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Preparing for an MMI interview (Multiple Mini Interview) is the next major hurdle after GAMSAT ® / UCAT and GPA for most Australian medical schools. An MMI is a circuit of short, independently marked stations — typically about 6–10 stations of roughly 5–10 minutes each — testing communication, ethics, motivation, and situational judgement rather than one long panel conversation.
This guide to MMIs covers MMI format, common MMI station types, MMI interview questions you should practise, and how to prepare for a medical school interview in Australia. Exact station counts and timing vary by university — always confirm the current admissions guide. GEMSAS applicants receive one interview at one participating school; that standardised score can still be used by lower-preference schools. For how interviews fit graduate-entry ranking, see graduate entry medicine requirements and the Australian medical schools directory.
Feeling overwhelmed with all the information available and not sure how to prepare for your medical school interviews? Our expert tutors, Kayley and Aleesha, have summarised the contents of this page in this Guide to Medicine MMIs: Multiple Mini-Interviews video guide.
The MMI interview, or Multiple Mini Interview, is the dominant medical school interview format in Australia. McMaster University developed the MMI in the early 2000s so that several short, independent assessments would give a fairer picture of communication and professionalism than one long panel conversation. Eva and colleagues later described that “admissions OSCE” design in Medical Education. Most medical schools in Australia now use some version of this circuit.
Exact MMI format details vary by university. For graduate-entry applicants, interview offers are generally released in early September, with medicine interviews in late September and early October. The interview is not a formality: for most schools it contributes about 33–50% of the final combined score used for place offers. Confirm dates and weighting in the current GEMSAS or university guide.
The name Multiple Mini Interview describes the process. On interview day you rotate through a circuit of short stations. Each station has a different prompt or scenario, usually in a different room (or a different virtual room if the MMI is online). After 5–10 minutes you move on. A typical Australian MMI runs about 6–10 stations, with 1–2 minutes of reading time before you enter. Some schools run fewer, longer stations; others run more, shorter ones. Always check the invitation and the current admissions guide.
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| MMI feature MMI feature |
What to expect What to expect |
|---|---|
| Stations Stations |
About 6–10 independent stations in a circuit About 6–10 independent stations in a circuit |
| Time per station Time per station |
About 5–10 minutes, plus 1–2 minutes of reading time About 5–10 minutes, plus 1–2 minutes of reading time |
| What is assessed What is assessed |
Communication, ethics, motivation, teamwork, cultural safety, situational judgement — not science recall Communication, ethics, motivation, teamwork, cultural safety, situational judgement — not science recall |
| Marking Marking |
Each interviewer scores only their station; scores are combined for ranking Each interviewer scores only their station; scores are combined for ranking |
| GEMSAS interviews GEMSAS interviews |
One interview at one school; standardised score may be used by lower preferences One interview at one school; standardised score may be used by lower preferences |
The walkthrough below is a typical in-person circuit. Online MMIs keep the same independent-station logic with a different delivery method.
Use reading time as a plan, not a panic. In 60–90 seconds: name the issue, list two or three stakeholders, pick an opening sentence, and leave a hook for follow-ups. When the bell ends the station, stop mid-sentence if you must, walk to the next door, and drop the previous station — that reset is part of MMI interview technique.
When you receive your medicine interview offer, you will be given a date and time to present to the university for your interview - Note that you are generally expected to travel if your interviewing university is in a different city or state.
Say there are 8 ‘stations’ in this medical school’s med interview - there will therefore be 7 other students presenting at the same time as you. Your group of 8 will be walked to a corridor lined with tutorial rooms with the numbers 1-8 labeled on each door. Each of you will be asked to stand in front of a different door - this is your starting station, even if it isn’t room 1. On each door is a short passage describing a scenario or theme that is awaiting you inside the room. There will be an invigilator present in the corridor who rings a timer, indicating that you have a set amount of reading time (generally 1-2 minutes) to open and read your door’s station description. The timer will then go off again, and you will be able to enter the room and greet your interviewer.
As an example, this university might give you 8 minutes per station, during which you respond to the interviewer’s questions. It is important to note that the interviewer will usually have follow-up questions for you. They can often add information to the original scenario or simply provide a new perspective that is designed to allow you to display a development of your reasoning or communication skills.
When the timer goes off at the end of this time, you must finish your sentence and leave the room, moving on to stand in front of the next door as all your colleagues also rotate onto their next stations. This process will repeat itself until you have completed all of the stations, after which the MMI medical interview process will conclude. Your final interview mark will be a combination of your marks from each interviewer at each station.
One of our tutors further describes her personal experience with the MMI interviews in the blog article My MMI Experience, so don’t forget to check that out!
When calculating your final combined score, universities generally combine university GPA, GAMSAT ® scores (or UCAT for undergraduate pathways), and the interview score. GPA and the GAMSAT ® reflect academic and reasoning skills. The medicine interview assesses a different set: verbal communication, empathy, ethical reasoning, teamwork, and situational awareness. GEMSAS states that interviews assess qualities associated with success in medical school and later practice, and that academic performance is not discussed at interview.
