Use of multiple mini-interviews for occupational therapy admissions

Many occupational therapy education programs use face-to-face interviewing as part of the admissions process. As programs and the applicant pool size have grown, interviewing in the traditional way has become labor intensive. Recent surveys show that in the U.S., about 99% of medical programs use the interview for admissions, as do 81% of physical therapy and 63% of occupational therapy programs. Most health science professions, including occupational therapy, value noncognitive traits such as integrity, empathy, ethical judgment, and professionalism. It has been found that traditional interviews do not really assess these noncognitive skills and traits that are desired. Instead, they are actually biased and may be influenced more by feelings of "like and dislike" than the candidate's actual abilities. It has been shown that the use of objective structured clinical examination-style stations provide greater reliability and validity than the traditional interview and are able to assess different noncognitive attributes. One such process involves the use of multiple mini-interviews (MMI), and evidence supporting its use for admission to medical school was first established in studies at McMaster University. Other disciplines have taken an interest in this process, including nursing and physician assistant programs, and have found the same results. This article discusses the evidence found in these studies and our experience in using the MMI process for admissions to an entry-level occupational therapy program.