International medical student selection expert Dr Jon Dowell, Reader of Medicine, University of Dundee will undertake a two-day visit to Galway, hosted by the School of Medicine at NUI Galway, from 27-28 September.

During his visit Dr Dowell will demonstrate how the University of Dundee, one of the top ranked medical schools in the UK, selects its medical students. Dr Dowell has led the use of the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI), originally developed by McMaster University in Canada, which is an interview format that uses many short independent assessments, typically in a timed circuit, to obtain an aggregate score of each candidate’s soft skills. This will be the first time that the MMI has been held in the Republic of Ireland.

Dr Dowell said: “Medical school selection is an important but imprecise art. Increasing evidence is emerging and the MMI is the new kid on the block. So it is an exciting time to be working in this field. I am delighted to be visiting NUI Galway which has developed a very promising computer-based scoring system and is initiating its own research in this area.”

As part of his visit Dr Dowell will also deliver a lecture entitled “Achievement, Aptitude and Interviews. Where are we with Medical School Selection these days?” on Friday, 28 September at NUI Galway.

Dr Maureen Kelly, Lecturer at NUI Galway and event organiser, said: “Medical student selection is a highly emotive topic. The best way to make decisions regarding the introduction and use of medical student selection tools is to continually examine the evidence which supports their use and to pilot the use of novel tools. Our new collaboration with Dundee will help inform the debate on medical student selection in Ireland.”

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