Free practice questions for the Leicester medicine interview, with the interview format taken from the university's own admissions pages.
For 2027 entry, Leicester runs multiple mini interviews plus a numeracy test, lasting about an hour in total. Home applicants attend face to face at the George Davies Centre, and international applicants interview online. The numeracy station is mainly mental arithmetic and carries its own pass mark.
Original MedicHut practice questions. Real interviews may differ.
You are the captain of a local sports team. Recently, the team has lost several matches in a row. Some players are blaming each other, and attendance at training sessions has dropped.
1. What steps would you take to improve team morale?
2. What qualities do you think make someone an effective leader?
3. Why is being a good listener important for a leader?
Follow-up:
"If you were a patient, what specific actions would make you feel that a doctor genuinely cared about you?"
You are part of a committee organising a charity event. The group has different personalities. Some members naturally take charge. Others prefer to be given specific tasks.
1. What qualities make someone an effective team member in this situation?
2. What qualities make someone an effective team leader?
3. In a group project, do you usually prefer to lead or to follow, and why?
Follow-up:
"A team member tells you they feel ignored by the leader. How would you handle this?"
You are part of a student committee organising a charity fundraiser. One of the committee members comes from a very different background to you. They suggest a way of running the event that you feel will not work.
1. How would you handle this disagreement?
2. Why is it important to listen to diverse perspectives in a team?
3. Tell us about a time you worked with someone from a very different background to your own.
Follow-up:
"What did you learn from that past experience that will help you work in an NHS team?"
You are part of a group of five students tasked with presenting a project on public health. One student has missed two meetings and has not completed their section of the work. The deadline is in three days.
1. How would you approach the student who is not contributing?
2. What factors might you consider before speaking to them?
3. How can a team maintain progress when a member is struggling?
Follow-up:
"The student tells you that they are overwhelmed with personal issues and cannot do the work. How would your approach change?"
You are a medical student on placement. A patient has just been told that their discharge from hospital will be delayed because they need another assessment.
The patient is frustrated and says:
"Nobody has told me anything properly. I've been here for days and I just want to go home. Can you please tell me what's actually going on?"
Task: Speak to the patient and respond to their concerns.
A patient attends a GP appointment because they have been experiencing symptoms for several weeks.
They explain that they are worried something serious may be wrong. The doctor appears rushed, interrupts them several times and tells them that their symptoms are probably nothing to worry about.
Later, the patient discovers that an important part of their history was not recorded.
Questions
What concerns you about this consultation?
Why is it important for doctors to listen carefully to patients?
What potential consequences could arise from poor communication?
You are a medical school applicant. Your friend is struggling with stress about their upcoming exams and has stopped attending social events. They have asked to meet you for a coffee.
1. What would you say to open a conversation with your friend?
2. What factors would you consider when offering them support?
3. Why is it important for future medical students to manage their stress effectively?
Follow-up:
"Your friend asks you to help them cheat on an upcoming coursework assignment so they can pass. How do you respond?"
You are a medical student on your first hospital placement.
A patient’s relative (actor) approaches you in the corridor and asks for information about their loved one’s condition. You don’t have access to the details, and you’re not allowed to give medical advice
You are a medical student on placement in the outpatient clinic.
A patient (actor) has been waiting for over two hours to be seen. They approach you angrily, demanding an explanation.
"I've been trying to speak to someone all morning. My dad seems much more confused today and nobody seems to be doing anything. I'm really worried that something is being missed."
Task: Respond to the relative's concerns.
You are shown a short video of a medical student discussing their placement with friends. During the conversation, they make dismissive comments about patients and share details that could potentially allow someone to identify a patient.
What concerns you about the student's behaviour?
Why might someone behave unprofessionally despite knowing the rules?
Is it ethical for the NHS to spend money treating illnesses that could potentially have been prevented?
Why might people from different socioeconomic backgrounds have different health outcomes?
To what extent should individuals be responsible for their own health?
Should governments restrict advertising of products that may negatively affect health?
Why might two people living in the same city have very different health outcomes?
Should healthcare resources ever be targeted specifically towards communities with worse health outcomes?
Parents bring their three-year-old child to a GP surgery. The GP offers the child a routine vaccination. The parents refuse. They state that they do not believe the vaccination is safe.
