Interview Coaching
Mock MMI & panel interviews
Medicine interviews, 2027 entry
Edinburgh Medicine Interview Questions (2027 Entry)
Who Edinburgh Medical School invites to its Assessment Days, the November 2026 to January 2027 window, why the interview is half of your final score, and 58 practice questions grouped by the core attributes Edinburgh says it assesses, with model answers.
Reviewed by Dr Akash Gandhi, NHS GP and a Cambridge and UCL graduate (GMC register) · Checked against Edinburgh's official pages: 24 October 2026
Edinburgh medicine interviews, 2027 entry
Edinburgh medicine interviews for 2027 entry are Assessment Days: a half-day with three interview stations, each scored by one selector, from November 2026 to January 2027. Applicants on UK or Irish fee rates attend in person; those living outside the UK and Ireland are likely to interview online. For 2025 entry, 80% of home interviewees received an offer.
- 2027 entry window
- November and December 2026 and January 2027; individual dates are not publishedEdinburgh Medical School, Applying for Medicine booklet 2027 (updated 24 April 2026, PDF) (2027 entry)
- Who is interviewed
- The top-scoring applicants after shortlisting on academic results, UCAT and SJTEdinburgh Medical School, Applying for Medicine booklet 2027 (updated 24 April 2026, PDF) (2027 entry)
- Format
- An Assessment Day: a half-day with three interview stations, each scored independently by one selectorEdinburgh Medical School, Applying for Medicine booklet 2027 (updated 24 April 2026, PDF) (2027 entry)
- In person
- Required for applicants on the Scottish and rest of UK or Republic of Ireland fee rates, at Edinburgh Medical SchoolEdinburgh Medical School, The selection process (2027 entry (15 October 2026 deadline))
- Online
- Likely for applicants domiciled outside the UK and IrelandEdinburgh Medical School, Applying for Medicine booklet 2027 (updated 24 April 2026, PDF) (2027 entry)
- Station length
- Not published; Edinburgh sends details of the day with your invitationEdinburgh Medical School, The selection process (2027 entry (15 October 2026 deadline))
- What is assessed
- The core attributes set out in the Medical Schools Council's statement on core values for studying medicineEdinburgh Medical School, The selection process (2027 entry (15 October 2026 deadline))
- Weight of the interview
- Assessment Day scores make up 50% of the final score used to rank applicants for offersEdinburgh Medical School, Applying for Medicine booklet 2027 (updated 24 April 2026, PDF) (2027 entry)
- Outcome
- By the end of March 2027Edinburgh Medical School, Applying for Medicine booklet 2027 (updated 24 April 2026, PDF) (2027 entry)
- Post-interview success, home, 2025 entry
- 80% (593 offers from 741 interviewed)Admissions statistics as published on our Edinburgh profile, from Edinburgh Medical School's admissions statistics (2025 entry)
- Post-interview success, international, 2025 entry
- 69% (68 offers from 98 interviewed)Admissions statistics as published on our Edinburgh profile, from Edinburgh Medical School's admissions statistics (2025 entry)
Free: The Medicine Interview Guide 2027 (PDF)
An eight-week plan, the frameworks for ethics and role play, five full worked answers with the follow-ups to expect, every school’s interview format, and 20 practice questions with a self-marking sheet. Written by our doctors and dentists.
How does Edinburgh interview for medicine?
Edinburgh interviews for the MBChB at an Assessment Day. It is a half-day during which you find out more about studying medicine in Edinburgh and take part in a series of short interviews. The 2027 booklet says the day involves three stations, and each station is scored independently by one selector. Edinburgh does not call it a multiple mini interview, but the structure is similar: separate stations, separate scorers.
Edinburgh does not publish how long each station lasts, how long the interviews take in total, or what the stations contain. It says candidates who are invited will be given more information about the structure of the day. What it does publish is how the day was designed: from a consultation of clinicians and teachers in the medical school about the most important attributes Edinburgh looks for, chosen from those published by the Medical Schools Council.
In person or online depends on your fee rate and where you live
Applicants on the Scottish fee rate and the rest of UK or Republic of Ireland fee rate are required to attend in person, at Edinburgh Medical School. For applicants domiciled outside the UK and Ireland, Edinburgh says it is likely to continue running virtual interviews, in support of its sustainability policy. Your invitation confirms which applies to you.
New to station interviews? Our MMI preparation guide explains how timed, separately scored stations work, so this page stays on what is specific to Edinburgh.
Source: Edinburgh Medical School, Applying for Medicine booklet 2027 (updated 24 April 2026, PDF) (2027 entry); Edinburgh Medical School, The selection process (2027 entry (15 October 2026 deadline)); The University of Edinburgh, MBChB Medicine (6-year programme) degree finder page (2027 entry)
When are Edinburgh medicine interviews for 2027 entry?
| Applicants | Window | Delivery |
|---|---|---|
| Scottish, rest of UK or Republic of Ireland fee rate | November 2026 to January 2027 | In person at Edinburgh Medical School |
| Domiciled outside the UK and Ireland | November 2026 to January 2027 | Likely online |
The applicant timeline in Edinburgh's 2027 booklet places Assessment Days in November, December and January. Edinburgh does not publish individual dates or the date invitations start. UCAT results reach universities in early November 2026, and Edinburgh needs them to complete its ranking, so invitations cannot come before then.
