NHS Hot Topics Online Course Series 1

Medical School Interview Courses

The medical school interview: it’s where you can make a lasting impression. It's also the deciding factor as to whether or not you begin your med school career. So, make sure you’re ready to ace the medical school interview with our full-day medical school interview preparation course, suitable for medicine and dentistry applicants, where we help you improve your interview techniques.

For the last 5 years, 98.5% of our students from our Interview Courses and MMI Circuits received an offer after their medical school interview. Follow in their footsteps and get into the medical school you want.

Students who have attended our medical school interview course are being offered places at some of the top medical schools in the UK such as Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College London and more.

Medicine Interview Course overview

Our full-day interview courses are facilitated by both experienced medical doctors and senior medical students, who have the benefit of recent medical school interview experience. Additionally, 8 of our facilitators have sat or are currently on interview panels at medical schools around the UK.

This course was designed by a team of medical doctors with over 11 years of experience in helping students get into medical school.

With a maximum of 9 to 12 students per 3 to 4 facilitators, the small group size and interactive nature mean our students get a lot of opportunities to practice delivering answers and receive individual feedback.

We are convinced this is what leads to our 98.5% success rate year after year. The medical school interview course is updated each year, and thus the most up-to-date hot topics in healthcare that are relevant to your medical school interview will also be covered.

We will break down the questions for medical schools in the UK, and how you can make your answers stand out for all interview formats. From practice questions panel style to mock interviews in a realistic MMI circuit, we’ll make sure you are fully prepared for your medical school interview when the time comes.

In the full day medical school interview course, we coach you on how to approach all different types of questions and MMI stations. It's not lecture based but is a full-day practice where you are taught techniques, strategies, how to structure your answers etc. Therefore, it gives you a real interview experience and you improve your abilities throughout the day.

What's included in the course

Topics covered during the course 

Afternoon MMI circuit

The course includes an MMI circuit with 6 stations in the afternoon. We will record a video of your practice and the feedback that you receive that you can take home, along with the marking schemes. In this circuit, we will have the following stations; medical ethics, the NHS, Duties of a Doctor, role-play, one based on your personal statement and one based on the medical or dental school of your choosing.

theMSAG Workbook

You are also provided with theMSAG workbook which includes how to approach the most common interview questions.

Workbook sections

Pre-Course e-Learning access

Before the course, you will also be provided access to our pre-course learning material that features videos to help you prepare for the course day.

At the end of the day, you'll know how to approach each type of question really well, with different structures in mind and you will have practiced many questions throughout the day and got feedback. 

Timetable 

Course locations

This year, we will be expanding to hold courses in four great cities: Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and London. View our course locations.

Course calendar

Dental students

Our Medical School Interview Course  is designed for dental students as well as medical students. Once you purchase your course, you will be emailed a form that you will fill out with the proper information so we can tailor the course specifically to you. You can expect the same quality and experience as the medical students that attend our courses.

Should I go for the full-day Course or the half-day MMI Circuit Course

The full-day interview course is usually the first step in the preparation. In our interview courses, you will be coached in how to really get better at each type of station. We highly recommend this course first to improve your interviewing skills. You’ll get a smaller MMI circuit included in the full day. The MMI Circuit Course is probably best after you have done the course first if you need further practice or if you want to do more stations from a specific school.

Medical School Interview Course Scholarships

theMSAG believes everyone deserves an equal opportunity so we have scholarships to help students take our courses. To learn more about our scholarships email our team today and see if you qualify

Medical school interview resources

If you want further interview practice join us for our MMI Circuit Course. Get ready to ace your multiple mini Interview by taking the MSAG’s MMI Course!

Can't make it to a course? We have made preparing for your medicine interview course possible from anywhere with our online courses. View our  Medical School Online Interview Course today and start your free trial!

Do you prefer a more personalised one-to-one approach when preparing for your med school interview? Our Medical School Interview Coaching allows you to work alongside experienced doctors and medical students to help you ace the medicine interview!

Multiple Mini Interview MMI Circuits Overview

The MMI is an integral part of the admissions process. Don’t get caught flat-footed and unprepared: get ready to ace your interview by taking the MSAG’s MMI course!

Our MMI preparation course is a half-day mock MMI circuit, tailored to each applicant’s needs. You’ll be able to complete a circuit of 10 full stations with sample questions from the schools you are applying for, and then observe another 10 full stations.