1. What ethical principles should the GP consider in this situation?
2. How should the GP respond to the parents' concerns?
3. Under what circumstances can parents be overruled regarding their child's medical treatment?
Follow-up:
"The parents ask if you personally agree with their decision to refuse the vaccination. How would you answer?"
Your friend (a medical student) posts a photo on social media from inside a hospital. No patient's face is visible, but a whiteboard in the background contains information about several patients.
Your friends tell you:
"It's fine , you can't see anyone's face."
Have a conversation with them
Imagine you are given £10 million to improve healthcare in an area. What healthcare issue would you spend it on and why?
What changes would you make to solve this issue?
How might investing in community healthcare reduce pressure on hospitals?
How could technology help healthcare professionals manage increasing demand?
What are the potential disadvantages of relying heavily on technology in healthcare?
Why might healthcare professionals leave the NHS?
A patient with a long-term health condition lives in a rural area. The local bus service has been cut, and they have missed two recent hospital appointments because they could not travel.
1. Why might some patients struggle to access healthcare?
2. What impact can long waiting times and missed appointments have on patients?
3. Would increasing the number of doctors necessarily solve healthcare access problems?
Follow-up:
"A colleague suggests that patients who repeatedly miss appointments should be fined. What are the ethical implications of this policy?"
A junior doctor is working long shifts on a busy hospital ward. They tell you they feel exhausted. They are considering leaving the NHS to work in a different field.
1. What factors might cause healthcare professionals to leave the NHS?
2. How could a decline in staff wellbeing affect patient safety?
3. What steps could be taken to make healthcare careers more sustainable for staff?
Follow-up:
"How would you personally maintain a good work-life balance while studying and working in medicine?"
You can fund only one of the following:
A. Reduce waiting times for routine operations
B. Expand mental health services
C. Increase preventative health programmes
D. Improve services for people living in rural areas
Questions
Which would you choose and why?
What factors should influence your decision?
Who might disagree with your choice?
A patient reads an article about personalised medicine. They ask their doctor if they can have treatments tailored specifically to their DNA.
1. What do you understand by the term personalised medicine?
2. What opportunities could this approach bring to patient care?
3. What challenges might the widespread use of personalised medicine create for the NHS?
Follow-up:
"A patient demands a very expensive genetic test that is not currently funded by the NHS. How should the doctor respond?"
A GP practice has 2,400 registered patients.
Over one year, 15% of patients attend the practice for a particular screening programme.
How many patients attended the screening programme?
A medication is prescribed at 5 mg/kg.
A patient weighs 64 kg.
The medication is available as 40 mg tablets.
A ward has 30 beds. On Monday, 20 beds are occupied. On Tuesday, occupancy increases by 20%. How many beds are occupied?
Read the King's Fund reading below on how the UK population is changing.
What challenges does an ageing population pose for the NHS and social care?
How do money and social circumstances affect how many healthy years older people have?
As a future doctor, how would you prepare to meet the needs of an ageing population?
A clinic has 48 patients waiting to be seen. The ratio of adults to children is 5:3.
A medical student's scores across five assessments are:
72, 65, 81, 74 and 68
What is their mean score?
If they score 90 on their next assessment, what will their new mean be?
A patient is advised to drink 1.5 litres of fluid throughout the day.
Their water bottle holds 250 mL.
How many full bottles would they need to drink to consume 1.5 L?
If they have already drunk 3 bottles, how much more do they need?
Read the BBC reading below about AI being used to help read chest X-rays at Leeds hospitals.
1. Summarise the reading in two sentences.
2. Why might doctors and patients be slow to trust AI systems?
3. As a future doctor, how would you balance AI support with your own judgement?
Read the UK Health Security Agency reading below on heat and the health effects of climate change.
1. Summarise it in two sentences.
2. What health effects of heat does it describe, and who is most at risk?
3. How can doctors help with climate-related health risks, both in preventing illness and in treating it?
Read the Children's Commissioner reading below about children's mental health services in England.
Summarise the main points in your own words.
What are the main mental health challenges facing young people today?
As a future doctor, how would you support young people with their mental health?
What does effective communication mean to you?
Why is empathy important in a healthcare professional?
Tell us about a time you had to work with someone whose approach was very different from yours.
