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Medicine interviews, 2027 entry
UCLan Medicine Interview Questions (2027 Entry)
How the University of Lancashire, still known to most applicants as UCLan (the University of Central Lancashire), interviews for its MBBS: an MMI in Preston from December 2026 for UK applicants, a recorded online MMI for international applicants, and an arithmetic test and an English language test for everyone. Then 56 practice questions grouped by the qualities UCLan says it scores, with model answers.
Reviewed by Dr Akash Gandhi, NHS GP and a Cambridge and UCL graduate (GMC register) · Checked against UCLan's official pages: 26 October 2026
UCLan medicine interviews, 2027 entry
UCLan (now the University of Lancashire) interviews for medicine with multiple mini interviews (MMIs). UK applicants interview in person at the Preston Campus from December 2026, in a stage that runs December to April; international applicants record an online asynchronous MMI by a set date. Everyone also sits an arithmetic test and an English language test. No post-interview success rate is published.
- When (UK applicants)
- From December 2026; UCLan's interview stage runs from December to April each year. No individual dates are publishedConfirmed for 2027 entryUniversity of Lancashire, Medicine & Surgery MBBS course page (September 2027 entry (page dated 16 October 2026))
- Delivery (UK applicants)
- In person at the Preston Campus, usually with a guided tour of the School's facilitiesUniversity's usual pattern, no year givenUniversity of Lancashire, Medicine & Surgery MBBS course page (September 2027 entry (page dated 16 October 2026))
- Delivery (international applicants)
- Online and asynchronous: you are emailed a link, record a timed video answer to each station by a set date, and trained School assessors mark it laterUniversity's usual pattern, no year givenUniversity of Lancashire, Medicine & Surgery MBBS course page (September 2027 entry (page dated 16 October 2026))
- Format
- Multi-station multiple mini interviews (MMIs)University's usual pattern, no year givenUniversity of Lancashire, Medicine & Surgery MBBS course page (September 2027 entry (page dated 16 October 2026))
- Stations and length
- Not published: UCLan says only that an MMI usually has six to ten stations, and gives no lengthNot published by the university
- Tests on the day
- Every candidate also completes a multiple-choice arithmetic test and an English language testUniversity's usual pattern, no year givenUniversity of Lancashire, Medicine & Surgery MBBS course page (September 2027 entry (page dated 16 October 2026))
- How offers are made
- Solely on interview performance: once all interviews are complete, candidates are ranked by MMI score and offers go from the top until places are filled; a few exceptional candidates may get an early offerUniversity's usual pattern, no year given
- Post-interview success rate
- Not published: neither UCLan nor our profile holds a count of applicants interviewedNot published by the universityAdmissions statistics as published on our UCLan profile (no interviewed count is held, so no post-interview rate) (no interview figures published)
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 UCLan interview for medicine?
The University of Lancashire, which most applicants still call UCLan or Central Lancashire, interviews MBBS applicants with multiple mini interviews (MMIs), and no offer is made without an interview. UCLan describes an MMI as a series of short, independent assessments at different stations, and its applicant guide says there are usually between six and ten. It does not say how many stations its own circuit has, how long each lasts or which qualities each one assesses.
UK applicants usually sit a multi-station MMI at the Preston Campus, where you also get the chance of a guided tour of the School's facilities. International applicants complete their MMI online on an asynchronous video interview platform: there is no live interviewer, you are emailed a link, and you record a timed video answer to each station's question or scenario by a set date, at a time that suits you. Trained assessors from the School then mark the recordings independently.
Everyone also takes two tests: a multiple-choice arithmetic test and an English language test. UCLan does not publish how long they are, what they cover or how they are weighed against the MMI, so practise basic calculations without a calculator and read your invitation carefully. UCLan's general interview FAQs say the length and format of each course's interview are set out in guidance notes attached to the email inviting you to book, not to the booking confirmation.
New to the MMI format? Our MMI preparation guide explains how a circuit runs, so this page stays on what is particular to UCLan.
Source: University of Lancashire, Medicine & Surgery MBBS course page (September 2027 entry (page dated 16 October 2026)); University of Lancashire, How to apply for medicine (MBBS): applicant and interview guide (no year stated; current guidance); University of Lancashire, Preparing for a university interview or audition (all undergraduate courses) (no year stated); University of Lancashire, Office for Students approves University of Lancashire name change (news item)
When are UCLan medicine interviews for 2027 entry?
| Applicants | When | Delivery |
|---|---|---|
| UK (home) | From December 2026, within a December to April interview stage | In person, Preston Campus |
| International | Not published: by a set date given in your link email | Online, recorded (asynchronous) |
| MBBS with Foundation Year (international only) | January to June, with interview dates in Dubai in December | Preston, or overseas locations still to be confirmed |
UCLan's September 2027 course page says interviews for home applicants will be held from December 2026, and both its course page and applicant guide say the interview stage runs from December to April each year. It publishes no individual dates and no date for invitations. Applications for September 2027 are now closed to UK students, and UCLan says it has only a very limited number of places for them.
