Free practice questions for the Lincoln medicine interview, with the interview format taken from the university's own admissions pages.
Lincoln runs a seven station MMI in person on the Brayford Campus for both Medicine and Medicine with a Gateway Year. Each station is scored across several domains, giving a total interview score out of 70. Photo ID is required and no offer is made without an interview. Lincoln does not publish station timings. Check your invitation for current timings.
Original MedicHut practice questions. Real interviews may differ.
Everyone wanting to study medicine says they 'want to help people'.
1. What does 'helping people' mean to you in the context of a medical career?
2. Describe a time you have helped someone where the outcome was not what you expected.
3. What are the other, less altruistic reasons that motivate you to pursue medicine?
Follow-up: What would you do if you discovered that the day-to-day reality of being a doctor did not match your motivations?
A career in medicine is often romanticised, but it comes with significant personal and professional challenges.
1. What do you anticipate will be the most difficult part of being a doctor for you personally?
2. What specific strategies will you use to cope with these challenges?
3. How has your work experience or research prepared you for these difficulties?
Follow-up: You mention stress as a challenge. What is the difference between healthy pressure and unhealthy stress?
Thinking beyond the typical attributes of a good doctor, like empathy and intelligence.
1. What is a personal quality you possess that is not commonly associated with doctors?
2. Provide an example of how this quality has been an asset to you in the past.
3. How do you think this specific quality will make you a better doctor?
Follow-up: How would you handle a situation where this particular quality was perceived negatively by a senior colleague?
Medicine is a unique profession that blends science with human interaction.
1. Which specific area of medical science excites you the most and why?
2. How have you explored this interest outside of your school curriculum?
3. How do you see this scientific interest translating into your future practice as a doctor?
Follow-up: A patient dismisses the scientific basis of their treatment, saying they prefer 'natural remedies'. How do you respond?
The Lincoln medical programme is delivered in partnership with the University of Nottingham.
1. Why does this specific partnership model appeal to you?
2. What do you perceive as the main benefits of learning in a new, modern medical school environment like Lincoln's?
3. How will you ensure you integrate successfully into the larger Nottingham cohort in later years?
Follow-up: Some might see starting at a satellite campus as a disadvantage. How would you respond to that view?
Lincolnshire is a largely rural county with specific healthcare needs.
1. What do you believe are the biggest healthcare challenges facing rural communities?
2. How has your own background or research prepared you to understand these issues?
3. How might studying in Lincoln, as opposed to a major metropolitan centre, better prepare you for a career in the modern NHS?
Follow-up: A patient complains about the difficulty of travelling to the hospital from their remote village. How would you show empathy for their situation?
Our curriculum has a focus on the health of coastal communities, which often face significant inequalities.
1. What do you understand by the term 'health inequality'?
2. Why might coastal towns, like those in Lincolnshire, experience particular health challenges?
3. What is the role of a doctor, beyond treating illness, in addressing these inequalities?
Follow-up: What would you say to a fellow student who thinks doctors should only focus on clinical medicine, not 'social issues'?
At Lincoln, we use case-based learning (CBL) as a core part of our teaching method.
1. From your understanding, what does case-based learning involve?
2. Explain why you think this learning style will suit you personally.
3. What challenges might you face with CBL and how would you overcome them?
Follow-up: Imagine you are in a CBL group with a student who is not contributing. How would you handle this?
Think about a specific interaction you observed or took part in during your work experience.
1. Describe the situation and the people involved.
2. What did this experience teach you about the importance of communication in healthcare?
3. How did it change your perception of what it means to be a patient?
Follow-up: If you were the healthcare professional in that situation, is there anything you would have done differently?
The role of a doctor extends far beyond diagnosing and treating disease.
1. Describe something you witnessed during your work experience that was not directly related to clinical treatment.
2. What did this teach you about the wider responsibilities of a doctor?
3. Why is it important for doctors to engage in these non-clinical duties?
Follow-up: How will you manage to balance these wider responsibilities with the heavy clinical workload of a doctor?
Work experience can often challenge our preconceived notions of a career.
