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Medicine interviews, 2027 entry
Surrey Medicine Interview Questions (2027 Entry)
How the University of Surrey School of Medicine interviews for its graduate entry BMBS: the virtual multiple mini interview (MMI), what Surrey has and has not published for 2027 entry, how offers are ranked, and 50 practice questions built from the way Surrey describes its own course, with model answers.
Reviewed by Dr Akash Gandhi, NHS GP and a Cambridge and UCL graduate (GMC register) · Checked against Surrey's official pages: 26 October 2026
Surrey medicine interviews, 2027 entry
Surrey interviews for graduate entry medicine with a virtual multiple mini interview (MMI): one online cycle lasting under one hour, at one of several virtual interview events. Dates for 2027 entry are still to be confirmed. Surrey does not publish a station count or a post-interview offer rate; offers go to the highest-ranked MMI scores.
- Dates, 2027 entry
- To be confirmed: Surrey has not yet published themUniversity of Surrey, Medicine (Graduate Entry) BMBS course page (Selection process) (2027 entry)
- Format
- Multiple mini interviews (MMIs), described as a values-based recruitment processUniversity of Surrey School of Medicine, BMBS Admissions Process Policy, 2027 entry (PDF) (2027 entry)
- Delivery
- Online, at one of several virtual interview eventsUniversity of Surrey, Medicine (Graduate Entry) BMBS course page (Selection process) (2027 entry)
- Length
- One MMI cycle lasting under one hourUniversity of Surrey, Medicine (Graduate Entry) BMBS course page (Selection process) (2027 entry)
- Stations
- Number not published; each station assesses a specific competency or characteristicUniversity of Surrey School of Medicine, BMBS Admissions Process Policy, 2027 entry (PDF) (2027 entry)
- Interviewers
- Academic and clinical professionalsUniversity of Surrey School of Medicine, BMBS Admissions Process Policy, 2027 entry (PDF) (2027 entry)
- Marking
- Each station marked independently against agreed criteriaUniversity of Surrey, Medicine (Graduate Entry) BMBS course page (Selection process) (2027 entry)
- How offers are made
- All MMI scores are ranked and offers made on performance; outcome is offer, waiting list or rejectUniversity of Surrey School of Medicine, BMBS Admissions Process Policy, 2027 entry (PDF) (2027 entry)
- Post-interview offer rate
- Not published by Surrey, and our profile holds no interviewed count
Entry requirements, test scores and fees are on our Surrey graduate entry medicine guide.
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 Surrey interview for medicine?
Surrey interviews with multiple mini interviews (MMIs). Once you are shortlisted you are invited to one of a selection of virtual interview events, and every applicant completes one MMI cycle lasting under one hour. Surrey's 2027 entry admissions policy calls the MMI a values-based recruitment process that reinforces objectivity, and says each station assesses a specific competency or characteristic.
Each station is marked independently against agreed criteria, so a weak station does not drag down the others. The staff involved are academic and clinical professionals, chosen so that you are seen from a range of perspectives.
What Surrey does not publish
Surrey does not publish the number of stations, how long each one lasts, whether there is reading time, which video platform it uses, or a list of the competencies its stations test. Your invitation is the place those details will appear. Nothing on this page guesses at them.
This page covers the Medicine (Graduate Entry) BMBS, Surrey's only medicine course. Surrey's veterinary medicine degree has its own admissions process and is not covered here. New to the MMI format? Our MMI preparation guide explains the circuit, and our guide to online MMIs covers interviewing on screen.
Source: University of Surrey, Medicine (Graduate Entry) BMBS course page (Selection process) (2027 entry); University of Surrey School of Medicine, BMBS Admissions Process Policy, 2027 entry (PDF) (2027 entry)
When are Surrey medicine interviews for 2027 entry?
| Applicants | Dates | Delivery |
|---|---|---|
| All shortlisted applicants | To be confirmed | Online, at one of several virtual interview events |
Surrey's course page lists its virtual interview events for 2027 entry as dates to be confirmed, and Surrey does not publish when invitations go out. The UCAS deadline for the course was 15 October 2026. Because the interview is online, you will not need to travel to Guildford for it. Compare Surrey with every other school in our UK medical school interview dates table, which we update when Surrey publishes its dates.
Source: University of Surrey, Medicine (Graduate Entry) BMBS course page (Selection process) (2027 entry); University of Surrey School of Medicine, BMBS Admissions Process Policy, 2027 entry (PDF) (2027 entry)
Who does Surrey interview?
