Medical students and residents make rounds with an attending physician at UAB Hospital.This fall, the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine interview process for applicants to the Class of 2015 will look a little like speed dating. The School of Medicine will add a new technique to the admissions interview process that will help the admissions committee better assess an applicant’s qualities outside the realm of academic ability.
The school is implementing the multiple mini-interview, or MMI, which takes applicants one by one through a series of seven to 10 stations. In each station, applicants will be presented with realistic scenarios and have eight minutes to come up with answers. Their responses will reveal important insight into critical thinking, communication, ethics and decision-making. Applicants will also go through a station gauging teamwork that involves working with another applicant or an actor.
The MMI will allow the admissions committee to not only determine which students have the academic assets to handle the rigors of medical school, but also gauge attributes such as maturity, compassion and adaptability, which are essential for good patient care.
“The MMI will be an additional tool in the admissions interview process to get a more complete picture of our applicants’ abilities,” said Nathan Smith, M.D., assistant dean for Admissions in the School of Medicine. “By having multiple samplings from different interviews, we can find out more about personal qualities that make the applicant a good fit to be a physician.”
| “The MMI will be an additional tool in the admissions interview process to get a more complete picture of our applicants’ abilities. By having multiple samplings from different interviews, we can find out more about personal qualities that make the applicant a good fit to be a physician.” |
The addition of the MMI is part of a movement toward a holistic admissions model, which balances relevant academic and nonacademic factors in evaluating applicants. Smith says the model has been shown to identify individuals who will do well in clinical rotations, based on qualities patients say they want in their doctors.
“The MMI and the holistic admissions model aren’t just about which applicants have the best grades and MCAT scores, but which ones will make the best doctors,” Smith said.
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, 28 member schools in the United States and Canada used the MMI in 2011 as part of their admissions interview process, and Smith says the number of schools using the technique grows each year.
While the MMI will not replace the traditional interview between an applicant and members of the admissions committee, it will restructure the interview day to include one traditional 30-minute interview, rather than previous format of three 25-minute interviews. The interview day will also now be split into separate morning and afternoon sessions to accommodate the MMI and the remaining traditional interview. Raters who will interview applicants in the MMI are trained faculty, staff and students in the School of Medicine, as well as members of the admissions committee.
The MMI ratings, along with academic evaluations and ratings from the traditional interview, will be used by the admissions selection committee to make decisions about the applicant’s acceptance to UAB.
More than 3,000 prospective medical students are expected to apply to the School of Medicine this year. Smith says between 435 and 450 applicants will be interviewed for the 186 spots in the first-year class.
“We are fortunate at UAB to receive an abundance of impressive applicants for medical school,” said Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., senior vice president for Medicine and dean of the School of Medicine. “This new process will provide further standardization and objectivity in recruiting the next set of physician leaders in Alabama.”