The purpose of the MMI format itself can be tied to the advantages of having numerous short independent stations. The most obvious advantage of course is that it allows Australian medical schools to assess a range of different skills and attributes in a short format. It also means that the opinions or biases of one interviewer cannot be overweighted and helps avoid providing an advantage or disadvantage to individual students. Furthermore, this means that the interviewee has the chance to ‘reset’ between each station - if you feel like you didn’t do too well in one station, it will have no bearing on your performance in the next station with a new interviewer. Each interviewer will be meeting each student for the first time and will not have any previous biases or opinions on their performance in a different domain or question type. Similarly, another advantage for the interviewee is that you will have a minute or two to read about the scenario or theme before entering the station, giving you time to prepare a response before entering the room.
Unfortunately there’s no straightforward way to determine exactly how MMIs are graded without access to the marking criteria used by medical schools. This is further complicated by the fact that any marking criteria will likely vary across different medical schools, with some universities placing greater emphasis on specific characteristics such as an interest in rural health, population health, research etc. Nevertheless, we can make some generalisations about the grading schemes that universities may likely use. Scores may be allocated across broad categories such as:
As mentioned above, one advantage of the MMI structure is that each interviewer will be meeting each student for the first time and will not have any previous biases or opinions on their performance in a different domain or question type. As such, the marking is designed to be fairer across all students. Medical schools will typically calculate an overall interview score for your performance and use this in the final ranking process for medical school place offers.
While we don’t know for sure how MMIs are graded, we know there are common MMI mistakes to avoid. Be sure to check out our 5 MMI Mistakes to Avoid for more information.
The short answer is that it varies. Different medical schools use slightly different formats for the MMI - Some may run fewer stations, with more time allocated to each station, others may run a greater number of stations with less time allocated. In general you can expect to have 1-2 minutes of reading time before each station to review the prompt/scenario, and then 5-10 minutes for the station itself. Note that interviewers will often have follow-up questions or additional information to provide during the station itself - As such, make sure you don’t spend the whole time talking about the initial prompt as you will likely lose marks for further questions. A breakdown of the timings for different universities can be found further below in this guide.
Like any other step in the process of applying for medical school, the MMI is by no means easy. It is inherently designed to allow medical schools to assess and select between high-performing students for a small number of places, and is therefore very competitive. Students often find the MMI the most stressful aspect of the application process, particularly given the fact that it often contributes the largest percentage to your overall ranking for medical school places. The structure of the MMI means that you need to perform well across a broad range of question types and work to build rapport with each individual assessor. Furthermore, you need to be able to switch quickly between these different styles of questions as you rotate through, and ensure that a poor performance on one station does not impact the others.
In short, the MMI is challenging for most, if not all students. Nevertheless, it is something that can be conquered with the appropriate preparation and strategy. GradReady offers InterviewReady courses run by current medical students and doctors who have the expertise and experience to know what characteristics medical schools are looking for and can help you develop your skills and prepare for what is likely the most important interview of your medical journey so far. Keep reading and check out the sections below for tips and advice on how best to prepare.
One advantage of the MMI format is that it lets medical schools test several attributes in one sitting. The MMI station types below are the ones that show up most often in Australian MMI interview questions. Not every school uses every type — research the invitation you received.
It is important to remember that each hurdle of the Australian medical school application process is a new way to prove that you have the skills necessary to be a good future doctor. As mentioned above, it is crucial to think of the medicine MMI interview process as a way to demonstrate your skills in verbal and non-verbal communication, empathy and situational awareness. You will not be tested on knowledge-heavy content (no human biology, data extraction, spot diagnoses, etc.).
This is the classic MMI station, and you’ve probably already been asked it 100s of times by friends and family in the lead up to the medical application process. The question is - can you articulate it authentically and coherently in just a few minutes? The hardest part about this question is not sounding too cliche or rehearsed. Although it is perfectly reasonable to want to do medicine to help others, this is a response interviewers will have heard time and time again, repeated ad nauseam - Try to think of a way to express this that sounds thoughtful and unique to your personal experiences. Follow up questions to expect from a station like this might centre around the same theme, such as “What would you do if you were not able to get into medicine?” or “How do you plan on maintaining a good work-life balance as a doctor?”.
These are the typical questions you might expect at a general job interview. Examples might include, “Provide an example of a time where you faced a challenge and how you overcame it”, “When was a time you displayed good leadership?”, or “What is your greatest weakness?”. These questions assess where your values lie, how you respond to given situations and how well you reflect on your life experiences. It can be extremely difficult to remember examples of such moments you’ve faced on the spot, so as part of your preparation, make yourself a bank of common skills and examples from your life that you can draw on. Furthermore it is important to make sure that you can admit to weaknesses or mistakes without being too proud or scared - the crux of the question lies in how you responded to the situation and what you learnt from it. These types of questions are best answered with the STAR technique — Situation, Task, Action, and Result (including what you learned). More information can be found below, where we look into how to best structure MMI responses.
