How to Talk About Your Medicine EPQ at Interview
- miriamsch
- May 11
- 4 min read
How to ace your medicine interview by talking about your research interests.
You’ve spent months researching, writing, and refining your EPQ — and now it’s time to talk about it at your medicine interview. Whether it’s a panel interview or MMI station, your EPQ is a goldmine of evidence that you’re curious, committed, and capable of thinking like a future medic.
But only if you can talk about it well.
In this post, we’ll walk you through exactly how to prepare for EPQ-related questions at interview — with tips, examples, and common pitfalls to avoid.
Why Interviewers Care About Your EPQ
Medical schools don’t just want to see that you did an EPQ — they want to understand:
Why you chose your topic
What you learned (about medicine and yourself)
How you approached challenges
What skills you developed
How it connects to your motivation for medicine
The way you talk about your EPQ can reveal a lot about how you think. That’s what admissions tutors are listening for.
1. Be Ready to Explain Your Topic Clearly
You should be able to explain:
What your question was
Why you chose it
What you concluded
Example:
“I explored whether artificial intelligence is reliable enough to be used in diagnosing cancer. I chose it because I’d read about AI outperforming doctors in some areas, and I wanted to understand the evidence behind those claims. I found that while AI shows huge potential, it works best as a tool to support — not replace — clinicians, especially because of issues like bias and lack of accountability.”
Avoid: rambling, using technical jargon, or sounding rehearsed.
2. Link It to Your Motivation for Medicine
Show how your project helped confirm your interest in medicine. This doesn’t need to be dramatic — it just needs to be genuine.
Try phrases like:
“It made me realise how complex real-world decision-making is in medicine…”
“It helped me appreciate how medicine is about people, not just science…”
“It challenged some assumptions I had about medical technology…”
Example:
“Looking at the ethics of AI also made me think more deeply about how important human judgement is in medicine. It’s one thing for a machine to get the right diagnosis — it’s another to break that news to a patient with empathy.”
3. Reflect on What You Learned
It’s not just what you found out — it’s what you learned about how to learn.
Interviewers love hearing about:
How you evaluated conflicting evidence
How you managed time independently
How you changed your views along the way
Example:
“I started off thinking the answer would be obvious — that AI was either good or bad. But once I started reading research papers, I realised the issue was far more nuanced. That helped me get more comfortable with uncertainty and thinking critically — which I think is essential in medicine.”
4. Talk About the Skills You Gained
The EPQ develops the kinds of skills you’ll need as a medical student:
Researching from academic sources
Critical thinking
Time management
Structuring arguments
Independent learning
Example:
“One of the most valuable parts was learning how to read academic journals. At first it felt overwhelming, but I learned to focus on the abstract, methods, and conclusions — and to question how reliable each study was.”
Reflection Tip:Make a list of 3–5 transferable skills your EPQ helped you build, and have an example ready for each.
5. Be Honest About the Challenges
Don’t pretend everything went perfectly. Showing how you overcame challenges makes your story more compelling and authentic.
Example:
“Partway through, I realised my question was too broad. I was trying to cover all types of cancer, and it wasn’t working. I narrowed it to breast cancer after reading a specific paper — and that made the project much stronger.”
Avoid: blaming teachers or saying “I just didn’t have time”.
Common EPQ Interview Questions
Be prepared to answer:
Why did you choose that topic?
What was the most interesting thing you found out?
Did you change your mind about anything?
What sources did you use, and how did you evaluate them?
What challenges did you face, and how did you deal with them?
How does your EPQ relate to your interest in medicine?
Final Checklist
Before your interview, make sure you can:
Summarise your EPQ in under 90 seconds
Explain your motivation and reflections clearly
Link your EPQ to medicine and your personal development
Answer questions about evidence, ethics, or sources confidently
Final Thought
Your EPQ is more than a project — it’s proof that you’re already thinking like a future medical student. Own that. Speak honestly. Don’t aim to impress — aim to connect.
And if you want some practice, our mock interview sessions with real doctors are a great way to build confidence. We’ll help you refine your answers and give detailed feedback — so your EPQ can become one of your strongest assets at interview.
