Challenges facing university career centres in effectively preparing students for medical school multi-mini interviews
By Kimberley Rawes and Barbara A. Smith
The working world has valued reductionist and analytical approaches, and the medical profession is a classic example of this “left brain” emphasis (Pink, 2006). Globalization and the use of technology to outsource medical procedures that depend on rule-based logic, like diagnosis which often involves decision trees, have transformed the need for local talent with different skill sets . For instance, patients using technology can now access the same information as doctors and arrive at the same diagnostic conclusions. Consequently, the following questions have arisen at some university career centres across Canada, and UBC Career Services thinks about them in particular: What is the role of the physician in the globalized era, and what are necessary skills and attitudes for success in medicine? The challenge is that historically, pre-med and medical students have been rewarded academically for “left brain” thinking. When we are preparing students for the Multiple Mini Interview (MMIs), how can university career centres support pre-med students to develop the emerging skills required by this evolving profession?