Role-play is one of the MMI station types students under-prepare for. You may be asked to break difficult news, calm an upset relative, speak with a classmate who is not contributing, or take a history from an actor. Treat it as a real conversation: introduce yourself, check the other person’s name and concern, name the emotion you are seeing, and listen before you problem-solve. Examiners are scoring empathy, clarity, and whether you stay inside a student’s or junior colleague’s scope — not whether you “win” the scene.
Practise with a partner who will stay in character and interrupt you. After a minute, pause and ask what they heard. If your school’s invitation does not mention role-play, still prepare a short empathy opening; the same skills appear in ethical and teamwork stations.
These communication stations ask you to explain a scientific word or concept in lay terms — sometimes called de-tech stations. You will usually be given a list of 5 or 6 scientific words (from biology, chemistry or physics so it does not matter where your strengths lie), and then asked to choose 2 of the words to explain. Examples might include cell, nucleus, metabolism, force, radiation, electricity, and molecule. The Multiple Mini Interview is testing skills you will need as a future doctor: explaining a difficult topic in plain language is the same skill as explaining a diagnosis or treatment plan to a patient. Signpost, avoid jargon, and check understanding before you close.
In this station, the interviewer will provide the interviewee with instructions and have them complete a task, such as origami folding, drawing an abstract picture or arranging blocks. For example, you may walk into the room with the interviewer standing behind a large whiteboard, while you are handed an abstract line drawing and told to instruct the interviewer on how to replicate the design using only words. The goal of this MMI station is not to solve the task properly (you do NOT have to finish it in the given time), but to demonstrate skills in communication and teamwork. Make sure you use clear instructions and speak at a steady pace, and feel free to check in with the interviewer to see how they are going. Usually, your interviewer will stop you after a few minutes and ask you follow up questions such as, “How do you think you went and would you do anything differently next time?”. It may seem obvious, but never blame your interviewer for the poor result; there will always be something you can work on.
The MMI ethical scenario is another frequently dreaded station. The prompt on the door will often outline a difficult situation with no single right answer. Examples might include a doctor providing placebo drugs, a family who does not want to vaccinate, or a decision about who receives an organ. You are not sitting a law exam. Show that you can name the conflict, acknowledge each party, stay non-judgemental, and still make a reasoned decision. The section on how to structure an MMI response walks through that sequence, and there is a worked ethical practice question later on this page.
This station aims to test your understanding of current important healthcare issues in Australia. Examples may include Closing the Gap and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, rural and remote workforce shortages, vaccine hesitancy, Medicare and bulk-billing pressures, healthcare privatisation, the ageing population, the obesity epidemic, or antibiotic overuse. You are not expected to be an expert or solve the problem. You are expected to show enough insight for a succinct, non-judgemental response. Read Good medical practice from the Medical Board of Australia so your language matches Australian professional expectations, not a generic overseas ethics list. For Indigenous health stations, start from the official Closing the Gap agreement rather than a memorised slogan. If you’re not sure what else to read, our guide on What to Read for the Humanities Section of the GAMSAT® Exam might come in handy.
So now that you have a thorough understanding of the MMI format, let’s get down to the nuts and bolts of how to prepare. It can be useful to structure your preparation along the following lines:
The Multiple Mini Interviews are designed to allow interviewees to showcase their communication skills and emotional intelligence. Think to yourself: “what soft skills would I want my doctor to have?” The interviewers are looking for candidates who are well-articulated, confident (but not overly so!), balanced, considerate, and motivated. It may sound like a lot to think about at once, but the best candidates won’t need to think about each element as they speak. There is no cut-and-dry ‘right’ answer to any of the MMI stations. Rather, the goal is to speak articulately, logically and empathetically, and to have this underpin your response to any question type or scenario.
As such, the best way to prepare is by practising with the question formats above, for example by using a bank of practice MMI questions available as part of our MMI interview prep course, InterviewReady. Depending on your baseline confidence and communication skills, you can slowly introduce time pressures and seek feedback from your friends and family as they help you prepare. Remember to give yourself 1-2 minutes to read the prompt and gather your thoughts before discussing the scenario.
How long to prepare for an MMI depends on how comfortable you already are speaking under time pressure. A common window is four to eight weeks of regular spoken practice once interview offers are realistic — longer if communication is a weak point, shorter if you have already been practising out loud. Start earlier than the invitation if you can: GEMSAS interview windows are tight, and you may only have a few weeks after the email arrives.
When it comes to planning and focusing your MMI prep, it can be useful to consider the two approaches below:
The first point is one that was touched upon in the breakdown of question types below - Certain stations will require you to draw on background knowledge or previous examples in your personal life. For example, stations that focus on Healthcare Knowledge will require you to have an up-to-date understanding of the main healthcare issues in Australia. You will need to have enough background knowledge to demonstrate a sufficient level of insight to form a succinct and logical response respecting the nuances of the issues. Similarly, for the Character/Behavioural Traits stations, you will be asked to discuss past examples where you displayed certain traits or attributes. As it is nigh impossible to think up such examples on the spot, it is highly useful to build an examples bank that you can draw upon to demonstrate specific skills or experiences.