Surrey checks applicants against its academic requirements, then ranks them on their GAMSAT (or, for five science degrees, UCAT) score and places each one in an invite, waiting list or reject group. The degree rules, test rules and SJT band requirement are on our Surrey graduate entry medicine guide, which is the page for that question.
Source: University of Surrey, Medicine (Graduate Entry) BMBS course page (Selection process) (2027 entry); University of Surrey School of Medicine, BMBS Admissions Process Policy, 2027 entry (PDF) (2027 entry)
What does Surrey assess at interview?
Surrey says only that its MMI is values-based and that each station tests a specific competency or characteristic. It does not name them. What it does publish is how it describes the doctors it wants to train, and that is the best guide to what its stations will be looking for:
- The School of Medicine describes its course as patient-centred, digitally-enabled and interprofessional.
- Every year runs Medical Knowledge, Clinical Practice and Professional Development strands, with Professional Development Groups to explore what it means to be a medical professional.
- From Year 2 the course develops the skills and attitudes required to address health inequalities and perform professional advocacy roles.
- Surrey takes a One Health, One Medicine approach, linking human, animal and environmental health, and says it is integrating AI into every course.
- The school is based in the Kate Granger Building, named after the consultant who started the #hellomynameis campaign for compassionate care.
- Surrey's admissions policy says work experience in caregiving is desirable but not essential, and that personal statements are not scored but may be reviewed.
The seven themes below follow those published words. The questions are practice questions written by TheUKCATPeople from Surrey's own pages. They are not real or leaked Surrey questions, and nothing here comes from students reporting what they were asked.
Source: University of Surrey School of Medicine, BMBS Admissions Process Policy, 2027 entry (PDF) (2027 entry); University of Surrey, School of Medicine (no year stated); University of Surrey, Medicine (Graduate Entry) BMBS course page (Selection process) (2027 entry); University of Surrey, One Health, One Medicine (no year stated); University of Surrey, Why we are based in the Kate Granger Building (no year stated); University of Surrey, Five reasons to study medicine at Surrey (no year stated); University of Surrey, Celebrating one year of Surrey's School of Medicine (no year stated); University of Surrey, Training doctors of the future (no year stated)
Surrey medicine interview questions, by theme
Grouped by what Surrey says it assesses. Each question has a note on what a strong answer covers, and the Surrey-specific ones have a full model answer. These are practice questions written by TheUKCATPeople from Surrey's published guidance, not real or leaked questions.
- Motivation and your route to medicine as a graduate (1 to 8)
- Values: Surrey's values-based recruitment (9 to 14)
- Patient-centred care and communication (15 to 22)
- Professionalism and ethics (23 to 29)
- Interprofessional teamwork (30 to 36)
- Health inequalities and advocacy (37 to 42)
- Digitally enabled medicine and One Health (43 to 50)
Motivation and your route to medicine as a graduate
What Surrey says: Surrey does not publish a motivation station. Its policy says personal statements are not scored but may be reviewed, and that work experience in caregiving is desirable but not essential. University of Surrey School of Medicine, BMBS Admissions Process Policy, 2027 entry (PDF)
Every Surrey applicant already has a degree, so the interviewer will want to know why medicine now, and what you bring from the years since school. Your answer is stronger when it rests on what you have done, such as caregiving, and on what you know about Surrey's four-year course.
- 1
Why do you want to be a doctor, and why now, after your first degree?
What to cover: Give the turning point in a sentence, then show how you tested the idea since: caregiving, time with doctors, or work that put you close to patients. A graduate who has drifted towards medicine is less convincing than one who checked it.
- 2
What from your degree or your working life will make you a better doctor?
What to cover: Pick one skill and show it in use, such as data handling from a science degree or listening from a humanities one. Surrey says all academic disciplines are given equal consideration, so do not apologise for a non-science degree.
- 3
Why Surrey?
What to cover: Name two things Surrey actually does, such as patient contact from the first term, simulation in the Clinical Simulation Centre or its focus on health inequalities, and say why they suit you.
- 4
Surrey's course runs Medical Knowledge, Clinical Practice, Professional Development and Special Study Units strands. Which will stretch you most?
What to cover: Choose one and give a reason from your own background, then say what you will do about it. It shows you have read the course and can judge yourself fairly.
- 5
Surrey says caregiving experience is desirable. Tell me about caring you have done and what it taught you about the job.
What to cover: Describe the person, the routine and one moment that stayed with you. Then connect it to medicine: what you learned about dignity, patience or the limits of what you could do.
- 6
Surrey is a new medical school. What are the advantages and the risks of joining one?
