Multiple mini-interview in selecting medical students

Selecting medical students through interviews seems difficult and the reliability of the results is one of the major concerns. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability and acceptability of the Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) in selecting medical students of Kangwon National University.

Eighty-four applicants participated in the MMI which consists of 3 8-minute stations that have 9 checklist items and 3 global items. The 3 domains that we chose were motivation to become a doctor, communication and interpersonal skills, and ethical decision-making. We placed 2 interviewers in each room. The interviewers were chosen from our faculty. We analyzed the reliability of the MMI with urGENOVA for PC. We conducted a survey of these applicants and interviewers.

The reliability was 0.791. Students answered that the interview was impressive and enjoyable. Students were also satisfied with the level and quality of the MMI cases. They described that they were evaluated objectively. Interviewers also responded positively. They stated that more stations and more efforts to develop the cases were needed to improve the reliability and validity.

The MMI was acceptable to our applicants and faculty. It is reliable for assessing medical school applicants in Korea. We should develop more stations and better cases to increase the reliability and validity of the MMI.