International applicants can apply through UCAS or directly through UCLan's own portal, which accepts applications throughout the year, so international interviews run as applications are processed. Compare UCLan's window with every other school's in our UK medical school interview dates table.
Source: University of Lancashire, Medicine & Surgery MBBS course page (September 2027 entry (page dated 16 October 2026)); University of Lancashire, How to apply for medicine (MBBS): applicant and interview guide (no year stated; current guidance); University of Lancashire, Medicine & Surgery (with Foundation Year) MBBS course page (current intake (page dated 13 October 2026))
How does UCLan decide who to interview?
Applicants who meet the academic requirements are given an academic score, and UCLan then scores the personal statement and academic reference against published criteria; for UK applicants the UCAT is used as well, with a threshold set from each cycle's scores, and applicants who meet UCLan's widening participation criteria are given a weighting. The details, and the past admissions figures, are on our UCLan medical school profile, which is the page for that question.
Once you are invited, UCLan says offers are made solely on the basis of performance at interview.
Source: University of Lancashire, How to apply for medicine (MBBS): applicant and interview guide (no year stated; current guidance); University of Lancashire, Medicine & Surgery MBBS course page (September 2027 entry (page dated 16 October 2026))
What does UCLan assess at interview?
UCLan does not publish a list of what its MMI stations assess. What it does publish, in detail, is how it scores the rest of your application, and those criteria describe the doctor it is selecting for. Your personal statement is marked on why you want medicine and your understanding of a doctor's role, your caring experience, teamwork and communication, initiative and enterprise, and a healthy work-life balance. Your referee is asked about your commitment to medicine, staying power and perseverance, communication skills, humanity, humility and responsibility, intellectual potential and teamwork.
The course page adds that the MBBS develops clinical, communication, observation, teamwork and leadership skills, that professionalism is assessed throughout the course, and that one of its three themes, Evidence Informed Practice of Medicine, covers health at community and population level. UCLan also says it aims to train local students committed to studying and working in the region.
The seven themes below follow those published criteria, plus practice for the arithmetic test. The questions are practice questions written by TheUKCATPeople from UCLan's own pages. They are not real or leaked UCLan questions, and nothing here comes from students reporting what they were asked.
Source: University of Lancashire, How to apply for medicine (MBBS): applicant and interview guide (no year stated; current guidance); University of Lancashire, Medicine & Surgery MBBS course page (September 2027 entry (page dated 16 October 2026))
UCLan medicine interview questions, by theme
Grouped by what UCLan says it assesses. Each question has a note on what a strong answer covers, and the UCLan-specific ones have a full model answer. These are practice questions written by TheUKCATPeople from UCLan's published guidance, not real or leaked questions.
- Motivation, the role of a doctor and why UCLan (1 to 9)
- Caring experience, humanity and humility (10 to 17)
- Teamwork and communication (18 to 27)
- Initiative, staying power and balance (28 to 35)
- Professionalism and responsibility (36 to 42)
- Health in the community: Lancashire and Cumbria (43 to 49)
- Practice for the arithmetic test (50 to 56)
Motivation, the role of a doctor and why UCLan
What UCLan says: UCLan asks applicants to show why they want to study medicine and that they understand the role of a doctor, its responsibilities and the qualities doctors show; it asks referees to describe the applicant's commitment to medicine and awareness of the realities, advantages and disadvantages of a medical career. University of Lancashire, How to apply for medicine (MBBS): applicant and interview guide
UCLan tells applicants that MBBS is a challenging course and that it needs to see the motivation to finish it. Expect to be pushed past your personal statement: why medicine, how you tested that choice, and what you know about the job, including its downsides. For the UCLan part, use what it publishes: patient contact from Year 1, two years in Preston, then three years based at Burnley or Westlakes in Cumbria, learning alongside physician associate students, and graduating with both parts of the Medical Licensing Assessment done.
- 1
Why do you want to be a doctor, and how have you tested that decision?
What to cover: Give your starting point in a sentence, then spend most of the answer on how you checked it: what you did or saw that could have put you off and did not. UCLan says it wants to know what you have done, not a detailed account of what you observed.
- 2
Why UCLan?
What to cover: Choose two things UCLan's course does, such as patient contact in GP and community placements from Year 1 or training in Lancashire and Cumbria, and say why each suits you. A list of facilities tells the interviewer nothing about you.
- 3
From Year 3 you would move to Burnley or Westlakes in Cumbria, and UCLan may allocate where you go. How do you feel about that?
What to cover: Treat it as part of what you are choosing. Be practical about moving and being further from friends, and say what you expect to gain from placements in East Lancashire or West Cumbria.
- 4
What does a doctor's role involve beyond diagnosing and treating illness?
What to cover: Talk about responsibility, teaching, leading a team, communicating risk and looking after their own health. UCLan asks applicants to show they understand the responsibilities doctors carry as well as the qualities they show.
