Use of multiple mini-interviews for occupational therapy admissions

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Occupational Therapy Admissions
• Assessment Methods

Background:

• Traditional face-to-face interviews are labor-intensive for growing occupational therapy programs.
• Health science professions value noncognitive traits (integrity, empathy, professionalism) not well-assessed by traditional interviews.
• Traditional interviews can be biased, relying on subjective "like and dislike" rather than candidate abilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To discuss the evidence supporting the use of objective structured clinical examination-style stations for admissions.
• To explore the Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) process as a reliable and valid alternative to traditional interviews.
• To share experiences using the MMI for an entry-level occupational therapy program's admissions.

Main Methods:

• Review of evidence from studies on objective structured clinical examination-style stations.
• Examination of Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) adoption in medical, nursing, and physician assistant programs.
• Analysis of the MMI process's application in an occupational therapy admissions context.

Main Results:

• Objective structured clinical examination-style stations, including the MMI, demonstrate greater reliability and validity.
• The MMI effectively assesses noncognitive attributes desired in health science professionals.
• Evidence from medical, nursing, and physician assistant programs supports MMI effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• The Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) is a more reliable and valid assessment tool for occupational therapy admissions.
• MMI can better evaluate essential noncognitive traits compared to traditional interviews.
• Adoption of the MMI process aligns with best practices in health professions education admissions.