Edinburgh also tells some applicants with low selection scores that they have been unsuccessful on an ongoing basis during the selection process, so you may hear either way during the autumn. Compare the Edinburgh window with your other choices in our UK medical school interview dates table.
Source: Edinburgh Medical School, Applying for Medicine booklet 2027 (updated 24 April 2026, PDF) (2027 entry); Edinburgh Medical School, UCAT (2027 entry); The University of Edinburgh, MBChB Medicine (6-year programme) degree finder page (2027 entry)
How does Edinburgh decide who to interview?
Two selectors independently score your achieved and predicted grades, Edinburgh adds scores for your UCAT decile and your situational judgement test band, and the top-scoring applicants are invited to an Assessment Day. The cut-offs, the contextual (widening access) criteria and past figures are on our Edinburgh medical school profile, which is the page for that question.
Your personal statement is not formally scored, but Edinburgh says it may guide shortlisting and will be essential preparation for the Assessment Day. Graduates and mature applicants are shortlisted and interviewed in the same way as school leavers.
Source: Edinburgh Medical School, Applying for Medicine booklet 2027 (updated 24 April 2026, PDF) (2027 entry); Edinburgh Medical School, Your personal statement (no year stated); Edinburgh Medical School, Graduate and mature applicants (no year stated)
What does Edinburgh assess at interview?
Edinburgh says its assessments are based on the core attributes required of medical doctors, as set out in the Medical Schools Council's Statement on the core values and attributes needed to study medicine. That statement groups the attributes under four headings taken from the GMC's Good Medical Practice:
- Knowledge, skills and performance: motivation and interest in the medical profession, insight and reflection, personal organisation, problem solving, dealing with uncertainty, and resilience.
- Safety and quality: managing risk, taking responsibility for your own actions, conscientiousness, and insight into your own health.
- Communication, partnership and teamwork: effective communication, including listening and speaking, and teamwork.
- Maintaining trust: treating people with respect, empathy and the ability to care for others, and honesty.
Edinburgh also highly recommends reading the GMC's Outcomes for graduates, and its personal statement guidance asks for empathy, interpersonal skills, the ability to communicate, a clear understanding of the realities of a medical career, and reflection on what you learned from your experiences. It values quality of experience over quantity.
The six themes below follow those four headings. The questions are practice questions written by TheUKCATPeople from Edinburgh's published guidance. They are not real or leaked Edinburgh questions, and nothing here comes from students reporting what they were asked.
Source: Edinburgh Medical School, The selection process (2027 entry (15 October 2026 deadline)); Edinburgh Medical School, Applying for Medicine booklet 2027 (updated 24 April 2026, PDF) (2027 entry); Edinburgh Medical School, Your personal statement (no year stated); Medical Schools Council, Statement on the core values and attributes needed to study medicine, linked by Edinburgh as the basis of its assessments (read from a web.archive.org copy, as the live PDF blocks automated requests) (2018 update)
Edinburgh medicine interview questions, by theme
Grouped by what Edinburgh says it assesses. Each question has a note on what a strong answer covers, and the Edinburgh-specific ones have a full model answer. These are practice questions written by TheUKCATPeople from Edinburgh's published guidance, not real or leaked questions.
- Motivation, insight and reflection (1 to 10)
- Problem solving, uncertainty and resilience (11 to 19)
- Safety, responsibility and your own health (20 to 28)
- Communication (29 to 38)
- Teamwork and partnership (39 to 48)
- Respect, empathy and honesty: maintaining trust (49 to 58)
Motivation, insight and reflection
What Edinburgh says: Edinburgh assesses the core attributes in the Medical Schools Council's statement, which lists motivation to study medicine and interest in the medical profession, insight into your own strengths and weaknesses, and the ability to reflect on your own work. Edinburgh asks for clear evidence of reflection on your experiences. Medical Schools Council, Statement on the core values and attributes needed to study medicine, linked by Edinburgh as the basis of its assessments (read from a web.archive.org copy, as the live PDF blocks automated requests)
Edinburgh's personal statement guidance says it values quality of experience over quantity and wants to see what personal lessons you took from each one. Expect the same at the Assessment Day. Know the Edinburgh course as well: six years, a full research year in Year 3 leading to a BMedSci, and teaching on the social and ethical side of medicine from Year 1.
- 1
Why do you want to be a doctor?
What to cover: Give your reason briefly, then the experience that tested it. Edinburgh asks for a clear understanding of the realities of a medical career, so show you know the hard parts too.
- 2
Why Edinburgh?
What to cover: Use what Edinburgh's own course pages say: the Year 3 research honours year, the Social and Ethical Aspects of Medicine teaching from Year 1, the Year 6 assistantship. Choose two and link them to you.
- 3
Edinburgh's MBChB is six years, including a full year of research. Why would you want that extra year?