What to cover: Be balanced: small cohorts, new facilities and a chance to shape the school, against a course still under GMC review. Surrey names the University of Exeter as its contingency school, so you can show you understand the safeguard.
- 7
A four-year course covers medicine at a fast pace. How will you cope?
What to cover: Talk about what you already do to manage a heavy workload, and what support you would use. Mention looking after your own health, which matters for patients too.
- 8
Why medicine, and not becoming a physician associate or a nurse?
What to cover: Speak about both roles with respect and accuracy, then give a reason that is about the doctor's role in particular, such as diagnosis and carrying final clinical responsibility.
Model answer
Why Surrey?
The first reason is how early the patients come. Surrey puts students on placement in general practice and community mental health in the first year, and teaches clinical skills in the Clinical Simulation Centre at the same time. I spent two years supporting adults with learning disabilities after my degree, and I learned more from the people I worked with than from anything I read, so I want a course that keeps me close to patients from the start.
The second is that Surrey teaches doctors to address health inequalities and to act as advocates. In my job I watched people miss appointments because the letters were not in a format they could use, and nobody noticed. I would like to train somewhere that treats that as part of a doctor's work.
And I like the size of the school. With a yearly cohort of around a hundred, and teaching in the same building as nurses, midwives and paramedics, I think I would get to know the people I learn with, which is how I work best.
Go deeper: How to answer "Why medicine?"
Values: Surrey's values-based recruitment
What Surrey says: Surrey's 2027 entry policy says its interviews are multiple mini-interviews, a values-based recruitment process that reinforces objectivity, in which each station assesses a specific competency or characteristic. University of Surrey School of Medicine, BMBS Admissions Process Policy, 2027 entry (PDF)
Values-based recruitment means Surrey wants evidence that you already behave the way a good doctor does. Naming values is easy. What scores is a real example, and what you did when the value was hard to live up to.
- 9
Surrey selects through values-based recruitment. Which of your values would a patient notice first?
What to cover: Choose one value and describe how it shows in your behaviour, with a short example. A patient notices what you do, so describe the action.
- 10
Tell me about a time your values were tested at work or during your degree.
What to cover: Choose a moment where doing the right thing cost you something, such as time, popularity or an easier route. Spend most of the answer on what you did and why.
- 11
Surrey's founding dean says the school wants to nurture the independence and resilience a doctor needs. Describe a setback and how you dealt with it.
What to cover: Pick a real setback, say what you did next and what you changed. Resilience is not carrying on alone: include asking for help where you did.
- 12
Surrey's founding dean says it is important that doctors represent the population they serve. Why does that matter to patients?
What to cover: Talk about trust, understanding patients' lives and spotting what others miss. Then say what you would bring to that yourself.
- 13
Tell me about a mistake you made and what you changed afterwards.
What to cover: Use a real mistake with a consequence. Own it plainly, then spend most of the time on what you did to put it right and what you do differently now.
- 14
What does integrity mean for a medical student who already has a career behind them?
What to cover: Cover admitting what you do not know, even when you are used to being the expert, and reliability with small things such as attendance and records.
Model answer
Surrey's founding dean says it is important that doctors represent the population they serve. Why does that matter to patients?
Because patients tell more to people they feel understand them. A patient who thinks the doctor will judge their job, their accent or their family may leave out the detail that matters, and a diagnosis depends on that detail.
It also matters for the decisions doctors make together. A team where everyone has had the same kind of life can miss things, such as how hard it is to take time off from shift work for an appointment, or how a family decides about care. Different backgrounds in the team make those blind spots smaller.
I was the first in my family to go to university, and I worked in a supermarket through my degree. I would not claim that makes me understand every patient, but it does mean I know not to assume people can simply do what they are told. Surrey's scholarships for students from under-represented backgrounds tell me it takes this seriously.
Go deeper: The six NHS core values
Patient-centred care and communication
What Surrey says: Surrey's School of Medicine describes its course as patient-centred, digitally-enabled and interprofessional, and says students learn essential skills in communication and the psychological and social factors of patient care. University of Surrey, School of Medicine
Surrey's school is housed in the Kate Granger Building, and the university's own article on Kate Granger asks every student to learn about her campaign. Expect at least one station that is a conversation, perhaps with an actor, where the assessor watches how you listen and whether you adapt to the person in front of you. On a screen, that means speaking clearly, pausing to let the other person speak and checking they have understood.
- 15
Surrey's School of Medicine is based in the Kate Granger Building. What did her #hellomynameis campaign ask of healthcare staff, and why does it matter?
What to cover: Explain that Kate Granger, a consultant geriatrician who had cancer, found staff often did not introduce themselves. Then say why an introduction builds trust, and how you would do it.
