Free practice questions for the Barts (QMUL) medicine interview, with the interview format taken from the university's own admissions pages.
Queen Mary's current selection page confirms that shortlisted applicants are scored at interview and that the interview score may be considered alongside the UCAT, SJT and academic results when offers are made. It does not currently publish the panel members, interview length or question structure. Check your invitation for those details.
Original MedicHut practice questions. Real interviews may differ.
You have had experience of healthcare through volunteering, work experience, caring responsibilities or another people-focused role. Tell me about one experience that changed or challenged your understanding of what being a doctor involves.
Many medical school applicants have a strong desire to help people. However, the day-to-day reality of working as a doctor can be very different from what applicants expect.
What do you think is one aspect of being a doctor that prospective medical students often underestimate?
Please cover the following in your answer:
1. The specific aspect of the role you have chosen and why it is easily overlooked.
2. How you observed or learned about this reality during your work experience or volunteering.
3. How knowing this has changed your preparation for a career in medicine.
Follow-up:
"If a junior doctor told you that the administrative workload leaves them with very little time to actually speak to patients, how would that make you feel about your future career?"
Many applicants expect a doctor's role to focus entirely on diagnosing illnesses and prescribing treatments. Think back to a task or responsibility you observed a healthcare professional carry out during your work experience that surprised you.
Please discuss:
1. The specific task or responsibility you observed.
2. Why this surprised you based on your initial expectations.
3. How this insight has changed your understanding of what it means to be a doctor.
"If you were speaking to a new medical student who disliked the administrative parts of the job, how would you explain the importance of these tasks?"
Healthcare professionals frequently encounter challenging situations, such as delivering bad news or managing a distressed patient. Think of a time during your work experience or volunteering when you saw a member of staff handle a difficult situation well.
Please cover the following in your answer:
1. A brief description of the difficult situation.
2. The specific actions or communication skills the staff member used to manage it.
3. How you will apply what you learned from this observation to your own future practice.
"What might have happened if the staff member had become visibly frustrated during that situation?"
A 16-year-old patient attends their GP appointment alone. They tell the doctor that they are struggling with their mental health but do not want their parents to know. They say that their parents would be angry if they found out and ask the doctor to keep everything confidential.”
What should the doctor consider before deciding how to respond?
A new artificial intelligence system is introduced to a hospital department. A small internal trial shows that the AI makes fewer diagnostic errors than the senior doctors. However, the system cannot explain how it reaches its conclusions.
1. What are the ethical arguments for and against relying on this system to diagnose patients?
2. Should doctors always have the final say on a diagnosis, even if the AI is statistically more accurate?
3. How might a patient feel if they are told their diagnosis was made entirely by a computer?
Follow-up:
"A doctor disagrees with the AI diagnosis, but following the doctor's alternative treatment harms the patient. Who is responsible?"
A junior doctor prescribes the wrong dose of a medication to a patient on a hospital ward. A nurse spots the error before the medication is given. The patient receives the correct dose and suffers no harm. The doctor feels embarrassed and wonders if they should mention the mistake to the patient.
1. What should the junior doctor do in this situation?
2. Why is it important for healthcare professionals to admit their mistakes?
3. How does the GMC duty of candour apply when no harm has actually occurred?
Follow-up:
"The junior doctor tells their supervising consultant about the near miss. The consultant says: 'No harm was done, just forget about it.' What should the junior doctor do next?"
A patient asks a medical student not to share details of their condition with the wider team because they are embarrassed, even though this information is relevant to their care.
What should the student do?
A doctor is treating a patient from a different cultural background who wants a family member to make medical decisions on their behalf, against usual UK practice.
How should the doctor approach this?
Some people argue that lifestyle-related conditions should receive lower priority for NHS treatment than conditions unrelated to lifestyle choices.
What is your view on this, and what are the strongest arguments on the other side?