What to cover: Talk about what research teaches a doctor: appraising evidence, asking good questions, and the option of an academic career. Mention an area you might want to study.
- 4
What have you done to understand the realities of a career in medicine?
What to cover: Edinburgh suggests work experience, volunteering, talking to doctors and students, open days and reading. Choose two and say what each one taught you about the job.
- 5
Tell me about an experience that made you doubt whether medicine was right for you.
What to cover: Show insight: describe the doubt fairly, what you did to test it, and why you still want to go ahead. A candidate who has never doubted is less convincing.
- 6
What are your main strengths and weaknesses, and how do you know?
What to cover: Give evidence for each, such as feedback from a teacher or a supervisor. Then say what you are doing about the weakness.
- 7
Describe a time you reflected on something that went badly. What did you change?
What to cover: Choose a real example and spend most of your time on the reflection and the change. This is the habit doctors use every year in their appraisals.
- 8
How do you organise your time when you have too much to do?
What to cover: Describe your actual method and a week when it was tested. The Medical Schools Council statement names personal organisation because medicine combines a heavy workload with constant learning.
- 9
What have you read, watched or listened to about medicine that changed how you think?
What to cover: Name one thing, what it argued and what you now think. Our medicine reading list is a place to start.
- 10
Where do you see yourself ten years after graduating?
What to cover: It is fine not to know your specialty. Show you understand the training pathway after graduation and what kind of doctor you hope to be, in terms of patients and team.
Model answer
Why Edinburgh?
The first reason is the research year. In Year 3, Edinburgh students spend a full academic year on research-based study for a BMedSci honours degree. At school I did a small project on why people miss GP appointments, and what surprised me was how much I enjoyed working out what the data could and could not tell me. I would like to do that properly, and graduating with both degrees would help if I go into academic medicine.
The second is that the social side of medicine is taught from the very start. In Years 1 and 2 there is a strand on the Social and Ethical Aspects of Medicine, with tutorials in general practice, alongside the biomedical science. Volunteering at a food bank showed me how much someone's health depends on their circumstances, and I want a course that takes that seriously from the first term.
And I like how the course ends. In Year 6 there is an assistantship where you work alongside a resident doctor and take on some of a Foundation Year 1 doctor's duties under supervision. Starting work as a doctor is a big step, and I would like to have practised it before the first day.
Go deeper: How to answer "Why medicine?"
Problem solving, uncertainty and resilience
What Edinburgh says: The Medical Schools Council statement Edinburgh uses lists problem solving, dealing with uncertainty, and resilience and the ability to deal with difficult situations among the attributes for applying knowledge to practice. Medical Schools Council, Statement on the core values and attributes needed to study medicine, linked by Edinburgh as the basis of its assessments (read from a web.archive.org copy, as the live PDF blocks automated requests)
Medicine is full of decisions made without all the facts. A problem-solving question tests whether you can sort information, say what you would need to know, and reach a sensible plan. Resilience questions test whether you can keep going after a setback without pretending it did not hurt. Edinburgh's own pages say medicine is demanding and can be stressful, and ask for evidence of outside interests and balance.
- 11
You are volunteering on a ward. A patient asks for water, a call bell is ringing, a visitor is lost and a nurse asks you to fetch a form. What do you do first?
What to cover: Rank the tasks by risk to patients, so the call bell comes first, and say who you would hand the others to. Explain your reasoning as you go.
- 12
Tell me about a time you had to make a decision without all the information you wanted.
What to cover: Describe the decision, how you weighed the options, and how it turned out. Then say what you would do differently, which shows reflection.
- 13
A doctor is not sure what is wrong with a patient. What should they do?
What to cover: Talk about gathering more information, asking a senior, explaining the uncertainty to the patient, and safety-netting: telling them what to look out for and when to come back.
- 14
Tell me about a setback you have faced. How did you recover?
What to cover: Choose a real setback, describe how it felt, what you did next and what support you used. Resilience includes asking for help.
- 15
How do you keep a balance between work and the rest of your life?
What to cover: Edinburgh asks for evidence of outside interests because medicine can be stressful. Describe what you do and a time it kept you going.
- 16
You have an exam next week, and a family member becomes ill. What do you do?
What to cover: Talk about telling your tutor early, using the university's support and mitigating circumstances process, and not trying to manage everything alone.
- 17
Look at this graph showing hospital admissions rising every winter. What might explain it, and what would you want to know?
What to cover: Suggest causes, such as flu and cold weather, and ask what the data does not show. Our data interpretation guide covers these tasks.
- 18
A new treatment works well in a small study. Should the NHS start using it straight away?
What to cover: Talk about study size, side effects, cost and whether the patients studied match NHS patients. Edinburgh teaches research and evidence-based medicine from Year 1.
- 19
What would you do if you were struggling with the workload in your first year at Edinburgh?
What to cover: Speak to your student adviser early, look at how you study, and use peer support. Edinburgh gives every student a named student adviser.
Model answer
A doctor is not sure what is wrong with a patient. What should they do?
