Bristol Vet School Admissions: Introduction of multiple mini interviews alongside face to face interviews

Undergraduate admissions teams act as gatekeepers to the veterinary profession. Alongside
academic abilities it is also important to assess other criteria such as problem solving skills,
communication abilities and understanding of the profession. Traditionally selection has relied on a
panel interview with two or more interviewers however this may not be the most effective or fair
method and may discriminate against candidates who have not had extensive interview practice. In
recent years many clinical courses (veterinary, medical and dental) have moved to a multiple mini
interview (MMI) format in order to address the perceived shortcomings of the panel interview.
In the 2013/2014 admissions cycle a 5 station MMI was introduced in addition to the 20 minute
panel interview at Bristol’s School of Veterinary Sciences. Two stations were manned with a single
staff member and were spoken ‘what if’ scenarios: one probed for understanding and demonstrating
the importance of communication skills; the other investigated problem solving from first principles.
The other 3 stations were not manned: the first assessed the ability to follow written instructions to
complete a wire bending practical task; the second asked candidates to perform simple applied
calculations; the third presented a data table with a set of normal ranges where candidates were
asked to circle data outside the range and then answer questions about these data.
Introduction of the MMIs went smoothly and results complemented the panel interviews. The
combined MMI and panel interview will continue to be used for selection onto the Bristol vet
course.