Medical students and doctors must be able to reflect on their performance and accept feedback to improve their practice.
Tell us about a time when you received criticism or feedback that you initially found difficult to hear.
Please cover the following in your answer:
1. The context of the situation and the nature of the feedback.
2. Your initial reaction and how you managed those feelings.
3. The steps you took to learn and improve as a result.
Follow-up:
"If you felt that a senior colleague gave you unfair feedback in front of a patient, how would you address the situation?"
Medical students and doctors are expected to recognize their own limits and seek support when necessary.
Tell me about a time you had to ask for help with a task or problem that you initially wanted to manage on your own.
Please include the following in your answer:
1. Why you originally wanted to complete the task independently.
2. The moment you realised that you needed assistance.
3. How asking for help changed the final outcome.
Follow-up:
"How do you decide between trying to figure out a difficult clinical problem yourself and immediately asking a senior doctor for help?"
In clinical practice, doctors must remain open minded and avoid making snap judgements about their patients or colleagues.
Describe an occasion when your first impression of a person or situation turned out to be completely wrong.
Please structure your answer to include:
1. What your initial assumptions were and why you made them.
2. The specific event or information that changed your mind.
3. What you learned from this experience about forming judgements.
Follow-up:
"If you noticed a fellow medical student consistently making negative assumptions about patients from certain backgrounds, how would you approach them?"
Medical students and doctors frequently face situations that do not turn out the way they planned. Reflecting on these moments is a key part of professional development.
Think about a specific time during your work experience or volunteering when an event did not go as you expected.
Please cover the following in your answer:
1. A brief outline of the situation and your initial expectations.
2. How you adapted to the unexpected outcome at the time.
3. What this experience taught you about yourself or about working in healthcare.
"If you could go back and prepare for that specific situation again, what practical steps would you do differently?"
University life involves much more than academic study. Medical schools look for students who will actively participate in their wider community.
What specific skills or interests would you contribute to the Queen Mary University of London community outside of your medical degree?
Please cover the following in your answer:
1. An example of a non-academic interest or society you wish to pursue.
2. How this activity helps you develop skills relevant to a career in medicine.
3. How you plan to balance your extracurricular contributions with a demanding medical curriculum.
Follow-up:
"A student tells you that joining societies is a waste of time and they only want to focus on their exams. How would you explain the value of non-academic activities to them?"
Barts and The London is based in one of the most diverse areas of the country and teaches alongside a large teaching hospital trust.
What do you think you would gain from training in this kind of environment?
You have applied to study medicine at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry.
Please explain your reasons for choosing this medical school.
What parts of the course structure most appeal to you?
How did the location of the university influence your choice?
Follow-up:
"Which aspect of the curriculum do you think you will find the most challenging during your first year, and how will you manage this?"
The medical curriculum at Barts involves learning in various community and clinical settings from an early stage.
Why does this approach appeal to you?
Please cover the following in your answer:
1. How early patient contact helps develop your skills as a future doctor.
2. The potential challenges of learning in community clinics compared to a lecture theatre.
3. How you plan to balance clinical placements with your academic studies.
"A student tells you that early clinical placements are overwhelming and distract from learning the necessary scientific facts. How would you respond?"
Read the Health Foundation reading below about what the public and NHS staff think of AI in health care.
What is the main message, and how convincing do you find it?
Why do you think NHS staff were more positive about AI than the public?
A local GP surgery introduces a new artificial intelligence system to help doctors diagnose skin rashes. A patient comes in with a concerning mole. The doctor uses the tool, which suggests the mole is harmless. The patient looks anxious and says they do not trust a computer program with their health.
1. How should the doctor explain the role of the artificial intelligence tool to the patient?
2. What factors might influence whether this patient trusts the recommendation?
3. How should the doctor proceed if the patient still refuses to accept the result?
Follow-up:
"The patient asks the doctor if the computer is now making all the medical decisions. What should the doctor say?"