1. What was the single most surprising thing you discovered about medicine during your placements?
2. Why did it surprise you?
3. How has this discovery influenced your decision to apply?
Follow-up: What steps did you take to verify whether this surprising observation was a one-off event or a common feature of medical practice?
Effective healthcare relies on a wide range of professionals working together.
1. Based on your experience, describe the role of a healthcare professional who was not a doctor.
2. How did their role complement the role of the doctors on the team?
3. What did you learn about the importance of the multidisciplinary team (MDT)?
Follow-up: Imagine you are a junior doctor and a senior nurse disagrees with your suggested treatment plan for a patient. How do you handle this?
Resilience is a crucial attribute for medical students and doctors.
1. Tell us about a time you faced a significant academic or personal setback.
2. What concrete steps did you take to manage the situation and move forward?
3. What did you learn about yourself and your own coping mechanisms?
Follow-up: If you noticed a fellow medical student was showing signs of burnout, what would you do?
Doctors must act with integrity at all times.
1. Describe a situation where you had to uphold a moral or ethical principle, even when it was difficult to do so.
2. What were the consequences of your actions?
3. Why is unwavering integrity so important in the medical profession?
Follow-up: What would you do if you saw a fellow student cheating in an exam?
The ability to self-reflect and identify areas for improvement is vital for lifelong learning.
1. What do you consider to be your single greatest weakness?
2. Give a specific example of a time this weakness has been a problem for you.
3. What active steps are you taking to manage or improve upon it?
Follow-up: How do you differentiate between constructive self-criticism and unhelpful negative thinking?
As a medical student, you will be expected to maintain a high level of professionalism from day one.
1. What does 'professionalism' mean to you in the context of being a medical student?
2. Describe a situation where you have had to act professionally despite personal feelings.
3. Imagine you see a fellow student's social media profile, which contains unprofessional content. What should you do?
Follow-up: The student dismisses your concerns, saying 'it's my private life, it has nothing to do with medical school'. How do you respond?
Empathy is more than just feeling sorry for someone.
1. Describe a time you demonstrated empathy towards another person.
2. What did you do that showed you understood their perspective?
3. What is the difference between empathy and sympathy, and why does this distinction matter in medicine?
Follow-up: Is it possible for a doctor to be too empathetic? What are the risks?
You are part of a study group for a complex project. One member of the group is consistently failing to complete their share of the work, putting the whole team at risk of a poor grade.
1. How would you approach this situation initially?
2. What would you do if your initial approach was unsuccessful and the behaviour continued?
3. Why is the ability to handle conflict within a team essential for a doctor?
Follow-up: The team member reveals they are struggling due to a personal crisis at home. How does this change your plan of action?
Describe a time you took on a leadership role within a team.
1. What was the goal of the team and what was your specific role?
2. What was the biggest challenge you faced as a leader?
3. What did you learn about your own leadership style from this experience?
Follow-up: What is the most important quality of a good leader in a medical setting?
Being an effective team member is just as important as being a leader.
1. Tell us about a time you were a member of a team, but not in a leadership position.
2. Describe a situation where you had to support a group decision you did not fully agree with.
3. Why is it sometimes necessary to do this in a healthcare team?
Follow-up: At what point would it be wrong to support a team's decision? Where do you draw the line?
Modern healthcare is delivered by multidisciplinary teams (MDTs).
1. Based on your understanding, what is an MDT and who might be in one?
2. What are the key benefits of this team-based approach for patient care?
3. What challenges might arise when people from different professional backgrounds work together?
Follow-up: Imagine you are a junior doctor in an MDT meeting. You have an idea, but you are worried it might sound stupid to the senior consultants. What do you do?
This is a role play station. The interviewer will play the part of an elderly neighbour.
Scenario: You have agreed to help your elderly neighbour set up their new smartphone. They are finding it very confusing and are becoming frustrated. You must explain how to send a text message.
1. Explain the process clearly and simply.
2. Pay attention to their verbal and non-verbal cues.
3. Check their understanding as you go.
Follow-up: The neighbour says: 'This is hopeless, I'm too old for this technology.' How would you respond to them?
