COVID 19: Designing and conducting an online mini-multiple interview (MMI) in a dynamic landscape

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic presented numerous, significant challenges for medical schools, including how to select the best candidates from a pool of applicants when social distancing and other measures prevented “business as usual” admissions processes. However, selection into medical school is the gateway to medicine in many countries, and it is critical to use processes which are evidence-based, valid and reliable even under challenging circumstances. Our challenge was to plan and conduct a multiple-mini interview (MMI) in a dynamic and stringent safe distancing context.

Methods: This paper reports a case study of how to plan, re-plan and conduct MMIs in an environment where substantially tighter safe distancing measures were introduced just before the MMI was due to be delivered.

Results: We report on how to design and implement a fully remote, online MMI which ensured the safety of candidates and assessors.

Discussion: We discuss the challenges of this approach and also reflect on broader issues associated with selection into medical school during a pandemic. The aim of the paper is to provide broadly generalizable guidance to other medical schools faced with the challenge of selecting future students under difficult conditions.

Keywords:

• Undergraduate
• medicine
• staff workload
• selection
• change

Acknowledgements

We thank all the support, IT and academic staff whose sterling efforts underpinned the successful development and delivery of this MMI.

Ethics approval

This case report was approved by the Vice-Dean for Education at LKC School of Medicine, Nanyang Medical School, Singapore.

Previous submissions

This paper has not been previously submitted to another journal. This paper is not under consideration by other journals.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jennifer Cleland

Jennifer Cleland, PhD, is Professor of Medical Education Research, Assistant Dean for Assessment and Director of the Medical Education Research and Scholarship Unit, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKC Medicine), Nanyang Technological University Singapore.

Jowe Chu

Jowe Chu, MBA, is Assistant Director, Admissions, Projects and Electives, LKC Medicine Singapore.

Samuel Lim

Samuel Lim, BA, is Senior Executive, Admissions, Projects and Electives, LKC Medicine Singapore.

Jamie Low

Jamie Low, BA, is Assistant Manager, Admissions, Projects and Electives, LKC Medicine Singapore.

Naomi Low-Beer

Naomi Low-Beer, MBBS, Med, is Professor and Vice-Dean (Education), LKC School of Medicine Singapore.

Tong Kiat Kwek

Tong Kiat Kwek, MBBS, is Associate Professor and Assistant Dean for Admissions, LKC Medicine, and a Senior Consultant Anaesthesiologist in the Department of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore.