What is an MMI, and how do you prepare for one?

If you only read one section, read this one.

1. Find your format. Check the number of stations, the timing and whether it is live, recorded or a panel. Use the university's own page.
2. Know your story. Pick two or three real experiences that shaped your choice of medicine, and what you learned from each.
3. Learn the basics. Read the code of conduct for doctors in your country and follow a few current health issues.
4. Speak, don't just think. Answer out loud, with a timer, in the same format as your real interview.
5. Get feedback. Ask someone who understands MMIs to watch you and tell you honestly what to fix.
6. Fix the top three things. Don't try to fix everything at once.
7. Do a full run. One complete timed practice run before the day, then rest.

This guide is written for applicants in both Australia and the UK. For the format at a specific school, see our Australian university guides and UK university guides.

The MMI was designed at McMaster University in Canada. The first published study, by Kevin Eva and colleagues in Medical Education in 2004, tested a 10-station MMI with 117 applicants. The idea is simple. How a person performs can change a lot from one situation to the next. A single interview only samples one situation. Many short stations, each with a different assessor, give a fairer overall picture.

In plain terms: one bad moment matters less in an MMI. Each station is a fresh start.

The details change between universities, but most stations follow the same pattern.

1. Reading time. You see a short prompt before you start. This may be on a door, on screen, or in a recorded platform. At UCL, for example, you get one minute to read the instructions before each station.
2. The station. You answer questions, talk with an assessor, or speak with an actor in a role-play. UCL lists stations of 5 minutes with 2 to 3 questions in each. Manchester lists 8-minute stations.
3. Move on. When time is up, you move to the next station, even mid-sentence.
4. Repeat. Each station is marked on its own. Your score at one station does not carry into the next.

Timings change from year to year and school to school. Always check your own invitation.

Universities publish the qualities they look for. A few examples, from official pages checked on 31 October 2026:

• University of Queensland (Australia): kindness and compassion, integrity, adaptability and verbal communication skills.
• UCL (UK): areas such as academic curiosity, motivation and understanding of the career, problem solving, professional attitudes and values, teamwork and leadership, and communication. UCL also asks about NHS values, such as putting patients first and respect and dignity.
• University of Manchester (UK): communication, motivation for medicine, what you learned from caring experience, an informed lay view of current medical topics, and ethical issues. Manchester says the interview is not a test of academic knowledge.

Most station types connect to these qualities:

• Motivation and insight. Why medicine, and what you understand about the job.
• Ethics. A situation with no perfect answer, where they look at how you weigh it up.
• Communication and role-play. Speaking with an actor who is upset, confused or needs bad news.
• Teamwork. A time you worked with others, or a task you do with someone.
• Personal qualities. Resilience, setbacks, strengths and weaknesses.
• Prioritisation and data. Deciding what to do first, or reading a simple table.
• Health system and current issues. The NHS in the UK; Medicare, rural health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health in Australia.

Practice questions for each type are in our MMI question bank.

Every university writes its own marking criteria, and they are usually not published in full. We don't claim to know them. What universities do say in public is useful:

• Different assessors. UQ says a different assessor scores you at each station. Manchester says each station is marked by a separate interviewer.
• Set qualities. Assessors mark against the qualities the school publishes (see above).
• Part of a bigger picture. The interview score is usually combined with other results, such as your admissions test or grades. Check your school's selection rules.

There is no single "right answer" to learn. Clear thinking, honesty, care for others and good communication matter more than a perfect script.

Live MMI (in person or online). A real assessor is with you, in a room or on a video call. They may ask follow-up questions. UQ runs its MMIs by video call. Manchester lets you choose Zoom or on campus, and says both are assessed the same way.

Recorded MMI. There is no live person. A prompt appears on screen, you get a short time to prepare, and you record your answer within a time limit. Recorded formats feel strange at first, because nobody nods or smiles.

Panel interview. Two or more interviewers ask questions in one longer sitting. Some UK and Australian schools use panels instead of MMIs. Cambridge, for example, describes its interviews as academic conversations with two or three interviewers, not MMI stations.

Practice in the format you will face. If it is recorded, practice talking to a webcam. If it is live, practice with a person who can interrupt.

The skills are the same. The system around them is not.

Check the official page for your school every year, because formats and dates change. Our hubs list each school: Australia and UK. For key dates, see the interview dates tool.

Work through these in order. Each step builds on the one before.

1. Read your invitation and the official page. Write down the number of stations, the timing, the reading time and the format. Note any rules, such as whether you can take notes.
2. Write your "why medicine" notes. Not a script. Just two or three real moments, what happened, and what each one taught you about the job.
3. Read the code of conduct. Skim the headings of Good medical practice for your country. You don't need to quote it. You need to understand what doctors are expected to do.
4. Follow a few health issues. Pick three or four current topics for your country and read one reliable article on each. Be ready to give a fair, balanced view.
5. Practice one station type at a time. Do two or three questions of one type in a session. Say each answer out loud with a timer.
6. Record yourself. Watch it back with the checklist below. This is where most people find their real habits.
7. Get outside feedback. A friend can tell you if you were clear. Someone who knows MMIs can tell you what assessors are likely to notice.
8. Fix your top three issues. For example: rambling, not answering the question, or rushing the ending.
9. Do mixed, full-length practice runs. Move from station to station with no break, like the real day.
10. Prepare the logistics. For online interviews, test your camera, microphone and internet. Set up a quiet, well-lit room. Have your ID ready.

