Preparing for Your Medical School Interview at UC Davis

UC Davis School of Medicine sits at the nexus of cutting-edge research and community-driven care. If you’re interviewing here, you’re being considered for a training path shaped by California’s unique healthcare landscape—one defined by expansive public programs, diverse populations, and urgent public health challenges ranging from wildfires to homelessness. Your interview is an opportunity to demonstrate that you not only understand medicine, but also the complexities of serving Northern California’s rural and underserved communities.

This guide distills what matters most for the UC Davis interview. You’ll learn the Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) format and evaluation themes, how to embody UC Davis’s mission, which state policies and local issues to track, and how to translate this context into compelling, mission-aligned answers. Use it to build confident, specific, and values-driven responses that resonate with the school’s culture and priorities.

The Preparing for Your Medical School Interview at UC Davis Interview: Format and Experience

UC Davis employs the Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) format. Rather than a single long conversation, you’ll rotate through a series of brief, focused stations designed to assess how you think, communicate, and act under time pressure. Expect variety—ethical dilemmas, communication tasks, role-plays, and scenario-based prompts that probe real-world judgment and professionalism.

Format highlights:

• Series of short, timed stations—usually around 8 to 10 stations, each lasting about 8 minutes
• Different interviewers or scenarios at each station
• Assessment of communication skills, ethical reasoning, empathy, and problem-solving abilities

To perform well, calibrate your pacing to the clock, structure your thinking aloud, and center patients and communities in your reasoning. Concise, logical framing—paired with genuine empathy—will help you deliver clear conclusions without sacrificing nuance. Between stations, reset quickly; each prompt is a fresh opportunity to demonstrate core competencies.

Mission & Culture Fit

UC Davis values physicians who are deeply engaged with community health and committed to equity. That commitment is tangible in programs like the Transforming Education and Community Health for Medical Students (TEACH-MS) program, which focuses on training physicians to serve in rural and medically underserved areas of Northern California. The school emphasizes community-oriented primary care and addressing health disparities in local populations.

Show that you align with these priorities by connecting your experiences and motivations to the communities UC Davis serves. If you’ve worked in rural health, volunteered in safety-net clinics, partnered with community organizations, or pursued public health initiatives, explain how those experiences informed your commitment to underserved populations. Demonstrate your understanding of local needs by discussing specific challenges in rural Northern California—such as access barriers, workforce shortages, transportation and telehealth gaps, or environmental exposures—and how you hope to address them during your training and career.

Above all, keep equity at the center of your responses. Frame clinical decisions, quality improvement ideas, and policy views through the lens of access, cultural humility, and measurable impact on patient outcomes.

Local Healthcare Landscape & Policy Signals

Success at UC Davis also means fluency in California’s distinctive health policy environment. Medi-Cal, CalAIM, and targeted state initiatives shape patients’ access to care and the practice environment you’ll enter as a trainee and future physician.

Key signals to understand:

• Medi-Cal covers over 14 million residents and includes extensive benefits such as dental and mental health services.
• As of 2024, the Health4All initiative expanded Medi-Cal to include all income-eligible adults aged 26 to 49, regardless of immigration status, making California the first state to offer near-universal health coverage.
• CalAIM (California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal) emphasizes Whole-Person Care by integrating social services with medical care and addressing social determinants of health such as housing and food insecurity.
• Enhanced Care Management under CalAIM coordinates care for high-need, high-cost patients, including those with complex medical and behavioral health conditions.

In your interview, use these policies to demonstrate health equity literacy. Discuss the significance of expanding healthcare access to undocumented immigrants and the public health implications of near-universal coverage. Reflect on how Medi-Cal innovations can reduce disparities and improve outcomes—especially when care teams address social determinants alongside clinical needs. If you’ve collaborated across disciplines—social work, behavioral health, community outreach—highlight those experiences as models for CalAIM’s interdisciplinary approach.

Current Events & Social Issues to Watch

UC Davis expects future physicians to be active learners about the issues shaping California’s health. Be ready to speak thoughtfully about current challenges and policy responses.

Mental health crisis and homelessness in Sacramento:

• Sacramento has seen a significant increase in homelessness, with estimates exceeding 11,000 individuals in 2023.
• A large portion of the homeless population experiences mental health disorders and substance use issues.
• California’s Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court, launched in 2023, aims to provide court-ordered mental health and substance use treatment for individuals with severe mental illness.

In an MMI scenario, you might be asked to counsel a patient without stable housing, design a clinic improvement plan, or comment on CARE Court. Show community engagement by discussing physicians’ roles in advocacy, continuity of care, and trauma-informed approaches. Then connect systemic solutions—like coordinated behavioral health services—to practical access improvements.

Wildfires and environmental health:

• California continues to face severe wildfire seasons, degrading air quality and contributing to respiratory issues.
• Extreme weather patterns and heatwaves, intensified by climate change, disproportionately affect vulnerable populations.
• UC Davis conducts research on wildfire smoke’s health effects and develops strategies to mitigate risks, including air quality research.

Use this context to demonstrate preventive medicine thinking. Talk about risk communication, patient education, and systems-level interventions (e.g., air filtration in clinics, outreach for high-risk groups). If you have research experience or interest in environmental health, note how UC Davis’s work could align with your goals.

Healthcare disparities and racial inequities:

• The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected Black and Latino communities in California, underscoring systemic health disparities.
• Maternal mortality rates are higher among Black women compared to other demographics in the state.
• California’s Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals was established to address historical injustices and their impact on health outcomes.