First, accept that this is normal. Doctors often see patients before an illness has declared itself, so uncertainty is part of the job, not a failure. What matters is handling it safely.
The doctor should gather more information: a fuller history, an examination, and tests where they would change the plan. If they are still unsure, they should ask a more experienced colleague, which is good practice at every level. And they should rule out anything dangerous first, even if it is unlikely.
They should also be open with the patient. Something like, "I'm not certain yet what is causing this, so here is what we will do next." And they should safety-net: tell the patient which symptoms mean they should come back or seek urgent help, and arrange a review. That protects the patient while the picture becomes clearer.
Go deeper: MMI prioritisation stations
Safety, responsibility and your own health
What Edinburgh says: Under safety and quality, the Medical Schools Council statement Edinburgh uses lists managing risk, taking personal responsibility for your own actions, conscientiousness and insight into your own health. Medical Schools Council, Statement on the core values and attributes needed to study medicine, linked by Edinburgh as the basis of its assessments (read from a web.archive.org copy, as the live PDF blocks automated requests)
Patients depend on doctors who own their mistakes, raise concerns and look after their own health. Edinburgh's booklet describes a commendations and concerns system for students and expects students to tell the medical school about anything that could affect their fitness to practise. Questions here test whether you already act responsibly when nobody is checking.
- 20
Tell me about a mistake you made. What did you do next?
What to cover: Choose one with a real consequence. Spend most of your answer on owning it, putting it right and changing how you work.
- 21
A doctor realises she gave a patient the wrong information yesterday. The patient seems fine and nobody has noticed. What should she do?
What to cover: Explain the duty of candour: tell the patient, apologise, check for harm, correct it and report it so others can learn.
- 22
You notice a fellow student regularly skipping hand hygiene on placement. What do you do?
What to cover: Patient safety comes first. Speak to them privately and kindly, then raise it with a supervisor if it continues.
- 23
Why do doctors need to look after their own health?
What to cover: Because tired or unwell doctors make more errors and are less able to care. Talk about registering with a GP, rest and asking for help early.
- 24
A friend on your course tells you they have been feeling low for weeks and are struggling to keep up. What do you do?
What to cover: Listen, take it seriously and encourage them to see their GP and student support. If you think they are at risk of harm, you could not keep it to yourself.
- 25
What does being conscientious mean for a medical student?
What to cover: Talk about turning up on time, doing what you said you would, preparing for teaching and following up on tasks. Give an example of your own.
- 26
You are on placement and a nurse asks you to do something you have not been trained to do. What do you say?
What to cover: Decline politely, explain that you are not trained or allowed to, and offer to find someone who can. Working within your competence keeps patients safe.
- 27
Why is it important for doctors to report errors and near misses?
What to cover: Because systems learn from them and the same mistake is then less likely to happen to another patient. Mention that a no-blame culture makes reporting easier.
- 28
You smell alcohol on a doctor's breath at the start of a shift. What do you do?
What to cover: Act today: speak to them privately if it is safe, and tell a senior. Our whistleblowing guide covers raising concerns.
Model answer
Why do doctors need to look after their own health?
Because a doctor's health affects their patients. Someone who is exhausted, unwell or struggling with their mental health is more likely to make mistakes and less able to give each patient their full attention. Looking after yourself is part of keeping patients safe.
It also matters for the doctor as a person. Medicine is demanding and can be stressful, which is why Edinburgh asks applicants for evidence of outside interests and a healthy balance. Doctors who burn out may leave the profession, which harms the patients they would have treated over a whole career.
In practice it means simple things: registering with your own GP and not treating yourself, taking breaks, keeping up the things that help you switch off, and asking for help early. For me that is running with a club twice a week. When I stopped for a few weeks before my mock exams, I noticed I slept worse and concentrated less, so I now protect that time.
Go deeper: The GMC explained for interviews
Interview preparation
1-1 interview coaching and mock interviews for Edinburgh, 2027 entry
Our 1-1 medicine interview tutoring is online and your tutor is matched to Edinburgh, so every mock runs in the multiple mini interview (MMI) format Edinburgh uses, with written feedback after each one.
We cover every UK medical school and last year our students were offered places at every one, including Edinburgh.
Ten hours is £749 (£75 an hour) and includes the £349 Ultimate Q&A Guide free (500+ questions with model answers written by doctors), plus WhatsApp support between sessions.
Most popular1-1 Interview Coaching
20 hours
Our best-value full programme
£1,449£1,699Save £250
or 2 monthly payments of £724.50
Free Q&A Guide (£349)
Buy
1-1 Interview Coaching
30 hours
Deepest prep for multiple offers and Oxbridge
£2,149£2,499Save £350
or 2 monthly payments of £1,074.50
Free Q&A Guide (£349)
Buy
Interview Guide
Ultimate Q&A Guide
Model answers to every common interview question
£349
Free with any coaching package
BuyNot sure which option fits? Explore all interview coaching or book a free consultation.