Unlike other MMI Courses, we make sure that you see completely different stations when you observe compared to when you participate. That means in total, you are exposed to 20 different stations. Our goal is to make sure you get an authentic, honest experience of your med school MMI. Prepare for the MMI with our team!

The Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format

You will encounter multiple interview types for med school. The MMI is different than traditional interviews. This interview format is designed to show the interviewer how well the applicant's communication skills are. Communication is really a fundamental part of medicine. As a doctor, you will rely on your communication skills every day for your patient care and working alongside your medical team.

What is it like to participate in Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)

Each medical school is different but the MMI traditionally consists of up to 10 stations, including rest station(s). Each station is a mini interview around 8-10 minutes long. Before each scenario, the applicant will be given a question or a real MMI scenario in which he or she will read and be given time to prepare and formulate their answer. Next, the student will sit and discuss their response with the interviewer. The student will continue this format throughout each station.

What to expect in the MMI Course?

Our interview room will feature up to 20 sample MMI stations and offers 10 MMI stations personalised for each applicant. Our MMI questions are based off interview questions previously used by universities in the UK, to provide you with an authentic MMI interview.

Our interview course has a 98% success rate for last year’s students that attended our MMI and interview courses, with some students being offered a place at some of the top medical schools in the UK such as Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College London and more.

The half-day course is led by experienced doctors, senior medical students and medical education professionals that apply their knowledge and experience from getting into medical school themselves.

At the end of the circuit, you will receive a video copy of your performance as well as the feedback provided by our facilitators. In addition to this, you’ll receive a written copy of your performance marked against a mark scheme.

MMI Circuits times

Common MMI interview stations

Below is a list of some common mmi stations you might encounter for your medical school interview. Each university is unique and will ask different questions, so as you prepare it is important to consider all of these question types.

• Personal station: this station is engineered to learn more about you to determine if medicine is the right profession for you.
• Teamwork station: there might be stations asking about teamwork and asking how you have worked with a team in the past.
• Medical ethics stations: this station looks for how you would handle situations or challenges in the medical profession, such as ethical scenarios.
• Role play stations: this station uses real actors and real-life scenarios that the applicant will need to talk through to show how he or she would handle the situation.
• Calculation | Problem-solving station: here you are given information and you will need to calculate the data and provide solutions.
• Hot topics station: this station might ask you questions based on recent health care related subjects such as the NHS.
• Photo station: you might encounter a station where you are asked to review a photo and then interpret what you think is happening in the photo.

Which universities use MMI's

Dental students

Our MMI Circuit Course is designed for dental students as well as medical students. Once you purchase your course, you will be emailed a form that you will fill out with the proper information so we can tailor the course specifically to you. You can expect the same quality and experience as the medical students that attend our courses. 

Medical school interview resources

Practice is the most important part of the MMI. Practice with friends and family doing time-based questions using the scenarios listed above. Get feedback from those who interview you so can continue to improve. In addition to practising, we have a variety of resources to help you.

If you are wanting to focus on traditional interviews sign up for our full-day Medical School Interview Courses.

Can't make it to a course? We have made preparing for your medicine interview course possible from anywhere with our Medical School Online Interview Course. 

Do you prefer a more personalised one-to-one approach when preparing for your interview? Our Medical School Interview Coaching allows you to work alongside experienced doctors and senior medical students to help you ace the medicine interview!

View our free blog series designed to help you at any stage of the medical school application process.

Get answers to even more questions about the medical school application process by visiting The Student Room,  the UK’s largest online student community.

theMSAG believes everyone deserves an equal opportunity so we have scholarships to help students take our courses. To learn more about our scholarships email our team today and see if you qualify!

Medical School Interview Coaching Overview:

Your medical school interview is on the horizon: are you ready? Whether you’re feeling shy talking to examiners or just struggling to tackle tough ethics questions, we can help. Our 1-on-1 medical school interview coaching sessions are all delivered by experienced doctors and medical students. Each tailored session will improve your confidence before you go into that interview.

Before your first session, a friendly MSAG guide will contact you to find out which areas you want to develop and to obtain a copy of your personal statement. Normally students have a specific area that they want to target. If not, no worries. During the first session your guide will gather info to find out your strengths and weaknesses. If your weakness lies in interview technique, they will teach how to approach and structure your answers. Each session will include a mock interview element. This will reflect the interview formats for the schools that you’re applying to. These can be traditional interviews or MMI interviews.

If you have attended our medical school interview preparation course or MMI courses, our coaching is a great way to keep preparing leading to your interviews.

