Maybe for medical schools this new type of interview process – the so-called Multiple Mini Interview – is great for selecting applicants. Basically,
MMI works by having applicants move from one mini-interview to the next. At McMaster, students pass through 10 to 12 stations, each operated by an assessor who grades the applicant’s performance. In addition to teamwork stations, such as one with the dots exercise, applicants are asked to discuss ethical questions or participate in scenarios acted out by current medical students.
“We recognized that our biggest problem is not in evaluating the cognitive domain – it’s not about knowledge,” Dr. Rosenfeld says. “It’s the interpersonal domain: the way of dealing with people. It’s about ethics and it’s about judgment.”
He says the current corporate job interview process, in which the applicant answers questions posed by potential future colleagues, is an inadequate way to evaluate how a candidate will perform in the job.
MMI focuses on evaluating “soft” skills, what Peggy Klaus, author of The Hard Truth About Soft Skills, defines as “attitude, integrity, ability to communicate ideas, ability to get along with people, and give and accept critical feedback,” among other traits.
“People who give job interviews are often not taught … how to ask the right questions and to listen and observe a person’s non-verbal communication,” Ms. Klaus says. “This is not a good way to bring somebody into a school or organization.”
Sounds like a riot to me. Plus, who can’t say they prefer the friendly doctor who you can open up to? Or the dentist who winces with you? Or the midwife who seems capable, but yet open and warm? All in all, screening medical students for more than textbook knowledge seems like a good idea.
However, I am not sure I would want this type of test to apply to disciplines where human-to-human interaction is minimal or to the undergraduate sector. Despite the fact that the latter is flooded with applicants, we still need a chance to develop our people skills throughout the first four years of university.