- 5
What are the disadvantages of a career in medicine, and why do you still want it?
What to cover: Name real ones, such as long training, shift work, exams after graduation and emotional strain, and say how you know about them. Then explain why the work is still worth it to you.
- 6
UCLan's first two years share many classes with physician associate students. How is a doctor's role different from a physician associate's?
What to cover: Be accurate and respectful: physician associates work under a doctor's supervision, while doctors carry final clinical responsibility and train for many more years. Then say why the doctor's role is the one you want.
- 7
UCLan says it wants to train local students who are committed to studying and working in the region. Do you see yourself working in the North West?
What to cover: Answer for yourself. If you are from the region, say what keeps you there; if you are not, say what draws you and keep it believable. Do not promise something you have not thought about.
- 8
What have you read, watched or listened to about medicine that changed how you see it?
What to cover: Name one thing, say what it argued and what you now think. One book you can discuss in detail is worth more than a list; our medicine reading list is a place to start.
- 9
If you are not offered a place this year, what will you do?
What to cover: Give a realistic plan that keeps medicine as the goal. Know that UCLan allows only one further consecutive application to its MBBS after an unsuccessful one.
Model answer
Why UCLan?
The first reason is how early I would be with patients. In Year 1 at UCLan you have a GP placement and a placement in community clinics, and there is a volunteer patient group for practising consultation skills. I learned more in six months at a care home than from any textbook, so I want a course that puts me with patients from the start.
The second is where the training happens. After two years in Preston, UCLan students are based at Burnley or Westlakes and work in hospitals and GP practices across East Lancashire and Cumbria. Those are places with real gaps in their medical workforce, and I want to learn in the places where doctors are needed most.
And I like that the first two years are shared with physician associate students. I will be working with PAs, nurses and pharmacists for my whole career, so learning alongside them from the start makes sense to me. Graduating with both parts of the Medical Licensing Assessment already done is a practical bonus too.
Go deeper: How to answer "Why medicine?"
Caring experience, humanity and humility
What UCLan says: UCLan says applicants must write about practical experience in a caring role, showing what they did, for how long and what they learned; it asks referees about the applicant's empathy, suitability to work in a caring profession, and humanity, humility and responsibility. University of Lancashire, How to apply for medicine (MBBS): applicant and interview guide
UCLan is clear that observation is not experience. It wants to hear what you did in a caring role and what you learned from it, and its own example is a student who spent a morning a week feeding care home residents and learned patience. Bring one or two caring experiences you can describe in real detail: the routine, one person, one difficult moment and what you now do differently.
- 10
Tell me about your caring experience. What did you actually do?
What to cover: Describe your tasks, how often you went and for how long, and one moment that stayed with you. UCLan asks for specifics, so detail is what convinces the interviewer.
- 11
What did your caring role teach you that you could not have learned by watching a doctor?
What to cover: Pick one lesson, such as patience with someone who cannot communicate easily, and show where you learned it. Link it to how a doctor treats patients.
- 12
Describe a time you looked after someone who did not want your help.
What to cover: Explain how you respected their choice while still keeping them safe, and who you told. Show you can stay kind when someone is frustrated with you.
- 13
What does humility mean for a doctor?
What to cover: Talk about knowing the limits of your knowledge, asking for help, listening to patients and other professionals, and admitting mistakes. Give one example from your own life.
- 14
Tell me about a time you supported someone younger or less confident than you.
What to cover: UCLan asks referees how you get along with others, especially students who struggle more or are younger. Describe what you did, how you adjusted to them and how you knew it helped.
- 15
A resident at your care home placement is upset because their family has not visited. What do you do?
What to cover: Sit with them, listen and acknowledge how they feel, without making promises about the family. Let the staff know, because they may be able to help.
- 16
Could you do this job if you found some patients difficult to like?
What to cover: Say yes, and explain why: every patient deserves the same care and respect, whatever you feel. Describe how you have stayed professional with someone you found hard.
- 17
What is the difference between empathy and sympathy, and why does it matter in a consultation?
What to cover: Empathy is understanding how someone feels and showing them you understand; sympathy is feeling sorry for them. Show how empathy helps a patient feel heard and makes it easier to talk.
Model answer
Tell me about your caring experience. What did you actually do?
For eight months I spent Saturday mornings at a residential home for people with dementia. I helped with breakfast, sat with residents in the lounge and joined the activities coordinator for music sessions. It sounds simple, but it took me weeks to get it right.
One resident, a retired bus driver, would refuse breakfast most days and get agitated if anyone hurried him. At first I kept trying to persuade him, which made it worse. A carer showed me that if I sat down, talked about his old routes and let him decide when to start, he usually ate. So I learned to slow down and to follow his lead.
What it taught me is that care is mostly about noticing the person. I now ask what matters to someone before I try to help, and I think that is exactly what a doctor has to do in a consultation, even with ten minutes on the clock.