An NHS trust is considering buying a new artificial intelligence program. The software is designed to read X-rays and highlight potential fractures faster than a human radiologist. The trust managers are holding a meeting to decide whether to purchase it.
1. What potential benefits could this software offer to the hospital and its patients?
2. What ethical and safety concerns should the managers consider before buying the system?
3. How might the introduction of this software affect the day-to-day work of the radiology team?
Follow-up:
"The software developers mention that the program was only tested on data from private hospitals in another country. Why might this be a problem for an NHS hospital?"
Read the NHS 10 Year Health Plan reading below. It sets out three big shifts: hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention.
Which of these do you think matters most, and why?
Read the ONS reading below on healthy life expectancy in the most and least deprived areas of England.
The government says it wants to close this gap. Why do you think this is hard to do?
Read the BBC reading below about child deaths linked to drug-resistant infections.
Why do you think antimicrobial resistance is such a hard problem to solve?
What can doctors do about it in everyday practice?
Read the government reading below about childhood obesity figures in England.
Some people say this is mainly the responsibility of individuals, some say families, and others say wider society, such as food companies, schools and the government.
What is your view, and what has shaped it?
You are part of a university group project. You prefer to plan everything well in advance and set strict deadlines. Another student in your group prefers to work at the last minute and often ignores your schedule, although they produce good quality work.
1. How would you handle this situation to ensure the project is completed successfully?
2. What are the benefits of having different working styles within a team?
3. Tell us about a real time when you worked with someone whose approach was very different from your own.
Follow-up:
"The student tells you that your strict deadlines are causing them unnecessary stress. How do you respond?"
You are the leader of a small student team preparing a charity fundraising stall for a university freshers fair. On the morning of the event, one team member does not turn up. They have not sent a message to explain their absence.
1. How would you manage the immediate impact on the team and the running of the stall?
2. What steps would you take to contact the missing team member?
3. How would you address the situation with them when they eventually reply?
"The team member later replies to say they were too anxious to attend because they felt unprepared. What would you do next?"
You are part of a university project group working on an important piece of coursework. The group must choose between two very different approaches to the assignment. The group members are split evenly in their opinions, and the submission deadline is only a few days away.
1. How would you facilitate a discussion to help the group reach a final decision?
2. What strategies would you use to ensure both sides feel heard and respected?
3. What would you do to ensure the work is completed to a high standard despite the tight deadline?
"The group agrees on a chosen approach, but one member refuses to do their assigned tasks because their preferred idea was rejected. How do you respond?"
You are working as a healthcare assistant on a busy hospital ward. You are paired with a colleague to complete routine patient observations. You prefer to spend time talking with each patient to reassure them. Your colleague prefers to work as quickly as possible and keeps conversations very brief.
How would you manage this difference in working styles?
Please cover the following in your answer:
1. The potential impact of both approaches on patient care.
2. How this clash might affect your working relationship with your colleague.
3. The steps you would take to reach a compromise.
"Your colleague tells you that your chatty approach is making the team fall behind schedule. How would you handle this feedback?"
An NHS committee has a limited budget for the upcoming year. They must choose between funding a highly expensive new cancer drug that will extend the lives of a few patients, or funding a community mental health service that will improve the quality of life for hundreds of patients.
1. What factors should the committee consider when making this decision?
2. How do principles of medical ethics apply to allocating NHS resources?
3. Why is it difficult to balance individual patient needs against the needs of the wider community?
Follow-up:
"A family member of a cancer patient starts a local campaign demanding the new drug is funded. How might this public pressure influence the decision?"
A local NHS trust is planning to move its diabetes management clinic from the main hospital into several smaller community health centres.
Please consider the following points in your answer:
1. What do you think are the main benefits of moving this care into the community?
2. What logistical or staffing challenges might the trust face during this transition?
3. How might patients react to this change?
"A patient complains that their local community centre lacks the advanced equipment they used to see at the hospital. How would you explain the change to them?"