This is a role play station. The interviewer will play the part of your friend.
Scenario: Your friend is very upset. They have just found out they did not get the grade they needed for their first choice university course and they feel like a failure. Your task is to speak to them.
1. How would you begin the conversation?
2. What are the key things to consider in this sensitive situation?
3. How would you demonstrate empathy?
Follow-up: Your friend says: 'It's easy for you to say, you've never failed at anything.' How do you reply?
This is a role play station. The interviewer will play the part of a patient in a GP waiting room.
Scenario: You are a medical student on placement. A patient in the waiting room is becoming loud and angry because their appointment is running 30 minutes late and they have another commitment. Your task is to go and speak to them.
1. How would you approach the patient?
2. What would you say to de-escalate the situation?
3. What are the limits of your role as a medical student in this scenario?
Follow-up: The patient directs their anger at you personally, saying 'What would you know, you're just a kid'. How do you react?
You are taking part in a communication skills exercise. You must explain a medical concept to the interviewer, who is playing the role of a 15-year-old high school student.
Task: Explain what 'antibiotic resistance' is and why it is a problem, using an analogy.
1. Structure your explanation in a clear, logical way.
2. Avoid using complex medical jargon.
3. How would you check that they have understood the concept?
Follow-up: The student asks: 'So if I stop taking my antibiotics early, does that mean they won't work for me next time?' How do you clarify this common misconception?
This is a role play station. The interviewer will play the part of a work colleague.
Scenario: You work part-time in a shop. You have noticed that one of your colleagues has been making frequent, small mistakes with the cash register. You are concerned it might get them into trouble. You decide to talk to them about it.
1. How would you choose the right time and place for this conversation?
2. What would you say to raise your concerns constructively?
3. What would you do if they became defensive or angry?
Follow-up: Why is the ability to give and receive constructive feedback important for a doctor?
A 15-year-old patient comes to see you in a GP clinic. They are asking for the contraceptive pill. They are adamant that you do not tell their parents.
1. What are the key ethical and legal principles you must consider in this situation?
2. What steps would you take to assess whether the patient is competent to make this decision?
3. Under what circumstances might you have to break confidentiality and inform their parents or another body?
Follow-up: How would you handle the situation if the patient's parents telephoned the clinic to ask if their child had been seen?
You are a junior doctor on an intensive care unit. There is only one empty bed remaining. Two patients in the hospital desperately need it.
Patient A: An 85-year-old with multiple chronic illnesses who has developed severe pneumonia.
Patient B: A 25-year-old previously healthy person who was involved in a serious car accident.
1. What ethical frameworks could you apply to this problem?
2. What are the arguments for giving the bed to each patient?
3. How should a final decision be made, and by whom?
Follow-up: A newspaper reports that a decision like this is 'age discrimination'. How would you defend the ethical decision-making process?
You are treating a 70-year-old bus driver for a condition that causes sudden fainting spells. He has been advised not to drive by the DVLA, but he tells you in confidence that he has continued to drive because he needs the money.
1. What are your immediate ethical duties in this situation?
2. Outline the steps you would take to manage this consultation.
3. What are the potential consequences of both breaking and maintaining confidentiality?
Follow-up: The patient begs you not to tell anyone, saying he will lose his job and his home. How does this affect your actions?
A patient with terminal cancer is deteriorating rapidly. The medical team agrees that further active treatment would be futile and cause more suffering. The patient's family is demanding that 'everything possible' is done to keep them alive.
1. What are the competing ethical principles in this scenario?
2. How would you approach a conversation with the family?
3. What is the difference between withdrawing futile treatment and euthanasia?
Follow-up: The family accuses you of 'giving up' on their loved one. How do you respond to this statement?
You are in a private messaging group with other medical students from your year. A fellow student posts a picture of an interesting clinical sign they saw on the ward. The patient's face is not visible, but a distinctive tattoo on their arm is.
1. What are the ethical and professional issues raised by this post?
2. What are your immediate responsibilities upon seeing the post?
3. What steps would you take?
Follow-up: The student who posted it messages you privately and says 'Relax, it's a private group and the patient can't be identified'. How do you reply?