Go deeper: Empathy and sympathy in interviews
Teamwork and communication
What UCLan says: UCLan wants to see teamwork and communication skills, which it calls essential to medicine: a credible account of your contribution to a team, as leader or member, and communication with people beyond your usual peer group. It asks referees how you listen, get along with others and handle feedback, and notes that part of teamwork is recognising that not everyone has to be the leader. University of Lancashire, How to apply for medicine (MBBS): applicant and interview guide
UCLan's guidance is specific: saying you did the Duke of Edinburgh Award earns nothing, but describing what you did in a team during it does. The same goes for communication, where it wants an example from outside your friendship group, such as a customer at work, and the outcome of the conversation. If you are an international applicant on the recorded platform, practise speaking to the camera as if it were a person, because you cannot read an interviewer's face.
- 18
Tell me about a team you were part of. What exactly was your contribution?
What to cover: Choose one team and one task, and be clear about what you did yourself. UCLan says you must give a credible account of your own contribution.
- 19
Describe a time you communicated with someone outside your usual peer group. How did it go?
What to cover: A customer, an older neighbour or a patient's relative all work. Say what you adapted and how the conversation ended, because UCLan gives most credit for the outcome.
- 20
Tell me about a time you were not the leader and someone else's plan was not the one you would have chosen.
What to cover: Show you can support a decision you disagreed with, raise a concern at the right moment and help make the plan work. UCLan's own guidance says not everyone has to be the leader.
- 21
Tell me about feedback you found hard to hear. What did you do with it?
What to cover: UCLan asks referees how you handle feedback. Describe the feedback, your first reaction and what you changed. Showing the change is what matters.
- 22
A patient's son is angry that nobody has explained what is happening to his father. Talk to him.
What to cover: Let him speak, acknowledge that not knowing is frightening and do not get defensive. As a student you cannot share his father's information without consent, so offer to find the doctor or nurse who can.
- 23
Explain to a ten-year-old why washing their hands before eating matters.
What to cover: Use short words and one picture they will remember, check they have understood, and keep it friendly. The station is testing whether you can adapt to your listener.
- 24
You notice a classmate in your group project is struggling and has gone quiet. What do you do?
What to cover: Speak to them privately, ask how they are and listen before offering a plan. Share the work fairly and point them towards support if something bigger is going on.
- 25
What makes someone a good listener, and when have you got it wrong?
What to cover: Describe the behaviours: letting the person finish, asking open questions, summarising and noticing what is not said. Then give a real example of a time you missed something.
- 26
When does a team need a leader, and when does it not?
What to cover: Talk about emergencies and complex tasks, where clear roles keep people safe, and about routine work, where shared ownership is better. Use an example from sport, music or work.
- 27
You have to give a short talk to a group of Year 7 pupils about what doctors do. How would you plan it?
What to cover: Think about your audience first: what they already know and what will hold their attention. Keep to two or three messages and plan a way to check they followed.
Model answer
Describe a time you communicated with someone outside your usual peer group. How did it go?
I work weekends on the till at a garden centre, and one Sunday an older man came back very angry because a plant he had bought had died within a week. He was raising his voice, and the queue behind him was getting longer.
I asked a colleague to open another till so the others were not waiting, and then I let him finish before I said anything. It turned out the plant was a present for his wife, who had just come out of hospital, so it was not really about the plant. I said I was sorry it had happened at such a hard time, offered a replacement, and took him to a member of staff who could explain how to look after it.
He left calm and thanked me, and he came back the following month to say his wife was doing well. What I took from it is that the first thing someone says is often not the real problem, and you only find the real one by listening.
Go deeper: MMI role-play stations
Interview preparation
1-1 interview coaching and mock interviews for UCLan, 2027 entry
Our 1-1 medicine interview tutoring is online and your tutor is matched to Lancashire (UCLan), so every mock runs in the multiple mini interview (MMI) format Lancashire (UCLan) 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 Lancashire (UCLan).
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Initiative, staying power and balance
What UCLan says: UCLan asks applicants to show initiative and enterprise, ideas and actions that made a positive impact, and a healthy work-life balance, because doctors must cope with uncertainty and respond rapidly to change. It asks referees about staying power and perseverance. University of Lancashire, How to apply for medicine (MBBS): applicant and interview guide
UCLan asks for two things that pull in different directions: evidence that you start things and keep going when they are hard, and evidence that you know how to switch off. It is explicit that a list of achievements is not enough, and that it wants to see how you relax. Have one example of initiative, one of persistence through a setback, and a plain account of what you do to rest.
- 28
Tell me about something you started that would not have happened without you.
What to cover: A club, a fundraiser or a community project all work. Say what you saw was missing, what you did, the obstacle you hit and what changed because of it.
- 29
Describe a time you kept going with something long after it stopped being enjoyable.
What to cover: UCLan's referees are asked about staying power. Choose a real example, say why you kept going and what it taught you about yourself.
