Michigan Tech students interested in medicine, veterinary medicine and other health-related professions participated in the Health Professions Interview Workshop on Monday, April 9. The workshop was designed for students preparing for health-related graduate programs and admission interviews.
Thirteen pre-health students engaged in one-on-one personal interviews, Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) and a large, team-building earthquake simulation.
“I really enjoyed the medical school mock interviews. I think MMIs are so unique to medical school interviews that most students don’t have any exposure to that kind of interaction,” said Rachel Wall, biological sciences student.
MMI interviews are used by many medical and health professions programs as part of the admissions process. An MMI is comprised of short, structured interview stations used to assess non-cognitive qualities and how applicants handle themselves in a particular situation. Some MMI stations involve role-playing situations where the interviewee is required to play a particular role and take an ethical stance in decision-making.
Even the group activity portion is not something most people experience while being evaluated. I think those of us who participated in this will be much better prepared for our medical school interviews than our peers who haven’t had this type of exposure and practice.
The biology department has hosted similar events in the past, but on a much smaller scale. This year, the pre-health department teamed up with Career Services to host a larger workshop for students of all majors with an interest in health professions.
More than a dozen volunteer interviewers, facilitators, actors and evaluators participated in the event—including faculty, students and staff from Pre-health, Biological Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology, and Career Services. Central Michigan University’s Doctor of Physical Therapy Program also provided volunteers for the workshop.
The application and interview process for Health Professions Programs can be daunting, but this workshop, “is a part of the ongoing effort to grow and improve pre-health at Michigan Tech,” according to pre-health coordinator Nicole Seigneurie who spearheaded the workshop.
Elizabeth Scaife, biological sciences major, notes, “the Health Professions Interview Workshop was a wonderful experience full of challenging ethical questions, and a fun group activity that helped me find my strengths and weaknesses for future interviews for vet schools.”