The National Health Service was founded on a set of core principles.
1. What do you believe is the single most important principle of the NHS?
2. Justify your choice with reference to the challenges the NHS currently faces.
3. How might this principle be threatened in the coming years?
Follow-up: Some people argue that patients should be charged a small fee for GP appointments to reduce demand. What is your view on this?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly being discussed in the context of healthcare.
1. What are two potential benefits of using AI in medicine?
2. What are two potential risks or ethical concerns?
3. How do you think AI might change the role of a doctor in the future?
Follow-up: A patient tells you they have used an AI symptom checker which has diagnosed them with a rare cancer. They are very anxious. How do you proceed?
The NHS is moving towards a model of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs).
1. What is your understanding of what an ICS is and what it aims to achieve?
2. How might this new structure help address health inequalities in a diverse region like Lincolnshire?
3. What challenges might there be in getting different organisations like hospitals, GP practices, and social care to work together effectively?
Follow-up: How does the role of a doctor fit within a wider Integrated Care System?
Preventative medicine is a key priority for improving the nation's health.
1. What is the difference between primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention? Provide an example of each.
2. Why is investing in preventative medicine so important for the long-term sustainability of the NHS?
3. What specific preventative health challenges might be a priority in a rural and coastal area like Lincolnshire?
Follow-up: A patient with a smoking-related illness tells you 'it's my life, I'll do what I want'. How do you approach the topic of smoking cessation?
NHS waiting lists for elective surgery are at a record high.
1. From your understanding, what are some of the key factors that have contributed to this issue?
2. What is the impact of long waiting times on patients and the wider healthcare system?
3. If you were the Health Secretary, what is one realistic policy you would introduce to try and address this?
Follow-up: How should the NHS decide which patients on a waiting list get treated first?
Medicine requires the ability to explain complex ideas simply.
1. Choose a scientific concept from your A-level studies that you find fascinating.
2. Explain this concept to me as if I have no scientific background.
3. Why do you think this concept is important or interesting?
Follow-up: How would you adapt your explanation for a 10-year-old child?
Medical knowledge is constantly evolving. Doctors must be committed to lifelong learning.
1. How do you currently stay informed about new scientific discoveries or medical news?
2. How will you ensure you keep your knowledge up to date throughout your medical career?
3. What are the potential dangers of a doctor not engaging in continuous professional development?
Follow-up: Where would you look for reliable, evidence-based medical information, and which sources would you avoid?
Imagine you are in your first term at medical school and you are finding one particular module, for example biochemistry, extremely difficult. Your usual revision methods are not working.
1. What would be your first step?
2. What different resources or learning strategies could you try?
3. When and how would you decide to ask for help?
Follow-up: Why do you think some students are reluctant to ask for help when they are struggling?
A core principle of modern clinical practice is 'Evidence-Based Medicine' (EBM).
1. In your own words, what is Evidence-Based Medicine?
2. Why is it so important for doctors to base their decisions on evidence?
3. Can you think of any potential limitations or challenges in applying EBM in practice?
Follow-up: Imagine a senior doctor tells you to do something based on their '20 years of experience', even though it contradicts recent guidelines. What do you do?
You are a junior doctor on a busy hospital ward. You have been asked to review four patients. Decide the order in which you would see them and justify your reasoning.
Patient A: A 68-year-old man, 2 days post-hip replacement, whose daughter is concerned he seems more confused than yesterday.
Patient B: A 50-year-old woman with a known history of asthma who is complaining of sudden-onset shortness of breath.
Patient C: A 35-year-old man due for discharge today who needs his take-home medications to be signed off.
Patient D: A 77-year-old woman with diabetes whose routine blood test shows a very low blood sugar level.
Follow-up: After seeing your first priority patient, the nurse in charge asks you to immediately see a newly admitted patient. How do you manage your workload?
You are shown a graph plotting ice cream sales against the number of people who drown each month. The graph shows a strong positive correlation.