- 30
What do you do to relax, and how do you know when you need to?
What to cover: Be specific and believable, and name the warning signs you notice in yourself. UCLan wants to see you can cope with demands, not that you never stop.
- 31
Medicine involves a lot of uncertainty. Tell me about a time you had to act without knowing the outcome.
What to cover: Describe the situation, how you weighed it up, what you did and what you would do differently. Doctors make decisions with incomplete information every day.
- 32
Tell me about a time your plans changed at the last minute. How did you respond?
What to cover: UCLan says doctors must respond rapidly to change. Show that you adapted quickly, kept other people informed and stayed calm.
- 33
What would you do if you failed an exam in your first year?
What to cover: Talk about finding out why, asking your tutor for help early and changing how you study. UCLan says continuous assessment is there so problems are spotted at an early stage.
- 34
You will move campus in Year 3, away from the friends you made in Preston. How will you look after yourself?
What to cover: Think about building new support, keeping your routines and knowing where student support is. Show you have thought about it already.
- 35
Tell me about a time you were under pressure from several directions at once.
What to cover: Describe how you decided what came first, who you asked for help and what you dropped. A plan you can explain clearly is worth more than saying you just worked harder.
Model answer
What do you do to relax, and how do you know when you need to?
I play five-a-side football on Wednesday evenings and I walk my dog every morning before school, whatever the weather. The walk is the part of the day when nobody needs anything from me, and I have kept it up through every exam season.
I know I need a break when I start rereading the same paragraph or snapping at my brother. Last year, in the run-up to my mocks, I noticed both and realised I had stopped playing football to revise. My scores were not improving, so I went back to it, and my revision got better.
I think doctors need the same habit. If you are exhausted you make mistakes, and patients are the ones who pay for them. So I see looking after myself as part of doing the job properly, not something I do once the work is finished.
Go deeper: GMC guidance for interviews
Professionalism and responsibility
What UCLan says: UCLan assesses professionalism throughout the MBBS, uses an ePortfolio as an electronic reflective tool, and asks referees about the applicant's readiness to take on responsibility and how well they handle it. University of Lancashire, Medicine & Surgery MBBS course page
UCLan treats professionalism as part of the course from day one, and its admissions rules show what it means by it: list every qualification, including those you failed, because hiding one cancels your application; declare anything a DBS check will show; and expect health screening before you start. Expect questions on honesty, owning mistakes and reflecting on them, and confidentiality, set in the life of a medical student.
- 36
What does professionalism mean for a first-year medical student?
What to cover: Talk about reliability, honesty, confidentiality, how you treat people and looking after your own health. UCLan assesses it throughout the course, so it starts in Year 1.
- 37
Tell me about a time you took on a responsibility. How well did you handle it?
What to cover: UCLan asks referees exactly this. Choose a real responsibility, describe what went well and what did not, and what you would do next time.
- 38
Tell me about a mistake you made and what you did next.
What to cover: Choose a real mistake with a consequence. Spend most of the time on owning it, putting it right and changing how you work.
- 39
UCLan uses an ePortfolio as a reflective tool. Reflect out loud on something that did not go well for you this year.
What to cover: Say what happened, how you felt, what you worked out afterwards and what you now do differently. The change in your behaviour is what makes it reflection.
- 40
UCLan says hiding a qualification, even one you failed, will cancel your application. Why does it take that so seriously?
What to cover: Because doctors must be trusted to tell the truth when it is awkward. Link it to patients: a doctor who hides small things may hide a mistake that harms someone.
- 41
A friend on your course posts a photo from placement with a patient visible in the background. What do you do?
What to cover: Treat it as a breach of confidentiality whatever they meant. Ask them to remove it at once and tell a tutor if they refuse; our confidentiality guide explains where the line sits.
- 42
Why does a medical school need an enhanced DBS check and health screening before you start?
What to cover: Because you will work with vulnerable people, including children, and some infections or health problems affect how you can practise safely. UCLan says some convictions may not stop you studying, which is why it asks applicants to talk to the course leader early.
Model answer
UCLan says hiding a qualification, even one you failed, will cancel your application. Why does it take that so seriously?
Because the whole profession runs on people telling the truth when it would be easier not to. A failed exam is not a big deal on its own, but hiding it is a choice to mislead, and a medical school has to ask what else that person might hide.
On a ward, that matters for patients. If a junior doctor gives the wrong dose and keeps quiet, the patient may come to harm when it could have been put right in minutes. Doctors are expected to be open about mistakes and to tell patients when something has gone wrong.
I resat my GCSE Maths, and I listed both results. Explaining a weak grade is easy; being trusted again after hiding one is not.