Furthermore, as can be said with almost any discipline or skill, practice is critical to success. However, the way in which you practise itself can be something you optimise and focus. Make sure that you start practising early to help build up confidence and familiarise yourself with the pressure of responding in a limited amount of time. Furthermore, it’s often recommended that you practise with a wide variety of people, including people who you may not be particularly close with. Doing so allows you to expose yourself to a broad variety of feedback and perspectives - It is useful to gain different opinions on ethical stations, or hear the different ways in which a scientific concept could be explained in lay terms to help broaden your knowledge and approaches to the MMI stations. Before practising, make sure you are aware of the do’s and don’ts of MMI interviews to get the most out of your prep time.
There is no official ACER or GEMSAS study period for MMI prep. Four to eight weeks of spoken practice is a realistic window for most applicants. Use the invitation’s station count and timing as your mock template. If you also need to sit Casper for a school such as Notre Dame, treat that online situational judgement test as a separate task — it is not the Multiple Mini Interview.
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| Week Week |
MMI preparation focus MMI preparation focus |
|---|---|
| 1–2 1–2 |
Build a skills bank (motivation, leadership, teamwork, conflict, failure). Read Australian health context: Closing the Gap, rural workforce, Medicare. Confirm your school’s MMI format. Build a skills bank (motivation, leadership, teamwork, conflict, failure). Read Australian health context: Closing the Gap, rural workforce, Medicare. Confirm your school’s MMI format. |
| 3–4 3–4 |
Practise out loud across station types. Time 5–8 minute answers. Record one session. Add a partner who will interrupt and stay in character for role-play. Practise out loud across station types. Time 5–8 minute answers. Record one session. Add a partner who will interrupt and stay in character for role-play. |
| 5–6 5–6 |
Run timed circuits that match the invitation. Practise the corridor reset. Review one weakness per session instead of collecting more questions. Run timed circuits that match the invitation. Practise the corridor reset. Review one weakness per session instead of collecting more questions. |
| Final week Final week |
One or two full mocks, then taper. Check travel or login details, outfit, and ID. Sleep. Do not script new answers the night before. One or two full mocks, then taper. Check travel or login details, outfit, and ID. Sleep. Do not script new answers the night before. |
Summary: knowledge without spoken practice does not transfer to an MMI station. A short, repeated circuit with feedback beats a large unread question bank.
What makes a good MMI answer? It is important to realise that there is no overall ‘right’ structure for an MMI response. Each interviewer will have a completely different demeanour (don’t be shocked if some are completely stone-faced whereas others are welcoming and friendly) and each station will be different in nature, so there really is no single ‘perfect’ overall response structure. Generally speaking, a great response will indicate that the student has correctly read and considered the prompt or description on the door, and has entered the room with some thoughtful and logical points.
However, when it comes to certain MMI question types, there are a few general tips or strategies you can use to structure your response. For example, as mentioned above, the character and behavioural stations are best answered using the STAR technique. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. Using this structure, you will be able to create a comprehensive answer, using examples and reflection to highlight that you possess the necessary skills to excel in medicine. So what does this response actually involve?
Situation: Think of an example of an event or situation in your life that exemplifies the trait they are looking for (this is where it is important that you have prepared a skills bank to be able to draw on in the moment).
Task: Explain the task or story that you experienced, especially your roles or responsibilities within the event.
Action: Describe the actions you took to complete the task or overcome the challenge.
Result: Conclude with the overall result of your actions, and (most importantly) your accomplishments, what you learned, and how you would act next time.
The bulk of this section will now focus on the Ethical or Health-based scenarios, where there are some important and trusted strategies for preparing your response. As mentioned above, the Ethical station often presents you with a difficult scenario with multiple points of view, and asks you to make an overall judgement. There are a few key points you need to remember.
Firstly, there is no absolute right or wrong answer and you will not be penalised for your opinion/perspective as long as you have justified it and are non-judgemental and considerate.
Secondly, you are not expected to know everything about medical ethics or medicolegal issues - if you voice your concerns and acknowledge that this is a tricky issue, you will satisfy your interviewer.
Now for the actual Multiple Mini Interviews response structure.
Brainstorm: You will have some time in front of the room with the scenario to read through, so make sure you do! This is the perfect time to consider what the primary issue is and the key points that make this such an ethically difficult scenario.
Identify the issue: Once you are seated with your interviewer, it is pertinent to voice these thoughts clearly and directly - what are the opposing conflicts in the scenario, what is the inner conflict you are feeling?
Acknowledge all sides: In order to prove that you’ve recognised that this is not a black-and-white scenario, you need to make it clear that you have empathy and understanding for all people/points involved. Don’t pick a clear side at this stage, because this negates all the nuances and may disrespect the voice or dilemma of the other sides.
Voice your thoughts: As you explain your reasoning, do not hesitate to add in extra information or comments that show your underlying empathy and consideration. For example, “At this stage, I would want to make sure that I understood why he made this decision. I would ask this in a non-judgemental way and explain that it is important that I understand his thought process.” Another example would be, “I would try to educate the family on why this is important without coming across as forceful or abrasive, and confirm that they have understood everything that I have said so that I know they are making an educated decision.”
