Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine And Health Sciences Adopts Innovative Assessment Approach For Prospective Medical Students

The Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU) announced the successful conclusion of Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs), an assessment format, for 200 prospective medical students for its College of Medicine.

The innovative approach earns MBRU the distinction of being one of the leading universities in the region to deploy such a student selection tool for its Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) 2016-2022 Program.

The assessments to select the first batch of 50 medical students were conducted in association with MBRU’s academic partner Queen’s University Belfast, one of UK’s leading research intensive universities. The assessments concluded in the last week of April at MBRU’s campus in Dubai Healthcare City.

Instead of traditional one-on-one interviews in which each applicant meets with a single interviewer, MBRU introduced MMIs, which required medical students to complete a circuit of 15 different scoring stations of five minutes each. At each station, assessors evaluated students’ soft skills such as maturity; communication; critical thinking; problem solving; ethical decision-making; empathy and cultural sensitivity; among other non-cognitive skills.

“We are proud to have introduced an innovative assessment approach in the region,” said Dr Amer Ahmad Sharif, Chief Executive Officer, Education Sector, Dubai Healthcare City Authority.

He explained that MBRU has instituted best practice procedures in student admissions. “Our objective is to assure the society that MBRU is selecting the right students based on both academic and non-academic attributes to train doctors of the future,” said Dr Sharif.

The students represented 23 nationalities with the majority being Emiratis. One of the female medical students described her experience, “It was great and enjoyable! It was my first time going through such an approach. It’s a very good way to evaluate students by assessing their personality besides their marks.”

Dr Alawi Alsheikh-Ali, Dean of the College of Medicine, stressed the importance of MMI as part of the admission process, “The role of a doctor goes beyond medical knowledge and technical abilities. A doctor must be able to communicate effectively and demonstrate empathy towards patients and their families as well as make ethically-sound decisions. The MMIs are designed to explore these crucial personal attributes in aspiring medical students.”

MBRU partnership with Queen’s University Belfast includes quality assurance in the provision of advice and guidance on student selection and admissions among other areas.

Caption: Prospective medical students are briefed about the assessment format – Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs) by Ahmed Al Awadhi, Director – Admission and Student Services at the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences campus at Dubai Healthcare City.