In interviews, show cultural competence by recognizing structural determinants of health and by proposing practical steps toward equity—improved screening, culturally responsive care, and community partnerships. Emphasize advocacy through both clinical practice and local involvement.

Immigrant health:

• California’s Central Valley relies heavily on immigrant labor, with agricultural workers facing barriers to healthcare access.
• Health risks include exposure to pesticides, heat-related illness, and lack of healthcare coverage.

Demonstrate policy awareness by connecting state coverage expansions to the realities faced by essential workers. Frame your commitment to community health around occupational safety, language access, and trust-building with immigrant communities.

Telehealth expansion:

• The pandemic accelerated telemedicine adoption, and UC Davis Health is a leader in telehealth services.
• Telehealth improves access to specialty care for patients in remote areas of Northern California.

Discuss adaptability and access to care—how you’ve used technology to enhance patient communication, continuity, and equity. Acknowledge telehealth’s limitations while highlighting its potential to narrow rural specialty gaps.

Opioid epidemic:

• California faces ongoing challenges with opioid overdoses, with synthetic opioids like fentanyl contributing to fatalities.
• Sacramento County has implemented harm reduction programs and increased access to naloxone.

Signal support for evidence-based harm reduction. Describe interdisciplinary collaboration with public health agencies and community organizations to prevent overdoses, expand treatment access, and reduce stigma.

Practice Questions to Expect

1. UC Davis emphasizes training physicians for rural and underserved communities. How have your experiences prepared you to contribute to this mission, and where do you see the greatest needs in Northern California?
2. California expanded Medi-Cal under Health4All in 2024. What are the implications of covering income-eligible adults regardless of immigration status for health equity and public health?
3. CalAIM promotes Whole-Person Care and Enhanced Care Management. Describe a time you collaborated across disciplines to address a patient’s social determinants of health.
4. Sacramento’s homelessness has risen, with many individuals facing behavioral health challenges. How should physicians engage with policies such as CARE Court while maintaining patient autonomy and access to care?
5. Wildfire seasons and extreme heat are worsening respiratory and environmental health risks. How would you counsel high-risk patients, and how might you engage with UC Davis’s air quality research to inform your approach?

Preparation Checklist

Use the following steps to build targeted, data-informed preparation—and let Confetto streamline the process:

• Run timed AI MMI simulations that mirror UC Davis’s 8-minute stations and provide feedback on communication, empathy, and ethical reasoning.
• Drill policy scenarios on Medi-Cal, Health4All, and CalAIM to practice concise, equity-focused framing under time pressure.
• Use analytics to track your performance across competencies (e.g., empathy markers, clarity, problem-solving) and identify patterns to fix before interview day.
• Rehearse community-engagement vignettes (homelessness, immigrant health, rural access) with structured prompts and instant coaching on cultural competence.
• Practice environmental health and telehealth scenarios to refine preventive counseling, risk communication, and technology-enabled care narratives.

FAQ

Does UC Davis use the MMI, and how long is each station?

Yes. UC Davis employs the Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) format, typically featuring around 8 to 10 stations. Each station lasts about 8 minutes and evaluates competencies such as communication skills, ethical reasoning, empathy, and problem-solving abilities.

What mission-aligned programs or themes should I know?

UC Davis’s Transforming Education and Community Health for Medical Students (TEACH-MS) program focuses on training physicians to serve rural and medically underserved areas of Northern California. The school prioritizes community-oriented primary care and reducing health disparities—values you should reflect in your examples and career goals.

Which California policies are most relevant to discuss?

Be prepared to discuss Medi-Cal’s reach (covering over 14 million residents), the 2024 Health4All expansion to all income-eligible adults aged 26 to 49 regardless of immigration status, and CalAIM’s Whole-Person Care and Enhanced Care Management. Tie these policies to health equity, access, and outcomes.

What current issues should I be ready to address in Sacramento and Northern California?

Know the rise in homelessness with estimates exceeding 11,000 individuals in 2023, the behavioral health dimensions of homelessness, the 2023 launch of CARE Court, ongoing wildfire and air quality challenges, COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on Black and Latino communities, maternal mortality inequities, immigrant agricultural worker health risks, telehealth expansion, and the opioid epidemic—including fentanyl and local harm reduction efforts.

Key Takeaways

• UC Davis uses an MMI with around 8 to 10 stations, each approximately 8 minutes, emphasizing communication, ethics, empathy, and problem-solving.
• Mission fit matters: highlight experiences with rural and underserved communities and alignment with TEACH-MS and community-oriented primary care.
• California policy fluency—Medi-Cal, Health4All (2024), and CalAIM’s Whole-Person Care and Enhanced Care Management—signals readiness to serve diverse populations.
• Track current issues: homelessness and behavioral health in Sacramento, CARE Court, wildfires and air quality, racial inequities, immigrant health, telehealth access, and the opioid crisis.
• Anchor every answer in equity, interdisciplinary collaboration, and practical solutions that improve access and outcomes.

Call to Action

Confident, mission-aligned answers come from targeted practice. Use Confetto to run UC Davis–style MMI drills, pressure-test your understanding of Medi-Cal, CalAIM, and local health challenges, and get analytics that sharpen your empathy, clarity, and judgment. Start preparing now to deliver responses that reflect UC Davis’s values—and your readiness to serve California’s communities.