Make a decision: It is important that whilst acknowledging all sides, you do clearly state your overall judgment and justify your reasoning. As above, your final decision should not be one of the black or white answers, but it should fall in the middle gray zone. If you remain ambivalent and undecided, you will not be showing the confidence and decision-making capacity that this station is asking of you.
Think quick: Follow up questions to this station often involve providing a new piece of information to the scenario or asking how you would respond if a certain thing happened next. Think quick on your feet and remain critical, making sure to clearly explain how this new information fits in with your previously explained reasoning. Do not be afraid to change your overall decision based on this new information.
Our tutors have also released a podcast about How to Prepare for Medical School Interviews, so make sure you have a listen!
To help you even further, our interview tutors have put together a list of useful MMI tips:
Always consider all sides of the story. In order to prove that you’ve recognised that a given scenario is not black-and-white, you need to make it clear that you have empathy and understanding for all people/points involved. If you feel like this doesn’t come naturally to you, try to read interesting sociocultural think pieces and engage with people who are from a different background to you and who may offer different perspectives.
Make a skills bank. It can be really hard to remember examples of leadership or resilience or challenges you’ve faced on the spot, so make yourself a bank of common skills and examples from your life that you can draw on.
Read up. It is important that you know what is happening in current affairs, and specifically that you are well-read on pertinent current issues in healthcare. You will need this to answer any Health Knowledge Stations, but you may also be able to integrate this into other stations if you are confident with your knowledge.
Brainstorm. Use your reading time to truly understand the question and scenario, and start thinking about ideas you wish to mention or caveats you need addressed. Also make sure you understand what you are walking into - will it just be you and an interviewer, who are you in the scenario (are you meant to be speaking as you or a doctor or a friend etc,), are you meant to be the one drawing or instructing the drawing?
Be personal. The strongest candidates are those who can integrate storytelling, especially as it relates to their own life experiences, into their MMI answers. You shouldn’t force this if it isn’t natural or if you don’t have a relevant life experience for that particular scenario. However, if there is an opportunity to demonstrate how your personal experiences relate to answering the question, do it!
You don’t need to know everything. Medical schools are not expecting you to know about diseases, treatment options or medicolegal policies. Voice your thought processes and concerns, and use this to communicate your overall feelings about the scenario.
Try to relax and act naturally. This seems difficult on such a stressful day, but remember that leaving time to pause and think is natural and expected. Rushing into your MMI response may just lead to you saying the first thing that comes to mind rather than a thoughtful consideration.
Be familiar with the campus and the schedule of the day. Make sure you know where you are going and how long it will take you to get there. On top of this, make a plan for how you will attack the day - how will you calm yourself, when will you eat, do you need to bring a change of clothes, etc.
Dress as a professional who will walk a circuit. Wear conservative interview clothes and shoes you can stand and walk in for an hour or more. Follow any dress note in the invitation. For an online MMI interview, the same standard applies from the waist up: a plain background, camera at eye level, and no unread notifications on screen.
Don’t forget to check out our blog article where tutors have shared their own MMI experiences. Reading about someone else’s MMI experience might be helpful to help you prepare for the big day!
Do NOT pre-prepare your answers. This can be very tempting, but if you come in with a robotic answer, you are telling the marker that you can’t think on your feet and are removing the conversational human aspect of the MMI. While it is obviously important to prepare for the Multiple Mini Interviews, make sure you do not script anything and make sure you answer the question they are asking, not the one you hoped/prepared for.
Be personal, but not too personal. When asked to call on an example of a character trait or experience in your life, try to keep the story as simple as possible to avoid confusing the interviewer. Your story should be a spotlight on a moment in your life, with the important part being your reflections and learnings rather than a detailed account of the event in question.
Don’t restate the question or ask if you correctly understood the scenario. This just proves that you didn’t read the prompt thoroughly, and your interviewer will almost certainly just respond with a blank stare or small head nod as they cannot actually give away more information that would advantage you. Instead, try to synthesise the question or scenario in a quick sentence whilst integrating your own insights as well to prove you understood the assignment and already have a direction.
Don’t drag on. Students often think they have to fill up the whole time and keep repeating themselves or even go around in circles and contradict themselves. Remember that interviewers will almost always have follow up questions for you, and these questions may give you a new direction or point that you hadn’t yet considered. Even if you run out of questions, you can choose to either go back and re-address a previous answer, or you can choose to end your questioning early so as to not fumble around if you are confident.
Do not get caught up in the details. As stated before, you are not expected to know everything about the disease/policy/issue, so do not panic if you do not know all the answers. On top of that, scenarios might even have too much information in them, where they are testing you to be able to pick out the primary issue and important consideration points.
Read our blog article 5 MMI Mistakes to Avoid for more information about the common pitfalls that you should be aware of.
Many Australian medical schools now run an online MMI interview — live video stations, a recorded “solo” response with no interviewer on screen, or a mix. Others have returned to an in-person circuit. GEMSAS says format (online and/or in person) is set by each school and published in the invitation and the Medical Schools Admissions Guide. Treat the official instructions as the source of truth, not last year’s forum thread.