Communication
What Edinburgh says: The Medical Schools Council statement Edinburgh uses lists effective communication, including reading, writing, listening and speaking. Edinburgh's personal statement guidance asks for empathy, interpersonal relationships and the ability to communicate. Medical Schools Council, Statement on the core values and attributes needed to study medicine, linked by Edinburgh as the basis of its assessments (read from a web.archive.org copy, as the live PDF blocks automated requests)
Edinburgh does not publish what its stations contain, so prepare for communication to be marked both in how you answer questions and in any scenario where you speak to someone. Edinburgh's Year 1 timetable includes clinical communication tutorials, which tells you how much it values the skill. Listen, use plain words, check understanding and notice what the other person needs.
- 29
What makes a doctor a good communicator?
What to cover: Describe behaviours: listening without interrupting, plain language, checking understanding, noticing feelings. Then give a moment when you saw it done well.
- 30
Explain to a nine-year-old why they need a vaccination.
What to cover: Short words, one simple picture of how the body learns to fight a germ, and truthfulness that it may sting. Then check they understood.
- 31
A patient's son is angry that nobody has told him what is happening to his father. Talk to him.
What to cover: Let him speak, acknowledge that not knowing is frightening, and avoid being defensive. Explain that you need his father's consent to share, and offer to find the right person.
- 32
Tell me about a time you had to explain something complicated. How did you check the other person understood?
What to cover: Give a specific example and the check you used, such as asking them to explain it back. "Does that make sense?" is not a check.
- 33
How would you talk to a patient whose first language is not English?
What to cover: A professional interpreter, not a family member where possible, short sentences and checking understanding. Written information in their language helps too.
- 34
What is the difference between empathy and sympathy?
What to cover: Empathy is understanding someone's feelings from their point of view; sympathy is feeling sorry for them. Our empathy guide shows how it sounds in practice.
- 35
Your flatmate has failed an exam and wants to leave medicine. Talk to them.
What to cover: Listen before advising, ask what happened and how they feel, check they are safe and point them to their student adviser. Do not push them either way.
- 36
How would you tell a friend that you could not keep a promise you made to them?
What to cover: Tell them early and plainly, apologise once, explain without making excuses and offer an alternative. It is the same skill as giving unwelcome news to a patient.
- 37
Why might a patient leave a consultation without understanding what they were told?
What to cover: Consider jargon, anxiety, time pressure, health literacy and language. Suggest fixes, such as checking back and writing key points down.
- 38
How would you build rapport with a patient on a video call?
What to cover: Introductions, checking they can see and hear you, looking at the camera, pausing for them to speak and summarising often. If you interview online, the same applies to you.
Model answer
A patient's son is angry that nobody has told him what is happening to his father. Talk to him.
"I can see you're really worried, and it sounds as if you've been waiting a long time without any news. That must be awful. I'm one of the medical students on the ward. Would you like to sit down and tell me what's happened so far?" I would let him talk without interrupting, because he needs to feel heard before anything else will help.
Then I would be clear about what I can do. "I'm not able to share details about your dad's care without his permission, and I'm not the right person to explain his treatment. What I can do is find the nurse in charge or one of the doctors looking after him and ask them to come and speak to you." If his father is able to, the team can ask him what he would like his son to know.
I would give him a realistic idea of when someone will come, and then make sure it happens. I would not blame the staff or make promises about his father's condition. Before I left, I would check whether he needs anything, such as a drink or somewhere quieter to wait.
Go deeper: MMI role-play stations
Teamwork and partnership
What Edinburgh says: Under communication, partnership and teamwork, the Medical Schools Council statement Edinburgh uses asks for the ability to work effectively as a member of a healthcare team, recognising and respecting the skills of other professions and of patients. Medical Schools Council, Statement on the core values and attributes needed to study medicine, linked by Edinburgh as the basis of its assessments (read from a web.archive.org copy, as the live PDF blocks automated requests)
Edinburgh's course pages say students work with all members of the multidisciplinary team from Year 4 and learn through group-based learning from Year 1. Prepare team examples where you were not in charge as well as ones where you led, and know what other professions contribute. Partnership with patients counts too: they are part of the team that makes decisions about their care.
- 39
Tell me about a time you worked well in a team. What was your role?
What to cover: Choose a specific example and describe your part in it. Avoid a story where you did everything.
- 40
Describe a team that did not work well. What did you do about it?
What to cover: Focus on what you noticed and did. Blaming others, however fair, uses up the time you need to show insight.
- 41
Who is in the team that looks after a patient in hospital, and why does each person matter?
What to cover: Go beyond doctors and nurses: pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, healthcare support workers, porters and domestic staff.
- 42
What does it mean to treat a patient as a partner in their care?
What to cover: Talk about shared decision-making: the doctor brings the evidence, the patient brings their values and circumstances, and they decide together.
- 43
Is it more important for a doctor to be a good leader or a good team member?
What to cover: Argue that a doctor needs both, and that good followers make good leaders. Give one example of each.
- 44
A nurse disagrees with a doctor's plan for a patient. How should they handle it?
What to cover: Raise it respectfully, explain the reasons, listen to each other, and escalate if patient safety is at risk. Good teams make it safe to speak up.
