The multiple mini-interview for emergency medicine resident selection.
BACKGROUND
The Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) uses multiple, short-structured contacts to evaluate communication and professionalism. It predicts medical school success better than the traditional interview and application. Its acceptability and utility in emergency medicine (EM) residency selection are unknown.


OBJECTIVE
We theorized that participants would judge the MMI equal to a traditional unstructured interview and it would provide new information for candidate assessment.


METHODS
Seventy-one interns from 3 programs in the first month of training completed an eight-station MMI focused on EM topics. Pre- and post-surveys assessed reactions. MMI scores were compared with application data.


RESULTS
EM grades correlated with MMI performance (F[1, 66] = 4.18; p < 0.05) with honors students having higher scores. Higher third-year clerkship grades were associated with higher MMI performance, although this was not statistically significant. MMI performance did not correlate with match desirability and did not predict most other components of an application. There was a correlation between lower MMI scores and lower global ranking on the Standardized Letter of Recommendation. Participants preferred a traditional interview (mean difference = 1.36; p < 0.01). A mixed format (traditional interview and MMI) was preferred over a MMI alone (mean difference = 1.1; p < 0.01). MMI performance did not significantly correlate with preference for the MMI.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the MMI alone was viewed less favorably than a traditional interview, participants were receptive to a mixed-methods interview. The MMI does correlate with performance on the EM clerkship and therefore can measure important abilities for EM success. Future work will determine whether MMI performance predicts residency performance.
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Laura R
LR
Hopson
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Department of Medical Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
John C
JC
Burkhardt
Department of Medical Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
R Brent
RB
Stansfield
Department of Emergency Medicine, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan.
Taher
T
Vohra
Department of Emergency Medicine, Oakland University, William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, Michigan.
Danielle
D
Turner-Lawrence
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Eve D
ED
Losman
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002982:Clinical Clerkship; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000592:standards*; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000193:education*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D007407:Interviews as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D010560:Personnel Selection / Q000592:standards*
Multiple Mini-Interview; communication; graduate medical education; professionalism; residency selection