Use this if your interview is about a week away. Each day takes about one to two hours. Swap days around to fit school, work or uni.

• Day 1: Format and story. Confirm your format and timing. Write your "why medicine" notes. Answer "Why medicine?" out loud three times, with a timer.
• Day 2: Ethics. Read the headings of the code of conduct for your country. Do three ethics questions out loud. Record one and watch it back.
• Day 3: Communication and role-play. Ask a friend or family member to play a role. Do two role-plays. Ask them how they felt during the conversation.
• Day 4: Teamwork, personal qualities and prioritisation. Do two questions of each. Focus on real examples and what you learned.
• Day 5: Health system and current issues. Read about three topics for your country. Answer one question on each out loud.
• Day 6: Full practice run. Do a full timed circuit in your real format. Note your top three issues and practice just those.
• Day 7: Light practice and rest. Do two short questions only. Check your tech, your room and your ID. Sleep early.

If you only have a few days, keep Day 1, Day 6 and Day 7.

Use this if your interview is about a month away. Aim for four or five short sessions a week.

Week 1: Foundations

• Confirm your format and timing on the official page.
• Write your "why medicine" notes and two or three experiences.
• Skim the code of conduct for your country.
• Do two short spoken questions each session, with a timer.

Week 2: One station type at a time

• Spend one session each on ethics, role-play, teamwork, personal qualities and the health system.
• Record at least one answer per session and use the checklist below.
• Start a short list of the three habits you most want to fix.

Week 3: Mixed practice and feedback

• Mix station types in each session, like the real day.
• Get feedback from someone who understands MMIs at least once this week.
• Practice the format you will face: webcam for recorded, a live person for live.

Week 4: Full runs and rest

• Do one or two full timed practice runs.
• Work only on your top three issues.
• In the last two days, keep practice light and sort out your logistics.

If you want feedback from someone who has been through it, a mock MMI in your university's format comes with a written report.

Thinking an answer is very different from saying it. Most of the work is done out loud.

• Use a timer every time. Learn how long one minute, five minutes and eight minutes really feel. Our MMI timer is free.
• Use your reading time well. Read the prompt twice. Work out what you are actually being asked to do before you start.
• Start with a clear first sentence. Answer the question near the start, then explain.
• Speak to a person, not a wall. For live interviews, practice with someone who can ask follow-ups. For recorded ones, look at the camera, not your own face.
• Pause instead of filling. A short pause sounds calm. "Um" and "like" fill the gap but add nothing.
• Don't memorise answers. Know your experiences well, then let the words come fresh. UCL advises against memorising lots of information, because thinking on your feet is part of the interview.
• Mix it up. Use the question generator so you can't plan the next question in advance.

If you'd like a coach to listen and give you honest notes after each session, see how one-on-one coaching works.

Ethics and role-play stations worry most applicants. You don't need legal knowledge. You need to show that you can think fairly, put the person at the centre, and talk kindly and clearly.

Read the code for your country. These are public documents written for doctors. They show the standards that medical schools train you towards.

• Australia: the Medical Board of Australia's Good medical practice: a code of conduct for doctors in Australia. It describes good practice as patient-centred. It covers protecting patient privacy and confidentiality (unless the law requires or allows information to be shared), giving patients information they can understand before asking for consent, being open and honest with patients when things go wrong, and not accepting gifts of more than trivial value.
• UK: the General Medical Council's Good medical practice (2024). It is organised into four equally important areas: knowledge, skills and development; patients, partnership and communication; colleagues, culture and safety; and trust and professionalism. The GMC also publishes guidance for medical students.

What tends to help in ethics stations:

• Take a moment to understand the situation and who is affected.
• Think about the safety and wellbeing of the people involved first.
• Look at more than one option before you decide.
• Talk to the person involved before you escalate, where it is safe to do so.
• Be honest, and know when to ask a senior person for help.

What tends to help in communication stations:

• Introduce yourself and check what the person already knows.
• Listen to what they say and how they feel, then respond to it.
• Use plain words. Check they have understood.
• Offer a next step, and don't promise things you can't deliver.

This section is general information for applicants, not professional or legal advice. For practice ethics questions, see the ethics section of our question bank. For role-plays, see communication and role-play questions.

These are original m.i ready practice stations, written for this page. They are fictional and are not real or leaked interview questions. Try each one out loud with a timer before you read the notes.

For more stations like these, see the MMI question bank.

Record an answer, then watch it back with these questions. Pick your top three to work on.

• Did I answer the actual question in my first sentence or two?
• Did I use my reading time to plan, or did I start talking straight away?
• Did I finish within the time, without rushing the end?
• Did I give a real example, with what I learned from it?
• In ethics stations, did I look at more than one option and more than one person's view?
• In role-plays, did I listen and respond to what the person said and felt?
• Did I use plain words, with no jargon?
• Did I sound like myself, or like I was reciting?
• Was my voice clear, at a steady pace, with pauses instead of fillers?
• For online interviews: could the assessor see my face clearly and hear me well?

Almost everyone has one station that goes badly. It matters less than it feels.

• Each station is marked separately. The next assessor has not seen what just happened.
• Use the gap to reset. Take one slow breath and let it go before you read the next prompt.
• If you blank mid-station, say so calmly. "Let me take a moment to think" is fine. Then go back to the question.
• Don't relive it on the day. Make a note afterwards, if you like, and look at it once the interview is over.

UCL makes the same point on its interview page: put each station behind you and move on.