College of Medicine and Dentistry Industry and community Volunteers for Medicine Selection Panels

Volunteers for Medicine Selection Panels

Help select Queensland's future health workforce, by selecting our future doctors

To produce doctors who are passionate about serving our regional, rural and remote communities, it is vital that these communities are involved in the process from day one.

The JCU College of Medicine and Dentistry invites clinicians, members of the public, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community members, and JCU staff/adjuncts to be involved as part of medical student selection panels for JCU's Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) course.

Hear from northern Queensland clinicians on what motivated them to get involved.

Find out below how you can help by volunteering as an interviewer.

  • If you are interested in becoming a new volunteer please email med.interviewers@jcu.edu.au for information on how to register.
  • Register here if you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander wanting to participate in the interviews for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island applicants.
  • Previous interviewers login here.

In 2025, 378 volunteer interviewers helped us with the interview process for 752 domestic applicants for the 2026 JCU medicine intake. 12 interviewers volunteered for our Indigenous Selections Pathway to Medicine, interviewing 22 applicants.

JCU is Australia’s most successful university in producing medical graduates who go on to serve regional and rural communities. This success is in part due to JCU’s unique approach to selecting students for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. JCU recruits students who are from regional, rural and Indigenous communities or have an interest in ‘going rural’. The program is regionally based and focuses on priority community needs and collaborative partnerships.

Selection into our program is based on consideration of the applicant’s Year 12 score or results from further study, and an interview. This process ensure we are selecting the right applicants who are more likely to go on to work in communities that are currently underserved in the health care needs.

As part of the interview process, we invite applicants from across Australia and New Zealand for an interview online, via a managed interview platform (Kira Talent). We conduct semi-structured interviews with a three-person panel consisting of a mix of clinicians, community members, and JCU staff/adjuncts. JCU provides a selection pathway for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants which consists of an interview panel of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members. These interviews are conducted online, via Zoom.

“We’ve always benefited from really strong community backing. Because we're particularly trying to produce health professionals for the North, the North has always been behind us in terms of advancing that aim and they are a key part of selecting future medical students.”

Prof Sarah Larkins, JCU College of Medicine and Dentistry

Volunteers are required to:

  1. Participate in self-paced, online training during September
  2. Interview candidates as a member of a three-person team
  3. Utilise support resources such as the manual throughout the process

Dates

Interviews will be held from the 24th November – 1st December 2026 and 6th and 7th January 2027. Interviews are conducted with a morning and afternoon session, with each panel interviewing four applicants. Interviewer training is conducted through online training modules available in August and September.

JCU also provides an Indigenous Selection Pathway to Medicine for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants with an interview panel made up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members. These interviews take place on 26th November and the 2nd and 3rd of December, with interviewer training held online in November.

Interested volunteers are placed on panels according to their select availability. We try to share the sessions, so will usually not allocate you to all of the dates you identify.  Panels are constructed in mid to late October, and allocated panel dates are sent by email to interviewers at the end of October.

If there are occasions when you would like to be on our backup register if someone is unable to attend, this would also be appreciated, as interviewers circumstances frequently change at the last moment.

Interview Panels

Panels usually consist of a mix of health professionals, JCU staff and academics, and community members. One person will be allocated as Chair for the panel.

Training consists of a number of self-paced online modules as well as a live online session. Links will be emailed following registration.

  • Friday 23rd of October 2026 – last day for attending and completing training.
  • Friday 23rd of October 2026 – last day for selecting interview availability.
  • Week commencing 26th October 2026 – panels will be constructed. The construction of the interview panels is quite complicated and finding a replacement panel member is not a simple manner.  Please email med.interviewers@jcu.edu.au if circumstances change and you are no longer available for your selected days.
  • 30th October – confirmed interview dates and times will be emailed. Please note that interviews scheduled for January are likely to change based on second round candidate numbers. We will endeavour to notify you ASAP if changes are required.
  • If you are available to fill in for interviews at short notice, please email med.interviewers@jcu.edu.au and let us know.
  • You will be emailed links for your interview sessions and copies of the interview documents in the days leading up to your interview.
  • If you are interested in becoming a new volunteer, please email med.interviewers@jcu.edu.au for information on how to register.
  • Register here if you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander wanting to participate in the interviews for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island applicants.
  • Previous interviewers login here.

For further information, please contact us:

Medical Selections
Email med.interviewers@jcu.edu.au