- 16
Role play: you are a first-year Surrey student on a GP placement. A patient seems uneasy about a student being in the room. Talk to them.
What to cover: Introduce yourself and your role, explain why you are there and make it easy for them to say no. Their consent to your presence matters more than your learning.
- 17
Role play: your elderly neighbour has been told to order her repeat prescriptions through an app and finds it confusing. Help her.
What to cover: Find out what she already knows, go at her pace, and let her do the steps herself. Check there is another way to order if the app does not suit her.
- 18
Explain an idea from your first degree to a twelve-year-old.
What to cover: Choose one idea, use short words and one picture, and check understanding by asking them to explain it back. This tests whether you can adapt to your listener.
- 19
Surrey students take OSCEs that include taking a history from a patient. What makes a patient willing to tell you something difficult?
What to cover: Talk about privacy, open questions, unhurried listening and not reacting with judgement. Give an example from caring or work where someone opened up to you.
- 20
Role play: a patient's son is angry that his mother has waited hours in the emergency department. Talk to him.
What to cover: Let him speak, acknowledge his worry, and do not get defensive. Say what you can do, such as finding the nurse in charge, and do not promise what you cannot deliver.
- 21
What does a patient-centred consultation look like, and what does one that is not patient-centred look like?
What to cover: Contrast the two: one asks about the patient's ideas, concerns and expectations and agrees a plan; the other tells the patient what will happen. Then give a moment you saw either.
- 22
A patient who does not speak much English has come to the GP surgery alone. How do you make sure they are understood?
What to cover: Use a professional interpreter and explain why family members are a poor substitute. Keep sentences short and check understanding.
Model answer
Surrey's School of Medicine is based in the Kate Granger Building. What did her #hellomynameis campaign ask of healthcare staff, and why does it matter?
Kate Granger was a consultant geriatrician who was diagnosed with a rare cancer at 29. As a patient, she noticed that many of the staff treating her did not introduce themselves, and that some spoke to her in a coldly scientific way at the most frightening moments. In 2013 she and her husband started #hellomynameis, asking every member of staff to say who they are before anything else.
It matters because the introduction is where trust starts. A patient who knows your name and your role can ask you questions, can tell you when something is wrong, and is more likely to feel like a person and not a case. Kate Granger said introductions are about making a human connection between someone who is suffering and someone who wants to help.
For me it is also a habit I can practise now. When I volunteered on a hospital ward, I made a point of giving my name and saying what I was there to do, even when I was only bringing tea. I noticed patients talked to me more when I did. As a Surrey student I would be learning in a building named after her, and I would want that habit to be automatic before I ever see a patient alone.
Go deeper: MMI role-play stations
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Professionalism and ethics
What Surrey says: Surrey's course page says Professional Development Groups let students explore what it means to be a medical professional, and that accepting an offer means agreeing to a professional code of conduct, with fitness to practise procedures if it is broken. University of Surrey, Medicine (Graduate Entry) BMBS course page (Selection process)
Surrey holds students to a professional code from the moment they accept an offer, so expect a station that asks what that means in practice. For ethical scenarios, use the time to work out whose interests are at stake, reason out loud and say what would change your mind. Our guide to answering ethics questions gives you a structure.
- 23
Surrey asks offer holders to agree to a professional code of conduct before they even start. Why should a student be held to that standard?
What to cover: Explain that students see real patients and their records from the first year, so patients need the same trust in them. Our GMC guide for interviews sets out what is expected of students.
- 24
A fellow Surrey student posts a photo from placement on social media, and a patient can be identified in the background. What do you do?
What to cover: Treat it as a confidentiality breach whatever they intended. Ask them to remove it straight away, and escalate if they refuse. Our confidentiality guide covers where the line sits.
- 25
You notice that another student has copied parts of someone else's reflective writing for an assessment. What do you do?
What to cover: Speak to them first and give them the chance to put it right, then raise it with a tutor if they do not. Passing off someone else's work is a fitness to practise issue for medical students.
- 26
A patient with capacity refuses a treatment that would probably save their life. What should happen?
What to cover: Check capacity for this decision, explore their reasons, offer alternatives and record it. Then respect the decision; our capacity guide explains the test.
- 27
A friend asks you to look up a relative's test results on the hospital system while you are on placement. What do you say?
What to cover: Say no kindly and without hesitation. Viewing records with no clinical reason is a breach of confidentiality and the law, so help them ask through the proper route.
- 28
Is it ever right to break a patient's confidentiality?