Go deeper: GMC guidance for interviews
Health in the community: Lancashire and Cumbria
What UCLan says: UCLan's Evidence Informed Practice of Medicine theme covers factors of health and wellbeing at community and population levels, including epidemiology, public health, the sociology and psychology of health and illness, and evidence-based practice. UCLan says it aims to support regional medical workforce recruitment by training local students committed to studying and working in the region. University of Lancashire, Medicine & Surgery MBBS course page
This theme is about the places UCLan trains its students: urban and rural placements, East Lancashire, Blackpool and West Cumbria. You do not need statistics, and you should not quote any you cannot back up. What helps is understanding why health differs between communities, why rural areas struggle to keep doctors, and how evidence is used to decide what works.
- 43
UCLan places students in both urban and rural settings. How might a patient's experience of healthcare differ between a town in East Lancashire and a village in Cumbria?
What to cover: Think about distance to hospital, transport, waiting times and the GP who knows the family. Show you can see healthcare from the patient's side.
- 44
Why do some areas find it hard to recruit and keep doctors, and what can a medical school do about it?
What to cover: Talk about where doctors train, where their families are and the pull of big cities. Then link it to UCLan's aim of training local students who want to stay.
- 45
Why might people living in one part of a town live years less than people a few miles away?
What to cover: Explain the social causes, such as income, housing, work and education, and then what a doctor can do, from noticing them to referring and speaking up.
- 46
What is public health, and how is it different from treating individual patients?
What to cover: Public health works on whole populations, for example through vaccination, screening and clean air, while clinical medicine treats one person at a time. Give an example of each.
- 47
How would you find out whether a new stop-smoking service in a town was working?
What to cover: Ask what you would measure, compared with what, and over what time. The interviewer is marking how you reason about evidence, not whether you know the answer.
- 48
What does evidence-based practice mean to you?
What to cover: Explain that doctors combine the best research evidence with their own clinical judgement and what the patient wants. Our guide to reading a medical paper explains the basics.
- 49
Older people make up a large share of patients in many rural practices. What does that mean for the doctors who work there?
What to cover: Talk about long-term conditions, several medicines at once, frailty, loneliness and the link with social care. Our guide to the ageing population and social care has the background.
Model answer
Why do some areas find it hard to recruit and keep doctors, and what can a medical school do about it?
A lot of it is about where doctors start their lives as doctors. If you train in a big city, your friends, your partner and your first jobs are there, and it becomes hard to leave. Rural and coastal areas can also feel isolated, and the work there can be stretched, which puts people off.
A medical school can change some of that. If students spend years living and training in a place like West Cumbria, they get to know the hospitals and practices, and it starts to feel like their place. UCLan says it wants to train local students who are committed to working in the region, and it bases its later years in Burnley and Westlakes, which is that idea in practice.
It will not solve everything on its own, because pay, housing and training posts all matter too. But I come from a small town where people wait weeks for a GP, and the doctors who stay are often the ones who grew up nearby. That is part of why this course appeals to me.
Go deeper: Health inequalities and the Marmot Review
Practice for the arithmetic test
What UCLan says: UCLan says all MBBS interview candidates complete a multiple-choice arithmetic test as well as the MMI and an English language test. It does not publish the content, length or weighting of the test. University of Lancashire, Medicine & Surgery MBBS course page
UCLan publishes no sample questions, so the items below are arithmetic practice in a medical setting, not a copy of its test. Assume you may not have a calculator, and practise units, percentages, ratios and simple doses until they are automatic. Write the units at every step: most errors in dose questions are unit errors, not arithmetic.
- 50
A medicine is given at 15 mg per kg of body weight. How much does a 60 kg patient need?
What to cover: Multiply the dose per kilogram by the weight: 15 × 60 = 900 mg. Say the units out loud each time.
- 51
A patient needs 1 g a day in four equal doses. Tablets are 250 mg. How many tablets per dose?
What to cover: Convert first: 1 g is 1,000 mg. Divided into four doses that is 250 mg, so one tablet per dose.
- 52
A 1,000 ml bag of fluid is to run over 8 hours. What rate is that in ml per hour?
What to cover: Divide the volume by the time: 1,000 ÷ 8 = 125 ml per hour.
- 53
An oral liquid contains 125 mg in 5 ml. What volume gives a 300 mg dose?
What to cover: Work out how many lots of 125 mg you need: 300 ÷ 125 = 2.4. Then 2.4 × 5 ml = 12 ml.
- 54
How many micrograms are there in 0.5 mg?
What to cover: There are 1,000 micrograms in a milligram, so 0.5 mg is 500 micrograms. Slow down on conversions, because a factor of 1,000 is easy to lose.
- 55
A ward has 28 beds and 21 are occupied. What percentage are occupied?
What to cover: 21 ÷ 28 = 0.75, so 75%. Simplify the fraction first if it helps: 21 out of 28 is 3 out of 4.
- 56
Clinic attendances fell from 400 a month to 340. What is the percentage fall?
What to cover: Work out the change, 60, and divide by the starting figure: 60 ÷ 400 = 0.15, so a 15% fall. Always divide by the original value.
Go deeper: MMI calculation questions
How does UCLan decide medicine offers?