What to expect from our Medical School Interview Coaching:

We partner you with an experienced MSAG guide who teaches on our courses. They will be a doctor or medical student. If you’re a dentist, we can match you with a dentist too! Our guides have over 3 years’ of experience coaching medical school applicants. Many of our guides have sat on interview panels or Multiple Mini Interviews at medical schools in the UK such as University of Birmingham, University of Bristol, Imperial College London, King’s College London and the University of Nottingham. Additionally, our medical school interview tutors have gained experience by delivering our Medical School Interview Courses, MMI Circuits and our Online Interview Course.  Each guide has undergone lots of training to ensure they are able to deliver consistent high-quality feedback to you.

Sessions can take place over Skype, Google Hangouts or in person, depending on availability and locations. Each one-to-one medical school interview coaching session is tailored to meet your specific needs. We can help you to improve your interview technique, improve your communication skills and develop your confidence. Our tutoring will prepare you for interview panel or MMI format interview questions. Throughout each session you will be provided detailed feedback from the medical school tutor.

The sessions will cover important topics that might be discussed in your medical school interview such as hot topics in healthcare, the NHS, medical ethics, role-plays and much more.  

Medical School Online Interview Course Overview

Preparing for interviews for Medical and Dental school can be tough. Not only is it hard to find the right information, but you may not have much time between exams or work. You want to ace your interview, but you may not feel comfortable practising questions with others. Or you may want some more help before you start forming your answers.

Well, let us be your guide.

How to prepare for your medical school interview?

The key to good interview preparation is to:

• find out more about the interview process and type of medical school interview you will be having (e.g. panel interview or MMI stations)
• learn about the common questions that medical school applicants are asked
• formulate your answers, supporting each statement with an example based on your own personal experience
• and finally, practice!

Which is why we have created theMSAG Online Interview Course. Each 10-20 minute video is created and filmed by our team of doctors and covers in depth what you need to know and how to approach the different types of MMI stations to help improve your performance in medical or dental school interviews.

What to expect from our Medical Online School Interview Course:

Our online course offers access to 3.5 hours of interactive footage. With our question bank from medical schools around the UK we have created a course that covers all the topics and medical school interview questions and answers you need to know.

All the topics covered in the medical School Online Interview Course:

• How to structure your medical school interview answers | Questions asking for an opinion
• How to structure your medical school interview answers | Questions asking for an example
• The 4 Medical Ethical Pillars
• Capacity, Consent and Confidentiality in health care
• Abortion Debate
• Should Euthanasia be legalised? | How to answer the question?
• The structure and role of the NHS
• Should we privatise the NHS | How to answer the question?
• What are the biggest health care challenges facing the UK?
• How can we tackle the obesity epidemic in health care?
• Preparing for data interpretation questions
• Preparing for the calculation station
• Preparing for the role play station
• Breaking bad news
• Giving an explanation
• What memorable learning can you take from your volunteer work experience?
• Understand the Key Duties of a Doctor according to the GMC
• Why do you want to be a doctor?

These courses are designed to help you improve your communication skills by teaching you how to structure your medical school interview answers to the various types of questions you will encounter in your interview.

These are high-quality videos with real doctors and real interview experts. The Medical School Interview Course was created by doctors who have over 15 years of combined experience. In addition to working in a career in medicine, our instructors have worked as admissions tutors, developed interview question banks, sat on university panels as a faculty member, worked as medical educationalists and much more!  

Each module offers unlimited replays with flexible playback features which allows you to learn at your own pace and track your progress, to make it a more personalised learning experience.

The course is professionally filmed for a better learning experience and is fully mobile and tablet responsive, so you can access the videos from anywhere.

Meet theMSAG Online Interview team:

Dr Rony Sanyal is the Online Interview Course Manager at theMSAG. He is currently a GP specialty trainee. He works in the city of Birmingham. He sat on the interview panel as a faculty member for MMI stations at the University of Nottingham. 

Dr Kate Drewek, our Interview Course Manager, is a paediatrics trainee working in London. She has 2 years of experience in organising and leading our successful courses across London, Birmingham and Manchester. She is a trained MMI interviewer for St George's University.

Dr Paul Grant is a Health Technology Consultant and Medical Educationalist and works as a faculty member at Brighton and Sussex medical school. He is one of our guides for interview courses and MMI circuits. He has carried out interviews for doctors and medical students at all career stages.