1. What does a 'strong positive correlation' mean?
2. Does this graph prove that eating ice cream causes drowning? Explain the concept of 'correlation does not equal causation'.
3. What alternative explanations, or 'confounding factors', could account for this relationship?
Follow-up: Why is it so important for doctors to understand the difference between correlation and causation when reading medical research?
A new screening test is being considered for 'Lincolnshire Pox', a fictional disease affecting people in rural areas.
Practice Figures:
The disease affects 1 in 1,000 people.
The test correctly identifies 95% of people with the disease (95% sensitive).
The test correctly identifies 90% of people without the disease (90% specific).
1. If 10,000 people are tested, how many positive results would you expect?
2. Of those positive results, roughly what proportion will actually have the disease? You do not need an exact percentage, but explain your reasoning.
3. What problems might this cause if introduced as a mass screening programme?
Follow-up: How would you explain the meaning of a 'false positive' result to a very anxious patient?
You are a medical student on placement in a rural GP practice. A power cut has just occurred, and the practice manager says it may last for several hours. All electronic patient records are inaccessible.
1. What are the most immediate risks to patient safety?
2. As a medical student, what could you do to help the team manage this situation?
3. What could a practice do to prepare for such an event in the future?
Follow-up: The GP decides to continue seeing patients for urgent issues using paper notes. What are the key challenges of this approach?
You are presented with a chart showing life expectancy in three fictional areas of Lincolnshire.
Area 1 (city centre): 82 years
Area 2 (coastal town): 76 years
Area 3 (rural farming village): 80 years
1. What are your initial observations from this data?
2. What socioeconomic and environmental factors might explain the lower life expectancy in the coastal town?
3. What further information would you need to better understand the causes of these differences?
Follow-up: A local politician claims this data proves that living by the sea is bad for your health. Why is this an oversimplification?
Think about a time you received constructive criticism that was difficult to hear.
1. What was the situation and what was the feedback?
2. How did you react in the moment?
3. What did you do afterwards and what was the long-term impact of that criticism?
Follow-up: What is the difference between constructive criticism and negative feedback?
Describe a significant mistake you have made, either in your academic or personal life.
1. What was the mistake and what were its consequences?
2. What were your immediate actions after you realised the mistake?
3. What did you learn from this experience and how has it changed your behaviour?
Follow-up: How can medical teams create a culture where people feel safe to admit mistakes?
Reflect on a time you had to quickly adapt to a new and unfamiliar environment.
1. What was the situation and why was it challenging?
2. What specific steps did you take to help you adapt?
3. What did this experience teach you about your own ability to handle change?
Follow-up: Medical training involves regular changes in location and team. How will you apply what you have learned to manage these transitions?
Tell us about a time you worked closely with someone whose personality or background was very different from your own.
1. What were the key differences between you?
2. What challenges, if any, did this create for your working relationship?
3. What did you learn from the experience, both about them and about yourself?
Follow-up: Why is it beneficial for medical students and doctors to work with people from a diverse range of backgrounds?
Think about a time you set yourself a challenging goal and were not successful in achieving it.
1. What was the goal and why did you set it?
2. Why do you think you were unsuccessful?
3. What did you learn from the experience of failure, and would you do anything differently if you tried again?
Follow-up: How will you cope with the academic and personal setbacks that are an inevitable part of a medical career?
Lincoln uses this format for medicine: MMI circuit. There are 7 stations. Interviews are held in person.
Interview timing for Lincoln: Dates are confirmed in your interview invitation. Always check the university's own admissions pages for this year's dates.
Lincoln assesses: Communication, Values, Ethical reasoning, Motivation.
No. They are 50 original MedicHut practice questions, written to match Lincoln's published interview format. Universities do not share their real questions, so your interview may differ.
Answer each question out loud with the timer on, then note what you would change. When you feel ready, a mock interview with a trained MedicHut interviewer gives you personal feedback.
Lincoln medical school guide: entry requirements and interview advice
Book a Lincoln mock interview for £69 with a trained MedicHut interviewer, or a live MMI circuit for £89. Both include detailed feedback on every answer.
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