- 45
How would you make a group-based learning session useful for everyone?
What to cover: Prepare beforehand, let quieter members speak, keep the group on task and share work fairly. Edinburgh uses group-based learning tutorials from Year 1.
- 46
What do you bring to a team, and what do you find hard?
What to cover: Name a strength with a short example and a difficulty you are working on. Insight into both earns more than a list of strengths.
- 47
A member of your group project has stopped replying a week before the deadline. What do you do?
What to cover: Find out why before assuming the worst, agree a plan with the group, and tell the tutor if the work is at risk.
- 48
Why does a good handover between doctors matter?
What to cover: Because information lost at handover can harm patients. Talk about clear, structured handovers and the receiving doctor checking what they have been told.
Model answer
What does it mean to treat a patient as a partner in their care?
It means the patient helps make the decision about their care, instead of simply being told it. The doctor brings knowledge about the condition and the options; the patient brings what matters to them, their circumstances and their own knowledge of their body. A good decision needs both.
In practice that means explaining options clearly, including doing nothing, with the benefits and risks of each in words the patient understands. Then it means asking what they think and what they are worried about, and giving them time. Someone who has to care for a relative, for example, may prefer a treatment that needs fewer hospital visits even if it works slightly less well.
I saw this when I shadowed at a GP surgery. The GP gave an older man with diabetes two choices for his medicine and asked which would fit his day. He chose the one he could manage with his meals, and the GP said he was much more likely to keep taking it. That is partnership: the right treatment is partly the one the patient will actually use.
Go deeper: The multidisciplinary team explained
Respect, empathy and honesty: maintaining trust
What Edinburgh says: Under maintaining trust, the Medical Schools Council statement Edinburgh uses lists the ability to treat people with respect, empathy and the ability to care for others, honesty, and taking responsibility for your own actions. Medical Schools Council, Statement on the core values and attributes needed to study medicine, linked by Edinburgh as the basis of its assessments (read from a web.archive.org copy, as the live PDF blocks automated requests)
Edinburgh teaches the Social and Ethical Aspects of Medicine from Year 1, including ethics lectures, so expect ethical reasoning to come up. For each scenario, work out whose interests are at stake, what you would need to know, what you would do and what would change your mind. Our guide to answering ethics questions gives you a structure.
- 49
A patient with capacity refuses a treatment that would probably save their life. What should happen?
What to cover: Check capacity for this decision and understanding of the consequences, explore their reasons and offer alternatives. Then respect the decision; our capacity guide covers the test.
- 50
A 15-year-old asks for contraception and does not want her parents told. What are the issues?
What to cover: Consider whether she is competent to consent, her confidentiality and any signs of risk. Our Gillick competence guide sets out the test.
- 51
A friend asks you to look up a relative's test results on the hospital system. What do you say?
What to cover: Say no kindly and without hesitation. Looking at records with no clinical reason breaches confidentiality and the law; help them ask through the proper route.
- 52
Is it ever acceptable to lie to a patient?
What to cover: Explain why trust depends on truthfulness and why the GMC expects openness. Distinguish lying from choosing how and when to share difficult news.
- 53
A patient makes a racist comment about the doctor treating them. How should the doctor respond?
What to cover: Stay calm and professional, make clear the comment is not acceptable, and keep the patient's care safe. Mention support for the doctor and reporting the incident.
- 54
Should patients who smoke wait longer for surgery than patients who do not?
What to cover: Separate the clinical argument, that smoking raises the risk of some operations, from the moral argument about blame. Discuss fairness and addiction, and reach a reasoned view.
- 55
A student on your course posts a photo from placement online, and a patient can be seen in the background. What do you do?
What to cover: Treat it as a confidentiality breach. Ask them to remove it, then escalate if they will not. Our confidentiality guide explains where the line sits.
- 56
Scotland has an opt-out system for organ donation. Is that right?
What to cover: Set out the case for, more organs and lives saved, and against, consent presumed from silence. Mention that families are still involved, and reach your own view.
- 57
Should a doctor treat a member of their own family?
What to cover: Explain why the GMC advises against it except in emergencies: objectivity, confidentiality and the patient's freedom to speak openly.
- 58
What does treating patients with dignity mean on a busy ward?
What to cover: Make it practical: curtains drawn, using people's names, explaining before touching, keeping someone covered, answering call bells. Give an example you saw.
Model answer
Is it ever acceptable to lie to a patient?
I do not think it is. Medicine depends on patients trusting what doctors tell them, and the GMC expects doctors to be open with patients, including when something has gone wrong. If a patient discovered they had been lied to, even with kind intentions, they might stop believing the doctor about things that really matter, such as whether to take a treatment.
That is different from choosing how and when to share difficult news. A doctor can find out what the patient already knows and wants to know, give information in stages, and use gentle words. Some patients say they do not want every detail, and respecting that is not lying, as long as the doctor checks and the patient can ask at any time.
So I would separate deception, which I think is wrong, from tact and timing, which are part of good care. If I were ever tempted to soften something until it stopped being true, I would take that as a sign to ask a senior colleague for help with the conversation.