What makes someone a reliable member of a team?
You are on a clinical placement. A doctor asks you and another medical student to take a patient's history. The other student asks inappropriate questions and seems completely unprepared.
1. Why is professionalism particularly important for medical students?
2. What actions would you take in this situation?
3. What does it mean to be a good medical student?
Follow-up:
"Why might students sometimes struggle to speak up when they have concerns about a peer's behaviour?"
You are volunteering at a local community centre. A new volunteer joins and has a very different way of completing tasks. This causes some confusion and slows down the team.
1. Tell us about a time when you had to adapt your approach to work effectively with someone else.
2. What steps would you take to work well with the new volunteer?
3. What do you think makes a colleague trustworthy?
Follow-up:
"Working with different people can sometimes be challenging. Why is resilience important in medical school?"
Medical professionals often have to make choices without knowing all the facts. Tell us about a time you had to make a decision without all the information you would have liked.
1. How did you approach making the decision?
2. What factors did you consider?
3. What did you learn from the experience?
Follow-up:
"How will this experience help you deal with uncertainty as a medical student?"
What does effective communication mean to you?
What makes someone an effective decision-maker?
Tell us about a time when something didn't go according to plan.
Follow-up: What would you do differently if the same situation happened again?
Medical training requires students to deal with sudden changes in plans. Tell us about a time you had to adapt quickly to an unexpected change.
1. What was the situation and the unexpected change you faced?
2. How did you manage your response?
3. What did you learn about yourself from the experience?
Follow-up:
"How will the ability to adapt to unexpected situations help you as a future doctor?"
Receiving and acting on feedback is a key part of medical training. Describe a time you received constructive feedback that was difficult to hear.
Please include:
1. What the feedback was and who gave it to you.
2. Why you found it difficult to hear at the time.
3. How you responded and what you learned from the experience.
Follow-up:
"Looking back, is there anything you would change about how you reacted initially?"
A career in medicine offers many rewards but also involves significant challenges. What aspect of being a doctor do you anticipate finding the most challenging?
Please explain:
1. Why you believe this will be particularly difficult for you.
2. How your experiences so far have shaped this view.
3. What steps you have taken to prepare for this challenge.
Follow-up:
"How will you recognise if you are struggling with this challenge in the future?"
Tell us about a specific experience that confirmed your decision to study medicine.
Please cover the following points in your answer:
1. The setting and what happened.
2. What you learned about the reality of a medical career.
3. How this experience shaped your understanding of a doctor's role.
Follow-up:
"If you had not had this experience, what other steps would you have taken to confirm your choice of career?"
Medical school involves academic pressure, emotional challenges and significant time commitments.
Please explain how you have prepared for these demands by addressing the following:
1. The specific challenges you expect to face during the course.
2. The strategies you have developed to maintain a healthy balance.
3. An example of a time when you successfully managed a stressful period.
Follow-up:
"What would you do if your usual coping strategies stopped working during a difficult time at university?"
The role of a doctor extends beyond diagnosing and treating clinical conditions.
1. What does being a doctor mean to you in a wider context?
2. What other responsibilities do doctors hold within a community?
3. How do these broader duties influence your motivation to study medicine?
"Which non-clinical aspect of the job do you expect to find the most challenging?"
Patient care in the NHS is delivered by a large team of different professionals. You have applied to train as a doctor.
Why have you chosen medicine instead of another healthcare profession, such as nursing or physiotherapy?
Include these points in your answer:
- The specific role of a doctor.
- How this role matches your own skills and goals.
- How doctors work with other healthcare professionals.
Follow-up:
"If you were not offered a place at medical school, would you train for a different role in the NHS?"
You have chosen to apply to the University of Leicester for your medical degree.
Please answer the following:
1. What specific aspects of the course structure at Leicester appeal to you?
2. How do these teaching methods suit your own learning style?
3. How do you plan to engage with the university community outside of your academic studies?
Follow-up:
"What do you anticipate will be the most challenging part of transitioning to studying medicine at Leicester?"
Medical students at Leicester are part of a busy academic and social community.
1. How would you contribute to the student community outside of your academic studies?
2. What specific skills or experiences would you bring to a university society or club?
3. Why is it important for medical students to have interests outside of medicine?
"If you found that a society you joined was taking up too much time, how would you manage this?"