What to cover: Say that confidentiality is the default and give the narrow exceptions, such as a serious risk of harm to others. Show that you would seek senior advice and share only what is needed.
- 29
Surrey's Professional Development Groups let students explore what it means to be a medical professional. What would you bring to that discussion from your life before medicine?
What to cover: Choose one professional situation from your work or degree, such as a boundary you had to hold, and say what it taught you that would apply to a doctor.
Model answer
Surrey asks offer holders to agree to a professional code of conduct before they even start. Why should a student be held to that standard?
Because from the first term, Surrey students are with real patients. In Year 1 they go on placement in general practice and community mental health, and they take histories from patients under supervision. A patient cannot tell the difference between a student who will be a good doctor and one who will not, so they are trusting us on the same terms they trust the doctor.
It is also practice for the rest of a career. The habits that keep patients safe, such as confidentiality, owning up when you get something wrong and being reliable, are much easier to build as a student than to fix later. A code at the start makes it clear those habits are not optional.
And I think it is fair. In my last job I was trusted with people's personal information and I signed a code of conduct on my first day. A medical student will see much more sensitive information than I did, so I would expect a higher standard, not a lower one.
Go deeper: The four pillars of medical ethics
Interprofessional teamwork
What Surrey says: Surrey describes its course as interprofessional. Medicine is taught in the Kate Granger Building alongside paramedic science, nursing and midwifery, Year 1 uses team-based learning to develop teamwork, and an annual simulation event has healthcare students work together on realistic scenarios. University of Surrey, Medicine (Graduate Entry) BMBS course page (Selection process)
Surrey teaches doctors next to nurses, midwives and paramedics, and uses team-based learning from the first year. A teamwork station is marked on what you did inside a team, so bring examples where your own part is clear, including times it went badly.
- 30
Surrey teaches medicine in the same building as nursing, midwifery and paramedic science. What can a doctor learn from those professions?
What to cover: Give specific examples, such as a nurse's knowledge of how a patient has been overnight or a paramedic's sense of the scene at home. Show respect for expertise that is not yours.
- 31
Surrey uses team-based learning in Year 1. Tell me about a team you were in that was not working well, and what you did.
What to cover: Focus on your own part: what you noticed, what you said and what changed. Blaming the others uses up time you need to show insight.
- 32
In a simulated emergency, a student nurse points out something you missed. How do you respond?
What to cover: Thank them, act on it, and say why speaking up matters for patient safety. A team where junior members stay quiet is a dangerous team.
- 33
A paramedic hands over a patient to you in a hurry. What makes a good handover?
What to cover: Talk about a clear structure, the key facts first, checking back what you heard and asking questions before they leave. Surrey's simulation centre teaches handover for this reason.
- 34
Describe a time you disagreed with someone more senior. What did you do?
What to cover: Show that you raised it respectfully, with evidence, at the right time, and that you accepted the outcome or escalated where safety was at risk.
- 35
Who leads a team on a ward, and does it always have to be the doctor?
What to cover: Explain that leadership depends on the task: a nurse in charge runs the ward, a doctor leads a medical decision. Show that you would follow well as well as lead.
- 36
A member of your study group is quiet and falling behind. What do you do?
What to cover: Speak to them privately, find out what is going on, and offer practical help. Point them to university support if something bigger is wrong.
Model answer
In a simulated emergency, a student nurse points out something you missed. How do you respond?
I would thank them straight away, out loud, and act on it. If they have noticed, say, that the patient's oxygen levels are falling while I was focused on something else, then the patient needs that dealt with now, and the fact that it came from a student nurse makes no difference.
Afterwards I would make sure they knew it was the right thing to do. Many errors in healthcare happen when someone noticed a problem and did not feel able to say so, often because of hierarchy. If I react badly, the next time they might stay quiet, and that time it might be a real patient.
Surrey runs simulation events where students from different professions work together for this reason. I would want to learn to be the kind of doctor people find it easy to speak up to. In my last team, the manager I respected most was the one who said thank you when we corrected her.
Go deeper: The multidisciplinary team (MDT)
Health inequalities and advocacy
What Surrey says: Surrey's course page says that from Year 2 students develop the skills and attitudes required to address health inequalities and perform professional advocacy roles. University of Surrey, Medicine (Graduate Entry) BMBS course page (Selection process)
Surrey writes health inequalities and advocacy into the clinical years of its course, and its School of Medicine runs scholarships for students from under-represented backgrounds. Be ready to explain why health differs between groups and what an individual doctor can do about it.
- 37
Surrey's curriculum asks students to perform professional advocacy roles. What does advocacy look like for a junior doctor?