An NHS hospital is struggling with a long waiting list for routine knee replacement surgeries. Some patients have been waiting for over a year. The hospital management is holding a meeting to discuss how to reduce this backlog.
Please cover the following in your answer:
1. What factors do you think have contributed to long waiting lists across the NHS?
2. What trade-offs might the hospital need to make if they decide to clear the surgical backlog quickly?
3. How does waiting a long time for surgery impact a patient physically and mentally?
"The management proposes cancelling some outpatient clinics to free up staff for surgeries. What are the risks of this approach?"
A local GP surgery is facing intense pressure. Patient demand is rising, there are staff shortages and many people are struggling to book an appointment.
If you were asked to propose a solution to improve the situation, what single change do you think would help most?
Please consider:
1. How your proposed change would improve access for patients.
2. The potential challenges or financial costs of implementing your idea.
3. How it would affect the workload of the current GP staff.
Follow-up:
"A patient complains that your proposed change makes it harder for elderly people who do not use the internet to access care. How would you address their concern?"
A patient with high blood pressure attends a routine GP appointment. They tell the doctor that they have stopped taking their prescribed medication. They explain that they saw a video online claiming the medication is dangerous and causes heart problems.
1. How should the doctor approach this conversation with the patient?
2. What are the main challenges when dealing with health misinformation?
3. How can doctors build trust so that patients feel confident following medical advice?
Follow-up:
"The patient says: 'I trust the person in the video more than the pharmaceutical companies.' What would you say next?"
Imagine a patient has a viral infection and strongly believes that they need antibiotics. They become frustrated when the doctor explains that antibiotics are unlikely to help. How should the doctor approach this conversation?
You are a student ambassador at a university open day. A prospective student is visiting with their parent. The parent approaches you and says: "I have heard that medical students barely have any life outside their course. Is that true?"
1. How would you respond directly to the parent's concern?
2. What key points about university life and time management would you include in your answer?
3. How would you ensure the prospective student is also included in this conversation?
"The parent then says: 'Well, my child is not very good at handling stress. Do you think they should rethink medicine?' How would you reply?"
You are volunteering at an information desk in a busy NHS hospital. A visitor approaches you looking very frustrated. They say: "I have been sent to three different departments and nobody can tell me where my relative is."
1. How would you structure your initial response to calm the visitor down?
2. What practical steps would you take to find the information they need?
3. What boundaries must you consider regarding patient confidentiality in this situation?
"The visitor raises their voice and says: 'I demand you leave this desk and take me to the manager right now.' How do you handle this?"
You are a peer supporter at your university. A student named Alex comes to see you. They are extremely angry and state that they have been unfairly marked down on a recent assignment.
How would you handle this situation?
Please consider:
1. The immediate steps you would take to address their anger.
2. How you would help them objectively review their academic feedback.
3. The boundaries of your role as a peer supporter.
Follow-up:
"Alex says: 'The lecturer is biased against me and I am going to drop out of university today.' What do you say to them?"
You have several commitments during your first week at university: lectures to attend, an assignment due, preparation for a society event, and a group project meeting. You also want to maintain time for rest and social activities.
How would you organise your time to manage these commitments effectively?
You are the captain of a university sports team. One of your most talented players frequently arrives late to training and disrupts the sessions. You need to speak with them about their behaviour.
How would you manage this situation?
1. How would you approach this conversation with your teammate?
2. What steps would you take if they became defensive and refused to listen?
3. Why is the ability to give constructive feedback important in a medical setting?
"The teammate tells you that they have been arriving late because they are struggling with a difficult family situation. How does this change your approach?"
Working in a healthcare team often requires flexibility. You might need to change your approach to accommodate a colleague or a patient.
Tell me about a time you had to adapt your usual way of working because of someone else's needs or circumstances.