The medical degree program at Leicester introduces early patient contact. Students interact with patients in clinical settings during their first year.
1. Why is early patient contact important for developing future doctors?
2. How does early clinical exposure help to build communication skills?
3. What challenges might a junior student face when speaking to patients?
"A patient on the ward asks you to explain their recent test results. You are a first-year student and do not know the answer. What would you do?"
Studying medicine means committing to a new university and city for several years.
Thinking about living and studying in Leicester, what are you looking forward to?
Include these points in your answer:
- What appeals to you about the city or the local area.
- How you will manage the demands of the medical course.
- What you hope to do outside of your academic studies.
Follow-up:
"How will you cope if you feel homesick during your first term?"
Think about your work experience or volunteering in a healthcare setting.
Please answer the following:
1. Briefly describe a challenging situation you observed.
2. What was the most important thing you learned from how the professionals handled it?
3. How has this changed your perspective on working in the NHS?
Follow-up:
"If you were placed in a similar situation as a junior doctor, how would this learning guide your actions?"
Think back to your work experience or volunteering in a caring setting.
1. Describe a challenging situation you observed.
2. How did the staff handle the situation?
3. What did this experience teach you about the daily realities of working in healthcare?
"How has observing this challenge influenced your decision to pursue medicine?"
Reflect on the time you spent doing work experience or volunteering.
What did you learn about the importance of communication from these experiences?
Include these points in your answer:
- A specific conversation you observed.
- Why the communication was effective or ineffective.
- How this will influence your own practice as a doctor.
Follow-up:
"What would you do if a patient became angry because they did not understand your explanation?"
Working in the NHS involves both rewarding moments and significant challenges.
What insight did you gain into the realities of working in the NHS from your work experience?
Include these points in your answer:
- One specific challenge you observed on the wards or in a clinic.
- How the healthcare team dealt with this situation.
- How this understanding will help you as a medical student.
Follow-up:
"How will you look after your own wellbeing when facing the pressures of working in the NHS?"
A medical student is asked to present a short talk on a recent scientific or medical development to their peers. They want to choose a topic that has a direct impact on patient care.
Imagine you are this student.
1. Which recent development in science or medicine would you choose to present?
2. Why do you find this particular development interesting?
3. How might this advancement change the way doctors treat patients in the future?
Follow-up:
"What are some of the potential risks or ethical concerns associated with the development you have chosen?"
A medical student is preparing for a clinical placement. They realise that national guidelines for managing a common condition have changed since they were taught about it last year.
1. What steps should the student take to update their knowledge?
2. Why is it important for doctors to keep their scientific and clinical knowledge up to date?
3. How do you currently stay informed about new scientific or medical developments?
"A colleague tells you they are too busy with ward work to read new research. How would you respond to them?"
A patient visits their GP with a sore throat and a cough. They ask for antibiotics. The GP explains that the infection is likely viral and that antibiotics will not work.
1. What are the biological differences between a virus and a bacterium?
2. What factors should the GP consider when explaining this decision to the patient?
3. Why is it important for doctors to avoid prescribing antibiotics for viral infections?
Follow-up:
"The patient says: 'But I always get antibiotics for a cough and they always work.' How would you respond?"
A medical student reads a magazine article claiming a new vitamin supplement cures asthma. They tell you that doctors should start recommending it to patients immediately.
1. How would you explain the concept of evidence-based medicine to this student?
2. Why is evidence-based practice important in patient care?
3. What steps should be taken before adopting a new treatment in the NHS?
Follow-up:
"The student says: 'But if it helps even one person, shouldn't we try it anyway?' How would you respond?"
Leicester uses this format for medicine: Multiple Mini Interview. Interviews may be in person or online.
Interview timing for Leicester: Home: 8 to 18 December 2026 and 6 to 13 January 2027. International: 8 to 12 February 2027. Always check the university's own admissions pages for this year's dates.
Leicester assesses: Communication, Motivation for medicine, Empathy, Comprehension, Problem solving and dealing with uncertainty, Reflection on your own strengths and weaknesses, Numeracy.
No. They are 50 original MedicHut practice questions, written to match Leicester'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.
Leicester medical school guide: entry requirements and interview advice
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