The Voice from the Ether

The voice from the ether called out. 

“At this time, you may approach the prompt at the door.” 

Ten individuals in suits, all lined down a hall. Each one a mere six steps away from a door. In response to the voice, all ten of them simultaneously stepped up to the door. 

I see the white sheet taped to the door for about four seconds until my head snaps back into place and I start reading. 

“There will be a lego construction in front of you when you enter the room. Your partner, to your left, will have lego pieces. Explain to your partner how to put together the lego construction.” 

I had been warned about the teamwork station, so this wasn’t unexpected, but it was still a little strange. Here I was, having spent the last six years cranking out science classes like Physical Chemistry. In those years, I had also invested a chunk of mental energy to daydream about how to solve global poverty and wondering about the molecular machinery underlying iron homeostasis. 

What was I doing playing with lego’s? 

The voice from the ether came again. 

“You may enter the room. You will have ten minutes to discuss the prompt.” 

My partner to my left was an Indian fellow with a name tag, Rajiv. I was thinking he was about my age as he reached for the door. I wondered where he was coming from. An awkward second past, as I was thinking to myself, and I realized, shit, I should go in too. 

So it begins. 

-- 

This was my day at the University of California – Los Angeles. I was interviewing for a coveted out-of-state spot at the medical school. And I was nervous. But why were they asking me to play with lego’s? 

At UCLA, they use the “MMI” or the multiple mini interview format that I’ve talked about before. In the MMI-style interviewees talk to ten admissions members and receive a grade from each one. This is different from the usual style of interviewing where you only get to talk to one or two people. The topics are complex, ranging from ethical topics to personal challenges. The theory behind MMI is that there are certain intangibles that admission committees cannot get from your online application. 

For instance, patients want doctors to be sensitive, but there are plenty of nerds with stellar grades and no empathy that get over the med school admissions hurdle. 

I love the idea of MMI - it gives a chance to under-the-radar applicants. Medical schools get so many applications that it’s impossible to give everyone a fair look. Accordingly, most schools have an unstated threshold for grades or test scores. It’s inevitably unfair to the applicants who have on-the-border grades, but have great intangibles, such as: the discipline to wake up early and study medical research instead of sleeping in, or a sense of presence to stabilize their work environment. 

Of course, these are only a subset of the intangibles that you’d need to be a good doctor, but the point is that by only picking med students based on grades, the medical world might be missing out. 

-- 

I walked in behind Rajiv. 

“Hi Rajiv, it’s nice to meet you. My name’s Ken. I hope we can work together today and help each other out.” 

 “Nice to meet you, Ken.” 

 “Ok, I have a truck in front of me.” 

And we were off. 

See you on the other side, 

from ken 

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