MMI questions and answers: a structure for every station

Searching for MMI questions and answers usually turns up long lists of model answers. They are tempting, but they have a problem: interviewers hear the same memorised phrases every day, and a memorised answer falls apart the moment you are asked something slightly different.

A better approach is to learn a structure for each station type and practise using it, out loud, on questions you have not seen. Here is a structure for each of the main stations, with a short example.

Motivation: “Why medicine?”

1. What draws you to this specific role.
2. Evidence from something you did or saw.
3. What you learnt about the reality of the job, including the hard parts.
4. Why you, now.

For more, read how to answer “Why medicine?”.

Ethics scenarios

1. Name the issue in one sentence.
2. Gather the facts you would need: capacity, age, risk, what the person wants.
3. Weigh the options against the key principles: respect for autonomy, doing good, avoiding harm, and fairness.
4. Decide and justify, and say what you would do if things changed.
5. Involve others where appropriate: seniors, guidelines, the wider team.

Our guide to medical ethics interview questions works through capacity, confidentiality and consent in detail.

NHS questions

1. Pick one issue rather than listing many.
2. Explain its causes and its effect on patients.
3. Show balance: what is being done, and the trade-offs.
4. Give a reasoned view, and connect it to the doctor you want to be.

Role-play stations

1. Introduce yourself and check who you are speaking to.
2. Find out what they know and how they feel before you explain anything.
3. Listen and acknowledge emotion before solving the problem.
4. Explain clearly, in small pieces, checking understanding.
5. Agree a plan and what happens next.

The actor is often told to give you more information only if you ask the right open question. Silence and listening score.

Teamwork and personal questions

Use a simple story structure: the situation in a sentence, the task or problem, the action you took (most of your answer), and the result, followed by what you learnt. The most common mistake is saying “we” throughout. The interviewer is assessing you.

Data and calculation stations

1. Describe what the data shows before interpreting it.
2. Work out loud, step by step.
3. Sense-check your answer.
4. Say what the data cannot tell you.

Practising so it works on the day

Structures only help if you can use them without thinking. The way to get there is repetition out loud: answer, review against what an assessor would listen for, then answer again.

See the full list of 30 medicine interview practice questions to practise these structures on.