Dr Hannah Pierce is an expert in Medical Education having completed a masters degree in this topic area at Keele University. She is currently a clinical teaching fellow in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and is one of the leads at theMSAG interview courses.

Dr Ashish Mandavia is the Products and Services Director of theMSAG. Having trained at Bristol Medical School, he sat on the interview panel at the University of Bristol for 2 years. He has completed his foundation training in hospitals across London. 

Dr Hrush Vyas is a F2 doctor in Birmingham with a clinical interest in Anaesthetics. Having trained at the University of Birmingham, he sat on the interview panel at the same university. He is one of the leads at theMSAG courses.

Mr Jasen Soopramanien is one of the Personal Statement managers at theMSAG. He is a fourth-year medical student at King's College London. He has 2 years of experience as one of the guides on our interview course.

Miss Manushri Jain is a final year medical student at the University of Birmingham. She is one of the Personal Statement managers at theMSAG. She has 2 years of experience as one of the guides for our courses.

Mr Graeme Larkin is a senior policy advisor in medical education for the British Medical Association. He is an experienced MSAG guide on our interview courses and our in-house expert on the latest updates for the NHS.

Mr Laksh Soni is a fourth-year medical student at King's College London. He is one of the leads for our courses and he is the MMI circuit manager for theMSAG.

Other medical school interview resources: 

Want to learn and improve your medical school interview answers in a classroom setting? Sign up for one of our full-day Medical School Interview Courses. Our courses are offered in London, Birmingham, Bristol and Leeds so you have plenty of options to choose from! 

The  "Medical School Interview Book" is now available featuring 135 interview questions along with how to structure your answers and much more to help you prepare for all type of medical school interview questions! 

If you are wanting to focus on MMI (multiple mini interviews) sign up for our half-day MMI Circuit Course. Get ready to ace your multiple mini Interview by taking the MSAG’s MMI course!

Do you prefer a more personalised one-to-one approach when preparing for your med school interview answers? Our Medical School Interview Coaching allows you to work alongside experienced doctors and medical students to help you ace the medicine interview!

Discuss good ideas and get answers to even more questions about the medical school application process by visiting The Student Room,  the UK’s largest online student community. 

The Essentials of Medical Ethics Online Course Overview

When preparing for the medical and dental school interview it might be challenging to know what topics you should focus on. Often, the interview includes questions regarding ethical issues and ask your stance on the subject. Common topics that arise are issues such as abortion, assisted reproduction and euthanasia. In other instances, ethical scenarios are given that can have ethical implications and a decision must be made.

Our team have worked to create this e-learning resource for you. We’ve used all of our knowledge that we've developed in our physical courses.

What to expect from The Essentials of Medical Ethics Online Course:

• Professionally filmed for a better learning experience
• Hours of interactive footage featuring high-quality videos ~20 minutes long
• Created by real doctors and interview experts with over 15 years of experience
• Start as early as you want and learn at your own pace
• Fully mobile and tablet responsive, so you can access the videos from anywhere.
• Set your own goals along to way

Ethical questions in medical school interviews that we cover:

• Autonomy
• The Ethical Pillar of Autonomy and in-depth analysis of the Hippocratic Oath
• Case report: Slater vs Baker and Stapleton (1767)
• What do we mean by a patient's autonomy?
• Factors influencing a patient's autonomy
• Jehovah's Witnesses
• When does Autonomy become a moral dilemma?
• Case report: T vs Court of Appeal (1993)
• Beneficence
• The Ethical Pillar of Beneficence
• Beneficence and Jehovah's Witnesses
• Would you transfuse a Jehovah's Witness?
• The history of Beneficence
• Physician assisted suicide: Harmful or Beneficent?
• Is it harmful or beneficial to help a competent patient who has requested hastened death?
• Social Beneficence: Organ Donation
• Non-maleficence
• The Ethical Pillar of Non-Maleficence
• Non-Maleficence and Beneficence: The Weighing Scale
• Case report: Mr Bolam and Clinical Negligence
• Case report: Patrick Bolitho (1996)
• The Principal of Medical Futility and The Trisomy 18 Disorder
• Other scenarios you might encounter
• Justice
• The Ethical Pillar of Justice
• Deciphering Justice: The Clinical Angle
• Factors influencing the same level of care
• Unequal access health care for unequal patients
• Allocation of resources at a population level
• Can we refuse to perform cardiac surgery on a smoker?
• Confidentiality
• The 3Cs: Confidentiality
• The Origins of Confidentiality and the Hippocratic Oath
• The impact of breaching confidentiality
• The Data Protection Act (1998)
• Confidentiality: It's importance on the doctor-patient relationship
• When can confidentiality be breached?
• Case report: Dr Robert Browne vs The General Medical Council (1971)
• Case report: Prosenjit Poddar (1967)
• Capacity
• The 3Cs: Capacity
• The Mental Capacity Act (2005)
• Assessing patients' capacity
• Define: Power of Attorney
• The case that led to the Mental Capacity Act (2005)
• Further cases related to the Mental Capacity Act (2005)
• Capacity: Children's perspective
• Consent
• The 3Cs: Consent
• How can we take Consent?
• Case report: Nadine Montgomery
• Abortion and pregnancy
• The Pro-choice Argument
• Does an unborn foetus have the right to Autonomy?
• Case report: Roe vs Wade (1973), a game changer
• Non-Maleficence and Beneficence in Abortion
• The Abortion Act (1976) and global perspective
• Justice in Abortion
• Should fathers have a say in Abortions?
• Assisted Reproduction
• Assisted Reproduction: Arguments in favour
• Assisted Reproduction: Arguments against
• The History of Assisted Reproduction
• Should donor eggs or sperm be used?