Prepare the technology early: install the required platform, test microphone and camera, and sit in a quiet, well-lit room with a stable connection. Have a backup device and a plan if the call drops. It can feel awkward talking to a screen, but a real person is still assessing you. Facial expression, camera-level eye contact, and body language still count. Record yourself answering MMI practice questions so you can hear pacing and filler words before the day.
Our tutors have also released a podcast about MMIs and Online Interview Best Practices, so make sure you have a listen!
Depending on your personal strengths and weaknesses, everyone will find different stations to be the hardest/easiest. It is crucial that you spend time practising each MMI question type and exploring what you personally struggle with - these are the stations you need to then focus the bulk of your practice on as you get closer to your med interview date.
Anecdotally, students have generally struggled most with the ethical and health knowledge stations. Why? The ethical station requires you to be able to concurrently think logically and empathetically, and to consider all sides of the story (even if you have a strong belief pushing you one way). As a result, students often struggle with the way they need to word and structure their responses, so make sure you read the section above on structuring ethical stations. When it comes to the health knowledge station, students are often concerned that they will not know enough about the health issue at hand. It is important to remember that they do not expect you to know everything, but they do expect you to be generally informed and interested about major public health issues.
There are many different topics that can show up in Australian medical school admission Multiple Mini Interviews. Overall, the MMIs are designed so that universities can gauge whether or not a candidate has the qualities and characteristics that the university expects of a safe and competent medical student. They do this via a variety of different types of stations.
Here are a couple of example questions and some model answers, as well as a breakdown of how you can practice answering these types of questions effectively.
Question:
You are working on a group project which needs to be presented in a couple of weeks. One of the students has missed several group meetings. There has not been much communication within the group. What would you do?
Model answer
There are several things to consider in this situation. On one hand, it’s important to gain an appreciation of why this student may be absent and not participating.
It’s possible that they have legitimate reasons such as significant personal stressors or grievances, in which case I would reach out to the student and see if I could be of support as a fellow student. The severity of their situation may be beyond my capacity as a colleague, in which case I would encourage them to reach out to the course convenor for support if the situation is affecting them significantly.
It is also possible that they are simply being lazy. In this circumstance, this is not an appropriate behaviour because it negatively impacts the academic performance of all parties involved by creating more work for the remaining members of the group. In such a circumstance, it would be appropriate to arrange a discussion with the involved student first in a kind and empathetic manner to try and reach a resolution. If this cannot be achieved, the situation may need to be escalated to the relevant tutor or course convenor for them to intervene. It is important that the student receives the support and assistance they need, and it is also important to ensure a fair distribution of work for the group and the group’s academic performance.
It is important to consider how the rest of the group is affected, myself included. This circumstance may place the group in a stressful situation where members may be required to take on more work than initially allocated. Discussing this with the group and delegating individual tasks based on people’s skills and interests would ensure the task is completed and that the remaining members feel looked after and heard. This may also involve brainstorming with tutors on ways of allocating the tasks given the close deadline, and even requesting academic extensions based on the unfortunate circumstance.
Rationale:
The scenario above is assessing how you would navigate a teamwork scenario and how you consider the student in question as well as the other group members, and even yourself. It’s important to be aware that there are several parties involved and affected, so your answer should discuss all of these.
Before acting, it is always a good idea to try and gain as much information about the situation that you can, in order to make an educated decision. This demonstrates a well-reasoned thought process and not jumping to a conclusion too quickly. A helpful thought experiment when practising is to try and identify ‘both sides of the coin’ in regards to the motives of particular behaviour. In this scenario, that would be the legitimate/illegitimate motive for the student not participating.
Not all behaviours have justifiable motives, and the assessors want to see where you stand in terms of ethical behaviour and decision-making. In this case, a student not contributing due to laziness is not appropriate. Assessors want to see how you navigate a scenario like this in a way that is well-reasoned and considers the goals of the parties involved.
These sorts of stations also assess what you would do about a given problem, and what you may also consider if that doesn’t work. In some circumstances, it may be appropriate to reach out to a student and personally try to help, but in others that may not be as appropriate, whether it be due to the scope of the issue, or your own personal responsibilities elsewhere. A common pitfall in stations like this is to fall into the trap of thinking that we as individuals can fix everything. In many of these situations, the assessors want to see you acknowledge that sometimes, things are beyond your control, and you need to ask for help or ‘refer on’.
Sometimes, you have to make do with what you’ve got. Teamwork stations often have an element of ‘resource shortage’ in some capacity to further assess how you problem-solve, whether it be task delegation, group discussion, requesting assistance, etc. Being able to consider all of these things shows the assessors that you’ve really thought about the scenario both from a microscopic view, as well as a macroscopic view.
Question:
You are a medical student on your rural placement at one of the satellite hospitals. The hospital is particularly busy as one of the generalists is away ill, and there are many patients to see. What are some of the challenges associated with delivery of healthcare in a rural setting? How would you try to ensure that all patients are seen in a timely manner?
