews will take place throughout December, January and February. Applicants will continue to be invited to interview until all places have been filled. We expect to be sending out invitations up until mid-February, meaning that potentially you may not hear from us until then. Unsuccessful applicants will hear from us too, however the majority of these decisions are unlikely to be made until after we have filled our interview places.
Candidates who are interviewed are offered a conducted tour of the Medical School by current medical students. If you can, it is a good idea to visit the University prior to application on one of the University Open Days held each June, September and October. Details are given in the University prospectus. Please note that we cannot make arrangements to meet with prospective applicants on an individual basis.
To find out more about the interview process including how we make offer decisions, download our MBChB interview information documents.
We advise you to wait until March before enquiring about the status of your Medicine and Surgery application as enquiries may slow down the processing of applications.