Our guarantee

Essential content: We have separated the videos into important topics that we feel are fundamental to interview success. We begin by teaching you how to structure your answers. We go through the common types of interview questions that you may come across. Extra quizzes and info will also become available for you to put your knowledge into practice.

Interactive features: Being interactive is the key to our teaching success! So, you will find our team members asking you questions and asking you to pause the video. We may ask you to write something down. Or we may recommend that you look up some extra info to enhance your learning.

Unlimited playbacks and mobile responsive: Each module offers unlimited replays with flexible playback features. This allows you to learn at your own pace and track your progress, to make it a more personalised learning experience.

Meet theMSAG The Essentials of Medical Ethics  team:

 Dr Rony Sanyal is the Online Interview Course Manager at theMSAG. He is currently a GP specialty trainee. He works in the city of Birmingham. He sat on the interview panel as a faculty member for MMI stations at the University of Nottingham. 

 Dr Kate Drewek, our Interview Course Manager, is a paediatrics trainee working in London. She has 2 years of experience in organising and leading our successful courses across London, Birmingham and Manchester. She is a trained MMI interviewer for St George's University.

 Dr Paul Grant is a Health Technology Consultant, Medical Educationalist and works at Brighton and Sussex medical school. He is one of our guides for interview courses and MMI circuits. He has carried out interviews for doctors and medical students at all career stages.

 Dr Hannah Pierce is an expert in Medical Education having completed a masters degree in this topic area at Keele University. She is currently a clinical teaching fellow in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and is one of the leads at theMSAG interview courses.

 Dr Ashish Mandavia is the Products and Services Director of theMSAG. Having trained at Bristol Medical School, he sat on the interview panel at the University of Bristol for 2 years. He has completed his foundation training in hospitals across London. 

 Dr Hrush Vyas is a F2 doctor in Birmingham with a clinical interest in Anaesthetics. Having trained at the University of Birmingham, he sat on the interview panel at the same university. He is one of the leads at theMSAG courses.

 Mr Jasen Soopramanien is one of the Personal Statement managers at theMSAG. He is a fourth-year medical student at King's College London. He has 2 years of experience as one of the guides on our interview course.

 Miss Manushri Jain is a final year medical student at the University of Birmingham. She is one of the Personal Statement managers at theMSAG. She has 2 years of experience as one of the guides for our courses.

 Mr Graeme Larkin is a senior policy advisor in medical education for the British Medical Association. He is an experienced guide on our interview courses. He is also our in-house expert on the latest updates for the NHS.

 Mr Laksh Soni is a fourth-year medical student at King's College London. He is one of the leads for our courses and he is the MMI circuit manager for theMSAG.

Other medical school interview resources:

Want to learn and improve your medical school interview answers in a classroom setting? Sign up for one of our full-day Interview Course. Our courses are offered in London, Birmingham, Bristol and Leeds so you have plenty of options to choose from!

If you are wanting to focus on MMI (multiple mini interviews) sign up for our half-day MMI Circuit Course. Get ready to ace your multiple mini Interview by taking the MSAG’s MMI course!

Visit  The Student Room,  the UK’s largest online student community and get answers to even more questions.