Please cover the following in your answer:
1. What the situation was and why your usual approach was not suitable.
2. How you identified the need to change your behaviour.
3. The outcome of your adaptation.
Follow-up:
"If you adapted your style but the other person was still unhappy with the way you were working together, what would you do next?"
You are volunteering at a local community centre. It is ten minutes before closing time. You have three immediate tasks to deal with.
A distressed family has just arrived asking for an emergency food parcel.
A new volunteer needs help understanding the sorting system.
The manager has asked you to lock the back door immediately for security reasons.
How would you manage this situation?
Please cover the following in your answer:
1. The order in which you would prioritize these tasks.
2. The reasoning behind your choices.
3. How you would communicate with the people involved while managing the tasks.
"The new volunteer becomes upset and says you are ignoring them. How do you respond?"
Think about a moment during your work experience or volunteering that made you certain, rather than just interested, that medicine was the right career for you.
Describe that moment and why it had that effect.
The GMC outlines a wide range of professional duties for doctors. Medical schools also look for many different traits in their applicants.
What do you consider to be the single most important quality for a doctor to possess?
What experiences have helped you to form this opinion?
Follow-up:
"Can you describe a situation in which having too much of this quality might cause problems for a doctor or their patients?"
A career as a doctor in the NHS is known to be demanding. It involves long shifts, complex decision-making and emotional strain.
How have you prepared yourself for the challenges of a medical degree and a career in medicine?
What practical steps do you take to maintain your own wellbeing when you feel stressed?
Follow-up:
"You are a medical student and you notice that a friend on your course is looking very tired and has started missing lectures. How would you approach them?"
Before gaining practical experience, most people form an idea of what being a doctor is like from television or books.
Tell us about a specific moment during your work experience or volunteering that challenged your initial perception of the medical profession.
How did this new understanding affect your desire to study medicine?
Follow-up:
"If a friend told you they wanted to study medicine because they expect to cure every patient they see, what advice would you give them based on your experience?"
A study finds that patients given a new pain medication report less pain than those given a placebo, but the difference is small and the study only followed patients for one week.
What further questions would you want answered before this medication became standard treatment?
You are participating in a student-run science communication project for local schools. Your task is to give a short talk to a group of 14-year-olds about antimicrobial resistance.
1. How would you explain, in simple terms, why antibiotics do not work against viral infections like the common cold?
2. What are the key biological differences between viruses and bacteria that you would highlight?
3. How would you explain the public health dangers of overusing antibiotics to this age group?
"One of the pupils asks: 'If viruses are so dangerous, why don't we just invent antibiotics that kill them?' How would you answer?"
You are running a public health stall at a community event. A visitor approaches you to discuss the winter flu vaccine. They tell you they do not want it. They say: 'My friend had the vaccine last year and still caught the flu, so it clearly does not work.'
How would you address this visitor's concerns?
Please consider the following in your explanation:
1. How you would explain the biological purpose of a vaccine without using confusing medical jargon.
2. The scientific reasons why a person might still experience mild symptoms after being vaccinated.
3. The wider public health benefits of vaccination beyond protecting one individual.
"The visitor listens to your explanation but says they would rather just rely on their natural immune system. What would you say next?"
You are taking part in a student-led academic society. You are asked to present a short summary of a recent scientific article or medical discovery.
What scientific development would you choose to discuss?
Why did this topic catch your attention, and how could it influence future healthcare?
Follow-up:
"Another student points out that early scientific studies often fail to produce real-world treatments. How would you respond to this point?"
Queen Mary uses this format for medicine: Online panel. Interviews are held online.
Interview timing for Queen Mary: Check your interview invitation for current dates. Always check the university's own admissions pages for this year's dates.
No. They are 50 original MedicHut practice questions, written to match Queen Mary's published interview format. Universities do not share their real questions, so your interview may differ.
Yes. Every question is free to practise, with no sign-up needed. You can make a free account to save your notes.
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