Model Answer:
Rural healthcare has many challenges, some of which include:
It is highly likely that despite the team’s best efforts to ensure that patients are seen in a timely manner, there will likely be delays due to a shortage of staff and resources. To minimise this, it may be appropriate to propose to the available staff (generalists, nurses, administration staff) to emphasise triaging patients so that the higher acuity ones are seen first. This may also involve me as the medical student acting within my scope to take histories and perform examinations to ease the workload for the generalists and nursing staff. This will allow them to manage the more important tasks of patient management.
Those that are triaged as being high priority must be seen as soon as possible based on severity of presentation. Given the small size of the hospital, there may be patients who are too complex to manage given the available resources. In such a case, it would be important to arrange a transfer to a larger hospital where they can receive the care they need. This may be via ambulance, retrieval services or personal transport.
Communicating with the lower priority patients about the need to prioritise due to less available staff will be important in ensuring clear communication throughout the process, and establishing expectations as best as possible. It is foreseeable that having to wait longer can be a frustration for some patients, so communicating clearly and empathetically is of high importance. It may also be possible to refer some low acuity patients to be seen in a GP setting if they don’t need to be seen in an emergency setting.
Rationale:
The scenario above is assessing how you would navigate a resource-allocation station in the context of rural healthcare. Resource allocation stations are tricky because they’re often designed so that there isn’t a perfect outcome. In this case, it becomes a matter of ‘how can we achieve the best outcome for the majority of patients?’
In the first part of the question, it’s important to be aware of the multi-faceted nature of rural healthcare, and the associated challenges. These challenges often add complexity that may not exist in metropolitan areas.
Acknowledging that a perfect outcome may not be possible is important, and so is emphasising that despite this, the team will try its best to achieve the best outcome. It then becomes a matter of reasoning through how this will happen.
With limited resources (e.g staff), it’s important to be particular about how those resources are allocated. How do you decide which patients get what resources? In a scenario like this, triaging is a helpful strategy.
It’s also important to acknowledge that there may be inherent limitations to the care that can be provided based on the situation. For example, a medical student in a satellite hospital is not equipped to manage complex patients in the same way that a larger hospital is. This is a useful time to acknowledge the limitations in your scope of practice, both as a medical student but also as a healthcare centre.
It’s very important to be empathetic in a situation like this. Those of us who have had to wait in an emergency department before can appreciate that it is a long, frustrating wait, and it’s often difficult to appreciate why things are handled the way they are. Thus, it’s reasonable to expect other patients to feel the same. It’s important to acknowledge these patients and explain how you would go about addressing this as best you can. In this case, it comes down to emphasising good communication and potentially working together to problem solve.
The key takeaway for preparing for the MMIs when applying to postgraduate Australian Medical Schools is to be aware that the assessors are trying to find out ‘how’ you think, rather than ‘what’ you think. Therefore, it’s important to consider multiple different perspectives when formulating your answers.
A helpful way to break down complex questions is to address the affected parties/stakeholders in the situation. It may be initially helpful to write these down and list some of the pertinent features of each scenario. As you become more practiced, you will be able to think about these things as you go and will be able to make your answers fit within the time limits. Don’t be disheartened if you can’t talk about every single thing that’s going on - that’s the nature of these scenarios. Ensure you’re discussing the most important parts of the scenarios first, then move on to the niche things if you have time.
Question:
You are a junior doctor. A competent adult patient refuses a blood transfusion after a serious accident. Their family arrives and insists you give the transfusion anyway because “they are not thinking clearly.” What would you do?
Model answer
I would first make sure the patient is clinically stable enough for this conversation, then confirm capacity: can they understand the information, retain it, weigh it, and communicate a decision? If they have capacity, their refusal stands even if I disagree and even if the family is distressed. I would explain the risks of refusing in plain language, check that they have understood, and document the discussion. I would also listen to the family, acknowledge their fear, and explain that I cannot override a capacitated refusal. If capacity is uncertain — for example because of pain, medication, or shock — I would treat as an emergency in the patient’s best interests, seek senior and legal advice, and revisit consent as soon as the patient can participate. I would not start an argument about whose values are “right”; I would stay inside my scope and escalate.
Rationale:
This MMI ethical scenario is testing whether you can hold two truths at once: respect for autonomy and a duty to protect someone who may not currently have capacity. A strong answer names the conflict, checks facts before acting, stays non-judgemental with the family, and knows when to call a senior. Reciting four ethics pillars without applying them to this patient scores poorly. Practise the same shape on other prompts — vaccination refusal, a colleague cutting corners, or a scarce ICU bed — using the ethical response structure above.
Most Australian medical schools use an MMI or a closely related multi-station format. The list below is a starting point, not a substitute for the current admissions guide — station counts, online versus in-person delivery, and even whether an interview is used can change by intake.
If you apply through GEMSAS interviews, you receive one interview offer from a participating medical school. Only interviewed applicants are considered for course offers. Academic results are not discussed. Your interview score is standardised and may be used by lower-preference GEMSAS schools if you are not offered a place at the school where you interviewed. You are responsible for any travel or technology costs. Direct pathways (for example some University of Melbourne guaranteed, rural, or Indigenous routes) can add a second interview outside that single GEMSAS offer — check the guide if that applies to you.