Go deeper: The four pillars of medical ethics
How much does the Edinburgh interview count?
Each of the three stations is scored independently by one selector. After all the Assessment Days are finished, Edinburgh reviews every application and gives each applicant a final score in which the Assessment Day scores make up 50%. The rest comes from your academic score (25%), your UCAT decile (17.5%) and your situational judgement test band (7.5%). Applicants are ranked, and offers go to the highest-ranking candidates in each fee category.
So the interview is the largest single part of the decision, but your application still counts after it. Edinburgh says it usually makes more offers than it has places, because not everyone accepts.
Source: Edinburgh Medical School, Applying for Medicine booklet 2027 (updated 24 April 2026, PDF) (2027 entry)
What happens on the day?
- Where: Edinburgh Medical School, in person, if you are on the Scottish or rest of UK or Republic of Ireland fee rate. Applicants domiciled outside the UK and Ireland are likely to interview online. Your invitation confirms the details.
- How long: a half-day, which includes finding out more about studying medicine in Edinburgh as well as the three interview stations. Edinburgh does not publish station timings.
- Details of the day: Edinburgh sends information about the structure of the Assessment Day to everyone it invites.
- Adjustments: Edinburgh invites you to tell it about any health condition or disability at the application stage, so that adjustments can be made if you are invited to an Assessment Day. It says this plays no part in the assessment.
- Preparation: reread your personal statement, which Edinburgh calls essential preparation, and read the GMC's Outcomes for graduates, which it highly recommends.
Source: Edinburgh Medical School, Applying for Medicine booklet 2027 (updated 24 April 2026, PDF) (2027 entry); Edinburgh Medical School, The selection process (2027 entry (15 October 2026 deadline)); Edinburgh Medical School, Application procedure (2027 entry); Edinburgh Medical School, Your personal statement (no year stated)
What happens after the Edinburgh Assessment Day?
Edinburgh compares all scores before deciding, so there can be a long wait. Applicants who applied by 15 October 2026 and attended an Assessment Day should hear by the end of March 2027, through UCAS. Successful applicants receive offer information electronically and, if they make Edinburgh their firm choice, an offer pack and a link to the PVG scheme application.
Unsuccessful applicants can request feedback by email to medug@ed.ac.uk or through the EUCLID portal. An appeal is normally considered only after you have asked for and received feedback, and only for new information you could not include in the application or a procedural error. For 2025 entry, 593 of the 741 home applicants interviewed received an offer (80%), and 68 of 98 international interviewees (69%). An offer is conditional on your grades and a PVG check; it is not yet a place.
Source: Edinburgh Medical School, Applying for Medicine booklet 2027 (updated 24 April 2026, PDF) (2027 entry); Edinburgh Medical School, The selection process (2027 entry (15 October 2026 deadline)); Admissions statistics as published on our Edinburgh profile, from Edinburgh Medical School's admissions statistics (2025 entry)
Practise a Edinburgh-style interview
A timed mock in the format Edinburgh uses, built from the themes Edinburgh publishes. Record yourself, then mark it against the pointers above.
Common mistakes at the Edinburgh interview
- 1
Assuming the application stops counting after the invitation
Edinburgh's final score is half Assessment Day and half academic results, UCAT and SJT. Your interview matters most, but you are ranked on everything.
- 2
Preparing for one long panel
Edinburgh's Assessment Day has three stations, each scored by a different selector. Practise short, complete answers, and leave a bad station behind you.
- 3
Listing experiences without reflecting on them
Edinburgh says it values quality of experience over quantity and wants the personal lessons you took. For each experience, prepare what you learned as well as what you did.
- 4
Not reading your own personal statement
Edinburgh calls it essential preparation for the Assessment Day. Reread it and be ready to go deeper on anything in it.
- 5
Learning the attributes as a list
Naming the Medical Schools Council's core values earns little. Prepare a short real example for each one.
- 6
Ignoring the research year
Year 3 at Edinburgh is a full research year for a BMedSci. A "Why Edinburgh?" answer that never mentions it suggests you have not read the course.
How we can help
Expert 1-1 support for your Edinburgh application
1-1 support from doctors and admissions experts across every stage of your medicine application.
Most popular
1-1 Mock Interview
Marked on real criteria
Ultimate Package
Full application support
FAQs
Edinburgh medicine interview: common questions
Does Edinburgh interview for medicine?
Yes. Edinburgh interviews the top-scoring applicants after shortlisting at a half-day Assessment Day with three interview stations, and the Assessment Day score makes up half of the final score used to decide offers, so no offer is made without one.
Applicants on the Scottish and rest of UK or Republic of Ireland fee rates must attend in person; applicants domiciled outside the UK and Ireland are likely to interview online. Applicants who are not shortlisted are not interviewed.
When are Edinburgh medicine interviews for 2027 entry?
In November and December 2026 and January 2027, according to the applicant timeline in Edinburgh's 2027 booklet. Edinburgh does not publish individual Assessment Day dates.
Compare the window with your other choices in our interview dates table.
When will I hear whether I have an Edinburgh medicine interview?
