It’s currently 6:15AM. My interview’s in 3.75 hours. Don’t ask me why I woke up this early. I don’t even know why. I set my alarm to ring at 7:45 but my body decided to screw it and wake up a lot earlier.

I feel nervous. But excited. Talking to other people about difficult decisions, ethical and moralistic situations, and personal moments is something I like to do, but perhaps not in a very formal interview where it’s all high stakes and pressure. I think that last year I was a little too excited and perhaps came across as overly nervous and eager, which is not something they would look for in MMIs. You have to be, from what I understand, logically coherent, professional, and personable. I felt I was a little inexperienced back then.. Hopefully it’ll go different this year. I definitely kept that in mind ever since I started practicing with friends. They all gave me great feedback and I hope I’ve worked out all the things I could improve on for this.

Completing the MMIs is an art; the way people flourish their answers, dance around ideas, and express their utmost personal feelings towards others are all orchestrated together in a 7 minute performance. There’s so much going on and yet so much that could still be added. There are also some hidden criteria that interviewees are expected to fulfill which is why it’s always important to draw back to how this can relate to health care practitioner. Justice, autonomy, conflict resolution, cultural understanding, respect for diversity… these are just some of the things I could think of while doing some of the questions. Truth is being a physician requires more than just knowing what symptoms fit which disease and which disease can be cured or treated by this and that. It’s about developing a rapport and understand where people are coming from, whether they are your patients or your bosses. It’s about how to work in an environment where anything can happen and somehow be ready for it.

I’m looking forward to these interviews. They always say to “be yourself”. Well sometimes it’s not easy to. It’s quite a lot of work and high pressure, but having done it once before I think I can overcome my nervousness and just show the interviewers how I really am about these issues.