GEMSAS participating schools for recent intakes include ANU, Deakin, Griffith, Macquarie, Melbourne, Notre Dame Fremantle, Notre Dame Sydney, Queensland, UWA, and Wollongong. Non-GEMSAS programs (Monash, Flinders, many undergraduate courses) run their own interviews and do not share that standardised score.
The University of Sydney standard MD pathway does not currently interview most applicants; offers are based on GAMSAT ® ranking, with an extra tool such as an interview or SJT reserved for tied ranks. Flinders uses a semi-structured panel rather than an MMI. Confirm both in the current university guide.
Schools that have recently used a Multiple Mini Interview or multi-station format include:
Some undergraduate programs use an assessment day or hybrid format rather than a classic MMI circuit. Confirm Bond and any new school in the current guide. For school-by-school weighting and interview ranking, use graduate entry medicine requirements rather than treating this list as a cutoff table.
Finally, just a quick note on some other interview formats. These are sometimes used by certain universities although they are not commonplace.
Group interviews are all about seeing how well you can work with others to oftentimes solve a problem. This involves multiple candidates being interviewed together. The group is commonly given a problem to solve or a group task to complete.
The ability to collaborate with others to address complex issues is a skill that is required by all doctors and doctors-to-be. Candidates should contribute to discussions but ensure that they do not dominate the conversation. After all, active listening and the ability to incorporate the ideas of others into a solution for a problem is integral to good interprofessional collaboration.
Flinders University currently uses a semi-structured panel interview rather than an MMI. The interview is conducted by a small panel using a common set of scenarios and questions, usually lasting around 45-50 minutes. Depending on the applicant's location, interviews may be held in person or online. The timing of responses tends to be less strict than rapid-fire MMI stations, allowing you to go into more depth.
Just like MMIs, it is important to plan your answers prior to starting your response. Structuring your response well will allow you to delve more deeply into issues that may be raised by the question posed by the examiners.
It can be daunting facing a panel of examiners, but remember they are all there to fairly assess the qualities that will make you a good medical student and future medical professional. Try to engage with all the examiners on the panel as best you can and make use of the opportunity to explore your answers more thoroughly than what a typical MMI format allows.
An MMI interview, or Multiple Mini Interview, is a circuit of short, independently marked stations used by most Australian medical schools. Each station tests communication, ethics, motivation, teamwork, or situational judgement rather than academic knowledge.
A typical MMI format is about 6 to 10 stations of roughly 5 to 10 minutes each, with 1 to 2 minutes of reading time before you enter. You rotate through a circuit. Each interviewer marks only their station, so a weak station does not follow you into the next room. Exact counts and timing vary by university.
Schools do not publish full MMI scoring rubrics. Assessors commonly score content, structure, insight, and communication. Station scores are combined into an overall interview mark used in ranking. For GEMSAS, that mark is standardised so lower-preference schools can use it.
Allow about 1 to 2 minutes of reading time and 5 to 10 minutes inside each station. Leave room for follow-up questions rather than talking through the whole station on the first prompt.
It is competitive because interview performance often carries a large share of the final ranking, and you must switch quickly between MMI station types. It is learnable: spoken practice, a skills bank, and a reset habit between stations matter more than memorised scripts.
Most Australian medical schools use an MMI or multi-station format. Some use a panel (for example Flinders). The University of Sydney standard MD pathway does not currently interview most applicants. See the university list above and confirm the current guide.
Build a bank of personal examples, stay current on Australian health issues, and practise out loud across station types. Time your answers, get feedback from people who will interrupt you, and research the specific format of the school that invited you. Structured mock circuits are available through InterviewReady.
No. GEMSAS applicants receive one interview offer from a participating medical school. Official GEMSAS interview guidance says only interviewed applicants are considered for course offers, and your standardised score may be used by lower-preference schools. Some direct University of Melbourne pathways can add a second interview.
Four to eight weeks of regular spoken practice is a realistic window for most applicants. Start earlier if you can, because GEMSAS interview windows are short after invitations are released. See the MMI preparation timeline above.
No. Casper is an online situational judgement test used by some schools as part of ranking for interview or offers. The MMI interview is a later circuit of stations. Prepare for each separately, and check graduate entry medicine requirements for which schools currently ask for Casper.
Wear conservative professional clothes and shoes you can walk and stand in for a full circuit. Follow any dress note in the invitation. For an online MMI interview, the same standard applies on camera: a plain background and eye-level framing.
Leave it behind. Each station is marked independently by an interviewer who has not seen your other rooms. That reset is one of the main advantages of the Multiple Mini Interview format. Do not apologise for the previous station when you enter the next one.
How Australian schools combine GPA, GAMSAT ®, and interview performance.
Which universities use MMI vs panel formats (verify each year’s guide).
Undergraduate vs graduate routes before you reach interview stage.
Score cutoffs and competitiveness for interview offers.
University-tailored mock MMI practice (course product).
Official one-interview rule, ranking for interview, and format notes.
The professional code Australian MMI ethics and communication stations are judged against.
Official National Agreement context for Indigenous health and cultural-safety stations.
Our tutors have also released a podcast about MMIs and online interview best practices: