The early-phase MMI is an asynchronous video interview run on the Acuity Insights platform. You record answers to prompts with no interviewer in the room, and raters score the recordings later. The University of Ottawa states every applicant must complete it, and Acuity states that applicants who successfully submit an application to Queen’s or Ottawa are invited to schedule it. It lasts about 1 hour and 15 minutes across 8 stations with a rest station in the middle.
What does the early-phase MMI actually test?
Ottawa publishes the list: critical thinking, decision making, communication, interpersonal skills, compassion and teamwork. Ottawa also states the assessment was developed collaboratively by several Ontario medical schools. Those six qualities are your marking scheme, and the team at ExperienceMED builds every practice answer around them.
How is it different from what you expect an interview to be?
There is no face across a table. You talk to a camera, you cannot read a reaction and you cannot ask the prompt to be repeated. Arvin Ardakani teaches applicants to treat that as an advantage: a recorded answer rewards structure, and structure is learnable in days.
When does it happen?
Applicants are contacted in early October, shortly after the OMSAS deadline, with instructions to schedule. Only applicants who have successfully submitted an application can pick a date. See Early-phase MMI dates for the dates Acuity lists.
What should you do next?
Read How long is the early-phase MMI? for the format, How to prepare for the early-phase MMI in one week if your sitting is close, and Early-phase MMI question types and example prompts to see the kinds of prompts to rehearse. For the full Ottawa picture, including the panel that follows, see Ottawa medicine interview format.
Acuity states its format is tentative and subject to change. Check your own Acuity instructions for the final details.
Related: Ottawa medicine interview format, Early-phase MMI vs regular MMI, How to prepare for the early-phase MMI in one week. Arvin Ardakani marks recorded answers personally and mentors applicants at every step through ExperienceMED, with direct WhatsApp access: book an interview session.
Last reviewed 10 October 2026. Written by the ExperienceMED team. Reviewed by Arvin Ardakani, final-year medical student, 4th quartile on CASPer four times.