What to cover: Make it practical: chasing a social care referral, making sure a patient with a learning disability gets reasonable adjustments, or raising a pattern you have noticed. Advocacy is mostly small acts.
- 38
Why can two people living a few miles apart have very different health?
What to cover: Explain the social causes, such as income, housing, work and education, and how they affect health over a lifetime. Our health inequalities guide covers the evidence.
- 39
A patient keeps missing appointments. Before calling them unreliable, what would you want to know?
What to cover: List the possible reasons: transport, shift work, caring duties, literacy, anxiety. Then say how a practice could make it easier for them to attend.
- 40
Why are some groups under-represented in medicine, and why does it matter to patients?
What to cover: Talk about cost, school support and not seeing people like you in the profession. Then link it to patients: trust, communication and a workforce that understands the population.
- 41
What part should a doctor play in preventing illness, and not only treating it?
What to cover: Give examples within a doctor's reach, such as vaccination, brief advice on smoking and spotting risk early. Be realistic about how much of prevention lies outside the clinic.
- 42
A homeless patient is ready to leave hospital but has nowhere safe to go. What are the issues?
What to cover: Cover safety, the risk of readmission and the need to involve social care and housing teams. Show that discharge is a team decision, not a bed decision.
Model answer
Surrey's curriculum asks students to perform professional advocacy roles. What does advocacy look like for a junior doctor?
I think it is mostly small and practical. A junior doctor speaks up for a patient who cannot easily speak up for themselves: making sure a deaf patient has a professional interpreter booked, not a relative asked to translate, chasing the social care referral that has stalled, or telling the consultant that a patient seemed frightened about going home.
It also means noticing patterns. If the same kind of patient keeps coming back in, for example older people readmitted because they could not manage their medicines at home, a junior doctor can raise it at a team meeting or start a small audit. That is advocacy for a group, not only an individual.
In my job at a housing charity I saw how much difference one professional who followed things up could make. Surrey teaches this from the second year, and I think it is right to treat it as a clinical skill.
Go deeper: Health inequalities and the Marmot Review
Digitally enabled medicine and One Health
What Surrey says: Surrey describes its course as digitally-enabled and says it is integrating AI into every course. The university takes a One Health, One Medicine approach to teaching and research, bringing together human, animal and environmental health. University of Surrey, School of Medicine
Surrey gives every medical student an iPad, trials virtual reality for anatomy and surgery, and teaches anatomy with handheld ultrasound from Year 1. It also puts One Health, the link between human, animal and environmental health, at the centre of its teaching and research. You do not need technical knowledge, but you should have a view on what technology can and cannot do for patients.
- 43
Surrey uses virtual reality and live-streamed surgery to teach. What can technology not teach a doctor?
What to cover: Credit what it does well, such as safe practice and seeing every angle, then name what it cannot replace: touch, real patients' reactions and judgement under pressure. Surrey itself says nothing replaces hands-on learning.
- 44
Surrey says it is integrating AI into every course. What are the benefits and risks of AI in the NHS?
What to cover: Give one real benefit, such as faster reading of scans, and one real risk, such as bias in training data or unclear responsibility for errors. Our AI in medicine guide has examples.
- 45
Surrey teaches anatomy with cadavers, virtual reality and handheld ultrasound. Should medical students learn on technology or on real bodies?
What to cover: Argue for a combination, as Surrey does, and say what each adds. Mention respect for people who donate their bodies.
- 46
Surrey takes a One Health, One Medicine approach. Why should a doctor care about animal and environmental health?
What to cover: Explain that many new infections come from animals and that climate and land use change where diseases spread. Then link it to a doctor's work, such as antibiotic prescribing.
- 47
What did the Covid-19 pandemic show about the links between human, animal and environmental health?
What to cover: Talk about how an infection can cross from animals to people and travel fast between countries. Show why prediction and prevention need many disciplines working together.
- 48
Should GP appointments by video or phone stay after the pandemic?
What to cover: Weigh convenience and access against what is lost, such as examination and the cues of being in the room. Consider who is left out, for example people without good internet. Our telemedicine guide helps.
- 49
A patient arrives with a printout from an AI chatbot saying they have a serious illness. How do you respond?
What to cover: Take their worry seriously, find out what made them look it up, and go through their symptoms properly. Do not mock the source; use it to understand their concerns.
- 50
Why is antibiotic resistance a One Health problem?
What to cover: Explain that antibiotics are used in animals and farming as well as in people, so resistance can spread across all three. Then say what a doctor can do. See our antimicrobial resistance guide.