Edinburgh does not publish a date for Assessment Day invitations. UCAT results reach universities in early November, and Edinburgh needs them to rank applicants, so invitations come after that, for Assessment Days running from November to January.
Edinburgh tells some applicants with low selection scores that they are unsuccessful on an ongoing basis during the selection process.
Are Edinburgh medicine interviews online or in person?
Both, depending on your fee rate and where you live: applicants on the Scottish and rest of UK or Republic of Ireland fee rates must attend in person at Edinburgh Medical School, and applicants domiciled outside the UK and Ireland are likely to interview online.
Edinburgh says it is likely to continue online interviews for applicants living outside the UK and Ireland, in support of its sustainability policy. Your invitation confirms the arrangements.
How many stations are in the Edinburgh Assessment Day, and how long is it?
Three stations, each scored independently by one selector, within a half-day Assessment Day. Edinburgh does not publish how long each station lasts or what the stations contain.
The half-day also includes a chance to find out more about studying medicine in Edinburgh. Details of the structure are sent to everyone invited.
What does Edinburgh look for at interview?
The core attributes of a doctor set out in the Medical Schools Council's statement on core values: motivation and insight, problem solving and resilience, responsibility and safety, communication and teamwork, and respect, empathy and honesty. Edinburgh also highly recommends reading the GMC's Outcomes for graduates.
How does Edinburgh choose who to interview for medicine?
Two selectors independently score your academic results, Edinburgh adds scores for your UCAT decile and SJT band, and the top-scoring applicants are invited to an Assessment Day. The cut-offs and widening access criteria are on our Edinburgh medical school profile.
How competitive is the Edinburgh medicine interview?
For 2025 entry, 80% of home applicants interviewed received an offer (593 of 741), and 69% of international interviewees (68 of 98). These figures are from our Edinburgh profile, which uses Edinburgh Medical School's own admissions statistics.
Edinburgh ranks applicants within each fee category and usually makes more offers than it has places, because not everyone accepts.
Are international applicants interviewed differently at Edinburgh?
Only in where they interview: Edinburgh says international applicants are assessed in the same way as everyone else, but those domiciled outside the UK and Ireland are likely to attend a virtual Assessment Day.
Offers are made to the highest-ranking candidates in each fee category, so international applicants compete with each other for the international places. Successful international applicants are usually asked for a deposit of a third of a year's fees.
When will I hear from Edinburgh after my interview?
By the end of March 2027, through UCAS. Edinburgh compares all scores after the last Assessment Day before it decides, so applicants interviewed in November can wait several months.
Feedback is available to unsuccessful applicants on request, by email to medug@ed.ac.uk.
Can I reschedule an Edinburgh medicine interview?
Edinburgh does not publish a rescheduling policy for Assessment Days. If you cannot attend the date you are given, contact the Edinburgh Medical School admissions team as soon as the invitation arrives, using the details in your invitation, and do not assume another date will be available.
Does my UCAT score still count after the Edinburgh interview?
Yes. Edinburgh's final score is 50% Assessment Day, 25% academic score, 17.5% UCAT decile and 7.5% SJT band, so your application still counts alongside your interview. The interview is the largest single part.
Does Edinburgh's HCP-Med route interview differently?
It has its own Assessment Day, also with three stations, and the interview is worth 50% of the decision. HCP-Med is a separate five-year MBChB for qualified healthcare professionals who live and work in Scotland, applied for directly to the university and not through UCAS.
Applications for the September 2027 HCP-Med intake have closed. Graduates who apply to the six-year MBChB through UCAS are interviewed in the same way as school leavers.
Where these facts come from
- Edinburgh Medical School, Applying for Medicine booklet 2027 (updated 24 April 2026, PDF) (2027 entry)
- Edinburgh Medical School, The selection process (2027 entry (15 October 2026 deadline))
- The University of Edinburgh, MBChB Medicine (6-year programme) degree finder page (2027 entry)
- Edinburgh Medical School, Your personal statement (no year stated)
- Edinburgh Medical School, UCAT (2027 entry)
- Edinburgh Medical School, Application procedure (2027 entry)
- Edinburgh Medical School, Graduate and mature applicants (no year stated)
- Edinburgh Medical School, HCP-Med entry requirements and how to apply (2027/28 intake (applications closed))
- Medical Schools Council, Statement on the core values and attributes needed to study medicine, linked by Edinburgh as the basis of its assessments (read from a web.archive.org copy, as the live PDF blocks automated requests) (2018 update)
- Admissions statistics as published on our Edinburgh profile, from Edinburgh Medical School's admissions statistics (2025 entry)
Last checked: 24 October 2026. Universities change interview arrangements during the cycle, so confirm on Edinburgh's own page before you travel or book. The questions above are practice questions written by TheUKCATPeople from Edinburgh's published guidance; they are not real or leaked interview questions.
Contact us
Want expert help with your application?
From 1-1 tutoring and personal statement editing to interview coaching and our all-in-one Ultimate Package, we support every stage. Tell us what you are aiming for and we will recommend the right option.
