Medicine Interview Preparation (UK): A Step-by-Step Plan

The differences are real

• Glasgow. The 2027 interview is a 30-minute online conversation with two interviewers.
• Sheffield. Home applicants rotate through an in-person MMI whose sections include knowledge of Sheffield, medicine in a wider context and ethics.
• Oxford. Interviews are academic conversations, similar to a short tutorial.

Your personal statement

• It is now three questions: why you want to study the subject, how your studies prepared you, and what else you have done to prepare outside education.
• Do not exaggerate. UCAS warns that if you do, you may get caught out at interview when asked to say more.
• Not every interviewer has read it. Sheffield says its interviewers will not have read your statement, but questions may cover the topics applicants often write about. Glasgow says its interviewers know nothing about you except your name.

Your work experience

For work experience, reflection matters more than hours.

• UCL. It does not require clinical experience and says your reflections on what you learned may be assessed at interview.
• Bristol. It says applicants may be asked to reflect on their work experience.
• Keep a diary. A UCAS adviser article suggests keeping a reflective diary so you can discuss specific examples.

Questions to reflect on

• What did you do, and who did you work with or help?
• What did you notice about how doctors, nurses or carers worked?
• What did you learn about yourself or about medicine?
• What would you do differently next time?

The GMC's Good medical practice

Read it once, start to finish. It sets out the principles, values and standards of professional behavior expected of all doctors registered with the GMC.

• Dates. It came into effect on 30 January 2024 and was updated on 13 December 2024.
• Four domains. All titled in the GMC's own words: "Knowledge, skills and development", "Patients, partnership and communication", "Colleagues, culture and safety" and "Trust and professionalism".
• The first duty. The GMC's list of duties opens by saying doctors must make the care of patients their first concern.
• For students. The GMC's guidance for medical students, Achieving good medical practice, says students must show a high standard of behavior at all times.

The NHS Constitution values

The NHS Constitution for England lists six values:

• Working together for patients
• Respect and dignity
• Commitment to quality of care
• Compassion
• Improving lives
• Everyone counts

Where to read

Read the official sources rather than secondhand summaries.

• GOV.UK. The Department of Health and Social Care posts its news and policy papers there.
• 10 Year Health Plan for England. Published on 3 July 2025, it is built around three shifts: hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention.
• Workforce plans. NHS England's Long Term Workforce Plan was first published on 30 June 2023. The government has asked for evidence to shape a new 10 Year Workforce Plan.

How to use it

• Go deep on a few. Pick three or four topics and know the main facts, the date, and both sides of the argument.
• Check it is current. Policy changes fast.
• Outside England? If you are applying in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, look at that nation's own health service too, since these English plans do not cover it.

What to practice

• Motivation: why medicine, and why this school.
• Teamwork and mistakes: a team you worked in and a mistake you learned from.
• Ethics: a scenario, weighing both sides before giving a view.
• The NHS: a current issue, explained in two minutes.
• Role-play: explain something or break bad news calmly.

Disability or extra time

Tell the school as soon as you are invited.

• Glasgow. Email its admissions team as soon as possible.
• Oxford. Tell the college that invited you.
• Bristol. It arranges specific interviews for applicants eligible for extra time.