Model answer
Surrey takes a One Health, One Medicine approach. Why should a doctor care about animal and environmental health?
Because many of the threats to human health start outside humans. A large share of new infections come from animals, and changes in the climate, in farming and in how close people live to animals all affect where diseases appear and how fast they spread. Covid-19 showed how quickly an infection can travel round the world once it crosses into people.
It also changes ordinary practice. Antibiotic resistance is a good example: antibiotics are used in animals and farming as well as in people, so resistant bacteria can move between all three. A GP who prescribes an antibiotic only when it is needed, and explains why to the patient, is doing their part in a problem that vets and farmers share.
That is why I like that Surrey teaches it. Surrey has a veterinary school as well as a medical school, and its One Health approach brings those disciplines together. I would want to understand the bigger picture before I am the one writing the prescription.
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How does Surrey decide offers after the MMI?
Surrey's Medical Admissions Review Group reviews and ranks all candidates' MMI scores and makes offers based on performance. After the MMI you are placed in one of three groups: offer, waiting list or reject. Surrey does not say that the admissions test score that earned your interview is carried into this ranking, and it does not publish how station scores are combined or a pass mark.
Offers are conditional on references confirming your suitability, Occupational Health screening and the right vaccinations, a check of your personal statement through the UCAS Similarity Detection Service, and a DBS check, or a Certificate of Good Character if you have lived outside the UK. Surrey does not publish a date for decisions.
Source: University of Surrey School of Medicine, BMBS Admissions Process Policy, 2027 entry (PDF) (2027 entry); University of Surrey, Medicine (Graduate Entry) BMBS course page (Selection process) (2027 entry)
The Surrey reserve list
Surrey may offer a defined number of applicants a place on its reserve list after interview, and you must confirm you want it. Reserve-list applicants complete Occupational Health, the Student Agreement and a self-declaration form before the summer, then contact the university once their degree results are out to find out whether a place has become available. Surrey is clear that a reserve-list place does not guarantee an offer, because it depends on capacity each year.
Source: University of Surrey School of Medicine, BMBS Admissions Process Policy, 2027 entry (PDF) (2027 entry)
Your MMI score also ranks scholarship candidates
For home offer holders who meet Surrey's widening participation criteria, the MMI does a second job. Eligible applicants are ranked by their MMI total score, and the highest scorers are invited to a face-to-face panel interview about their knowledge and behaviours related to a career in medicine, each interviewer ranking them independently. The top panel score wins the award.
How many scholarships for 2027 entry?
Surrey's 2027 entry admissions policy describes one Dawson Scholarship, subject to confirmation of funding. Its scholarship page, still written for 2026, lists up to two Dawson Scholarships (a full fee waiver plus £10,000 a year towards living costs) and up to four Sidney Perry Foundation Scholarships (£3,000 in the first year). Check the scholarship page when you apply.
Source: University of Surrey School of Medicine, BMBS Admissions Process Policy, 2027 entry (PDF) (2027 entry); University of Surrey, School of Medicine scholarships to support widening participation (2026 (not yet updated for 2027 entry))
What to expect from a Surrey virtual interview event
Surrey publishes very little about the day itself. It says only that interviews take place at virtual interview events and that the MMI cycle lasts under one hour. It does not publish the platform, the technical requirements, an identity check, the timetable or whether there is a briefing, so read your invitation closely and follow it exactly.
Because everything happens on screen, practise answering out loud to a camera, and test the room, the connection and the device you will use. Our guide to online MMIs covers the set-up, and a mock interview on the same equipment is one way to rehearse.
Source: University of Surrey, Medicine (Graduate Entry) BMBS course page (Selection process) (2027 entry)
Practise a Surrey-style interview
A timed mock in the format Surrey uses, built from the themes Surrey publishes. Record yourself, then mark it against the pointers above.
Common mistakes at the Surrey interview
- 1
Guessing the format
Surrey does not publish its station count, station length or reading time. Prepare for a range, and take the details from your invitation, not from forums.
- 2
Treating the online interview casually
The whole Surrey interview is virtual. A poor connection, a noisy room or reading from notes off screen will distract from what you say. Test everything the day before.
- 3
Not knowing the course
Surrey describes its course as patient-centred, digitally-enabled and interprofessional, with health inequalities and One Health running through it. A "Why Surrey?" answer that could fit any medical school will not stand out.
- 4
Leaning on your degree and nothing else
Surrey gives every degree equal consideration and says caregiving experience is desirable. Show what you have learned from people as well as from study.
- 5
Forgetting that the interview decides the offer
Surrey ranks MMI scores to make offers. Your admissions test earned the invitation; the MMI is what you are ranked on now.