UCLan says offers are made solely on the basis of performance at interview. Once all the interviews are complete, applicants who succeed in the MMI stations are ranked by their scores, and offers go to the highest-ranking applicants until every place is filled. A small number who perform exceptionally well may be made an early offer. UCLan does not publish how the arithmetic and English language tests feed into that ranking, or a date for offers.
UCLan's general interview FAQs, written for every course, say that where places are limited it must interview all shortlisted applicants who applied by the UCAS equal consideration deadline, so it may be a few weeks before you hear. Unsuccessful applicants cannot retake the interview or reapply to the course in the same academic year, and the MBBS guide adds that you may make only one further consecutive application to the programme.
Any offer leads on to health screening at enrolment (including tests for tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, and HIV), a satisfactory enhanced DBS check and, for international students, an in-country police check. UCLan asks anyone who knows their DBS check will show a past conviction to contact the course leader, because not all convictions stop you studying.
Source: University of Lancashire, How to apply for medicine (MBBS): applicant and interview guide (no year stated; current guidance); University of Lancashire, Preparing for a university interview or audition (all undergraduate courses) (no year stated); University of Lancashire, Medicine & Surgery MBBS course page (September 2027 entry (page dated 16 October 2026))
What should I prepare for the UCLan interview?
- Read the guidance notes attached to your invitation email. UCLan's general interview FAQs say that is where the length and format of your interview are explained, and that they are not attached to the booking confirmation.
- In person at Preston (UK applicants): check your travel and which building you are in using the campus map, and allow time for the guided tour of the School's facilities.
- Recorded online MMI (international applicants): you can use a laptop, desktop, tablet or smartphone with a working camera and microphone, and a free app is needed on mobile devices. There is a practice question before you begin. UCLan recommends a quiet, well-lit space and a stable internet connection, and you must finish by the set date in your email. Our online MMI tips cover the rest.
- The two tests: everyone sits a multiple-choice arithmetic test and an English language test. Practise calculations by hand and read carefully.
- Be ready to talk about your application. UCLan scores your personal statement and reference on caring experience, teamwork and communication, initiative and balance, so reread both.
- Ask questions. UCLan's own advice is to be confident, relax and not be too shy to ask questions, because the interview is your chance to show yourself.
- Adjustments: if you have a disability and need adjustments, UCLan's interview FAQs ask you to email the Admissions Team.
Source: University of Lancashire, Preparing for a university interview or audition (all undergraduate courses) (no year stated); University of Lancashire, Medicine & Surgery MBBS course page (September 2027 entry (page dated 16 October 2026)); University of Lancashire, How to apply for medicine (MBBS): applicant and interview guide (no year stated; current guidance)
Does the interview decide UCLan's MBBS scholarships?
Partly. UCLan's MBBS Excellence Scholarship for international students goes to those with strong grades (at least AAA or equivalent) who are among the top scorers in the MMI; for 2027/28 UCLan says the value and criteria are under review and will be confirmed by Spring 2027, and you do not apply separately. For UK applicants, the MBBS scholarships (the Livesey Scholarships for the Lancashire Scholars Programme and the regional scholarships) are awarded on ranking after interview plus additional weighting, with preference for applicants from a widening participation background.
Source: University of Lancashire, MBBS Excellence Scholarship (2027/28 (value under review until Spring 2027)); University of Lancashire, MBBS scholarships (2027/28)
Does the UCLan Foundation Year interview differently?
Yes. The six-year MBBS with Foundation Year is open to international students only, and its interview stage runs between January and June. It usually consists of multi-station MMIs, with a guided tour for interviews at the Preston Campus, and UCLan also lists interview dates in Dubai in December, with further dates to be confirmed in Botswana, Delhi, Kuala Lumpur and Toronto.
Source: University of Lancashire, Medicine & Surgery (with Foundation Year) MBBS course page (current intake (page dated 13 October 2026))
Practise a UCLan-style interview
A timed mock in the format UCLan uses, built from the themes UCLan publishes. Record yourself, then mark it against the pointers above.
Common mistakes at the UCLan interview
- 1
Describing what you watched
UCLan says observation is not experience. Talk about what you did in a caring role and what you learned, not what a doctor did in front of you.
- 2
Forgetting the arithmetic test
Every candidate sits a multiple-choice arithmetic test as well as the MMI. Practise doses, units and percentages by hand before the day.
- 3
Claiming a team without your part in it
UCLan says naming an award earns no credit; describing how you worked in a team does. Be specific about your own contribution.
- 4
A "Why UCLan?" answer that forgets Years 3 to 5
After two years in Preston you move to Burnley or Westlakes and train in East Lancashire and Cumbria. Show you know this and want it.
- 5
Treating the recorded MMI casually
International applicants record their answers without a live interviewer, by a set date. Use the practice question, set up a quiet, well-lit space and finish well before the deadline.
- 6
Only listing achievements
UCLan wants evidence of a healthy work-life balance and of how you relax, because doctors must cope with uncertainty. Have a believable answer ready.
