How do I tackle interview questions that ask me for an example where I showed a particular skill?

Whether panel interviews or MMIs, medical school interviews will almost certainly invovle "behavioural questioning" style questions.

These questions ask you to draw on an experience from the past that demonstrated a particular skill. For example: Describe a situation where you used your communication skills to resolve an issue. 

These questions may ask you to demonstrate a variety of skills - when preparing for these type of questions think about the different skills that the interviewers may like to see in a medical school applicant. This way you can prepare for different scenarios. 

How to tackle it: STARR Technique

Following the STARR structure is helpful as it means you are likely to cover the points the interviewer is looking for in your answer and it also helps to have a structure in your head to avoid rambling on when you're nervous at the interview.

Situation - context of the story/background

Task - what was the aim/ what were you trying to achieve?

Action - what did you do? Why?

Result - what was the outcome?

Reflect - what went well? Which skills demonstrated? What could you have done differently?

In one of my tutor sessions we could go through a real life example using the STARR technique in order to practice answering behavioural questions.