- 6
Talking about values without examples
Surrey's MMI is values-based. Every value you claim needs a short, real example of what you did.
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FAQs
Surrey medicine interview: common questions
Does Surrey interview for medicine?
Yes. Every shortlisted applicant to Surrey's Medicine (Graduate Entry) BMBS takes part in a multiple mini interview (MMI) cycle lasting under one hour, at a virtual interview event. Offers are then made from the ranked MMI scores.
When are Surrey medicine interviews for 2027 entry?
Surrey has not published them yet: its course page lists the virtual interview events for 2027 entry as dates to be confirmed.
We will add the dates to our UK medical school interview dates table when Surrey publishes them.
When will I hear whether I have a Surrey medicine interview?
Surrey does not publish a date for interview invitations. After checking your academic record, it gives your GAMSAT or UCAT result an overall mark and places your application in an invite, waiting list or reject group, and shortlisted applicants are then sent an invitation to an interview event.
Are Surrey medicine interviews online or in person?
Online. Surrey runs a selection of virtual interview events, and every shortlisted applicant completes the MMI cycle on screen, so you do not travel to Guildford for the interview.
How many stations are in the Surrey MMI, and how long is it?
Surrey does not publish the number of stations; it says the whole MMI cycle lasts under one hour.
Each station assesses a specific competency or characteristic and is marked independently against agreed criteria. Your invitation will give the details.
What does Surrey look for at interview?
Surrey describes its MMI as values-based recruitment, with each station assessing a specific competency or characteristic, but it does not publish a list of them.
Its course pages describe the doctors it wants to train as patient-centred, digitally enabled and interprofessional, with teaching on health inequalities, advocacy and One Health. The themes on this page follow those words.
How does Surrey choose who to interview for medicine?
Surrey checks your academic record, then ranks your GAMSAT (or, for five named science degrees, UCAT) score and places you in an invite, waiting list or reject group. The test rules and entry requirements are on our Surrey graduate entry medicine guide.
How competitive is the Surrey medicine interview?
Surrey does not publish how many applicants it interviews or what share receive an offer, and our Surrey profile holds no interviewed figure, so there is no post-interview offer rate to give.
Surrey does say that all medicine programmes are highly competitive with limited places, and that offers go to the highest-ranked MMI scores, so the interview decides your outcome.
Are international applicants interviewed differently at Surrey?
No different process is published. Surrey accepts international applicants to the graduate entry BMBS, and its interviews are virtual for everyone, so you can take part from abroad.
Fees and English language requirements for overseas applicants are on our Surrey graduate entry medicine guide.
When will I hear from Surrey after my interview?
Surrey does not publish a decision date. After the MMIs its Medical Admissions Review Group ranks every candidate's scores and places each one in an offer, waiting list or reject group.
Applicants offered a reserve-list place are asked to confirm it and to contact Surrey once their degree results are out, to find out whether a place has become available.
Can I reschedule a Surrey medicine interview?
Surrey does not publish a rescheduling policy. It runs a selection of virtual interview events, so if you cannot make the one you are offered, contact the admissions team using the details in your invitation as soon as you can.
Does my Surrey MMI score affect scholarships?
Yes, if you are a home offer holder who meets Surrey's widening participation criteria. Eligible applicants are ranked by MMI total score, and the highest scorers are invited to a face-to-face panel interview for the scholarship.
Surrey's 2027 entry policy describes one Dawson Scholarship, subject to funding; its scholarship page, still written for 2026, lists up to two Dawson and up to four Sidney Perry Foundation scholarships.
Where these facts come from
- University of Surrey, Medicine (Graduate Entry) BMBS course page (Selection process) (2027 entry)
- University of Surrey School of Medicine, BMBS Admissions Process Policy, 2027 entry (PDF) (2027 entry)
- University of Surrey, School of Medicine (no year stated)
- University of Surrey, Why we are based in the Kate Granger Building (no year stated)
- University of Surrey, Five reasons to study medicine at Surrey (no year stated)
- University of Surrey, Celebrating one year of Surrey's School of Medicine (no year stated)
- University of Surrey, Training doctors of the future (no year stated)
- University of Surrey, One Health, One Medicine (no year stated)
- University of Surrey, School of Medicine scholarships to support widening participation (2026 (not yet updated for 2027 entry))
Last checked: 26 October 2026. Universities change interview arrangements during the cycle, so confirm on Surrey's own page before you travel or book. The questions above are practice questions written by TheUKCATPeople from Surrey's published guidance; they are not real or leaked interview questions.
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