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FAQs
UCLan medicine interview: common questions
Does UCLan interview for medicine?
Yes. UCLan makes no MBBS offer without an interview, and offers are made solely on interview performance.
UK applicants sit a multiple mini interview (MMI) at the Preston Campus, international applicants record an online MMI, and everyone also sits an arithmetic test and an English language test.
When are UCLan medicine interviews for 2027 entry?
UK applicants interview from December 2026, within an interview stage that UCLan says runs from December to April each year. UCLan publishes no individual dates.
International applicants complete a recorded online MMI by a set date given in their link email. Compare other schools in our interview dates table.
When will I hear whether I have a UCLan medicine interview?
UCLan does not publish a date for medicine interview invitations.
Its general interview FAQs say the Admissions Team emails invited applicants with guidance on booking a slot, and that you should keep checking your email and UCAS Hub. International applicants are emailed a link to the recorded interview.
Are UCLan medicine interviews online or in person?
Both, depending on where you apply from: UK applicants usually interview in person at the Preston Campus, and international applicants complete their MMI online.
The international MMI is asynchronous: there is no live interviewer, and you record a timed video answer to each station at a time that suits you, before a set date.
How many stations are in the UCLan MMI, and how long is it?
UCLan does not publish its station count or the length of its interview. Its applicant guide says only that an MMI usually has between six and ten stations.
UCLan's general interview FAQs say the length and format of your interview are set out in the guidance notes attached to your invitation email.
What does UCLan look for at interview?
UCLan does not list what its MMI stations assess, but it scores applicants on motivation and understanding of a doctor's role, caring experience, teamwork and communication, initiative and enterprise, work-life balance, staying power, and humanity, humility and responsibility.
Its course page adds clinical, communication, observation, teamwork and leadership skills, and professionalism is assessed throughout the course.
How does UCLan choose who to interview for medicine?
UCLan gives applicants who meet its academic requirements an academic score, then scores the personal statement and academic reference against published criteria, using the UCAT as well for UK applicants and a weighting for widening participation. The details and past figures are on our UCLan medical school profile.
How competitive is the UCLan medicine interview?
UCLan does not publish how many applicants it interviews, so no post-interview success rate can be given.
It does say it has only a very limited number of places for UK students, and that offers go to the highest-ranked interviewees until places are filled.
Are international applicants interviewed differently at UCLan?
Yes: international applicants complete their MMI online on an asynchronous video platform, recording timed answers by a set date, while UK applicants interview in person at Preston.
Everyone sits the same arithmetic and English language tests. International applicants can apply through UCAS or directly, all year round, and the top MMI scorers may receive the MBBS Excellence Scholarship.
When will I hear from UCLan after my interview?
UCLan does not publish a date for medicine offers. It ranks applicants once all interviews are complete, although a small number who perform exceptionally well may get an early offer.
Its general interview FAQs say it may be a few weeks before you hear, because every shortlisted applicant who applied by the UCAS deadline must be interviewed first. Keep checking your email and UCAS Hub.
Can I reschedule a UCLan medicine interview?
Usually yes, if dates are available: UCLan's general interview FAQs say to cancel through your booking confirmation email and rebook from the link in your original invitation.
If you cannot, or no dates are left, phone the Admissions Team on 01772 892444. International applicants on the recorded platform must finish by the set date in their email.
Is there a test at the UCLan medicine interview?
Yes: every candidate completes a multiple-choice arithmetic test and an English language test as well as the MMI.
UCLan does not publish their length, content or how they are weighted, so practise doses, units and percentages by hand.
Does the UCLan Foundation Year interview differently?
Yes: the MBBS with Foundation Year is for international students only, and its interviews run from January to June, usually as multi-station MMIs. UCLan also lists interview dates in Dubai in December, with Botswana, Delhi, Kuala Lumpur and Toronto still to be confirmed.
Where these facts come from
- University of Lancashire, Medicine & Surgery MBBS course page (September 2027 entry (page dated 16 October 2026))
- University of Lancashire, How to apply for medicine (MBBS): applicant and interview guide (no year stated; current guidance)
- University of Lancashire, Preparing for a university interview or audition (all undergraduate courses) (no year stated)
- University of Lancashire, Medicine & Surgery (with Foundation Year) MBBS course page (current intake (page dated 13 October 2026))
- University of Lancashire, MBBS Excellence Scholarship (2027/28 (value under review until Spring 2027))
- University of Lancashire, MBBS scholarships (2027/28)
- University of Lancashire, Office for Students approves University of Lancashire name change (news item)
- Admissions statistics as published on our UCLan profile (no interviewed count is held, so no post-interview rate) (no interview figures published)
Last checked: 26 October 2026. Universities change interview arrangements during the cycle, so confirm on UCLan's own page before you travel or book. The questions above are practice questions written by TheUKCATPeople from UCLan's published guidance; they are not real or leaked interview questions.
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