New Zealand Medicine & Dentistry · 2027 Entry
New Zealand Panel Interviews
The Otago BDS & MBChB Zoom Interviews
New Zealand runs no in-person panels. Otago interviews with a single, live, structured conversation over Zoom: every shortlisted BDS applicant, and the MBChB Alternative category only. It rewards depth, reflection and how you handle follow-up questions, not rapid resets between stations.
- Otago BDS
- All three entry categories interviewed
- Otago MBChB
- Alternative category only · 40 minutes
- Interviewers
- A live panel (number not published)
- Interviews
- Late Sep – early Oct 2026
Overview
What is a New Zealand panel interview?
Otago uses a structured Zoom interview: a single, longer, conversational session with a small live panel, in place of the in-person panels used elsewhere. Candidates are assessed on motivation, decision-making and communication, their reflection on experience, and their understanding of the New Zealand healthcare context. Like any panel, the format allows follow-up questions and deeper exploration of your reasoning, quite unlike Auckland’s recorded MMI.
Who sits it depends on the programme. Every shortlisted Otago BDS applicant is interviewed, across the HSFY, Graduate and Alternative categories, around 350 a year. For the Otago MBChB only the Alternative category is interviewed, in a 40-minute panel; HSFY and Graduate medicine applicants are ranked on marks alone. Waikato’s graduate school, opening for 2028 entry, has announced an admissions interview whose format is not yet published.
Otago does not publish the length of the BDS interview, the number of interviewers or who sits on the panel, so be wary of any source that tells you precisely. What it does publish is what the panel assesses, and that is what to prepare.
How a panel differs from the MMI
Depth over breadth
Fewer questions but more discussion, critical thinking and self-reflection on each, unlike the rapid-fire station format of an MMI.
Follow-up questioning
Live assessors probe further and ask you to justify and develop your answers in real time. Prepare for follow-up, not set-piece responses.
Rapport through a screen
Building rapport on Zoom takes deliberate eye contact (look at the camera, not the thumbnail), a neutral background and a steady pace.
The format
How the Otago interviews run, and how they compare with Auckland
One live conversation on Zoom, scheduled in late September or early October, usually about eight weeks after applications close.
| Aspect | Otago structured interview | Auckland MMI |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Single structured Zoom session (Alternative category: 40 minutes; BDS length not published) | Asynchronous video MMI: 8 stations on Kira Talent |
| Interviewers | A live panel (Otago does not publish the number) | No live interviewer; recorded and reviewed |
| Depth | Follow-up questions and deeper exploration | A breadth of themes across short timed stations |
| UCAT ANZ | Not used for the Alternative category or BDS; a threshold for HSFY and Graduate applicants, who are not interviewed | Weighted 15% of the selection score for 2027 entry |
| What it decides | BDS: a suitability threshold, then academic ranking. Alternative: ranked with academic record | 25% of the ranking for 2027 entry, 50% from 2028 |
On the call
- Test the exact platform, camera and microphone in advance; have a backup.
- Camera at eye level; look at the lens, light from the front.
- A quiet, tidy, private space with notifications off; dress fully.
- Distribute eye contact to every panellist as you answer.
What Otago assessors look for
Coherence: answers that build on each other across a sustained conversation, consistent values and growing self-insight. Strong candidates pause briefly before answering, link new points back to experiences they have already mentioned, and engage every assessor on the call rather than only the lead questioner.
Scoring
How Otago uses the interview
The two programmes use the interview differently, and the difference changes how you should play it.
BDS: a hurdle, then academic ranking
The panel assesses motivation, decision-making and communication as a suitability threshold. Once you pass, your interview performance is not weighted further and final selection is on weighted GPA. You cannot out-talk a weak academic record, but a poor interview can still cost you a place you were otherwise ranked for.
MBChB Alternative: ranked alongside your record
Otago shortlists on academic record, a one-page statement of reasons and a CV, then interviews. The published topics are academic achievement, other achievements, commitment to a career change, communication skills, knowledge of the New Zealand health system and understanding of the profession.
For BDS, competent, genuine and professional clears the gate; an overblown, over-rehearsed performance can hurt you. If your HSFY or graduate ranking is shaky, that, not the interview, is where the marginal hour of work should go.
Schools
Which New Zealand schools use a panel?
Read from our school data for 2027 entry. Each name links to the school’s own interview guide.
| School | Course | Interview format |
|---|---|---|
| University of Otago — Dentistry (BDS) | Dentistry | Structured Zoom panel interview (late September–early October) |
| University of Auckland — Medicine (MBChB) | Medicine | Asynchronous online MMI via Kira Talent (8 stations) |
| University of Otago — Medicine (MBChB) | Medicine | No interview for the HSFY and Graduate categories; the Alternative category is the only route with an interview (structured, by Zoom) |
| University of Waikato — New Zealand Graduate School of Medicine (MD) | Medicine | Admissions interview (format not yet published) |
Questions
The questions to expect
Six themes carry most of the weight. Under each, the panel will follow up, so prepare the second and third answer, not just the first.
Motivation for medicine or dentistry
Genuine, realistic motivation. Balance passion with pragmatism and evidence every claim with a specific experience, never status or salary.
Reflection on experience
Assessors care what you learned, not what you saw. Pick specific moments and reflect on the qualities they revealed about you.
Ethical reasoning and decision-making
There is rarely a right answer. Work through the principles, argue both sides, and name the tension where values conflict. For BDS, decision-making is one of the three assessed qualities.
NZ healthcare awareness
Show you understand Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora, the pressures it faces, and why issues matter, with balanced, realistic responses.
Te Tiriti and hauora Māori
Expect questions on Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations, cultural safety and Māori health equity. Speak with humility and genuine awareness, not slogans.
Resilience and self-insight
Have real setbacks ready. Be honest about a failure and end on what you changed; learning from feedback is viewed positively.
Eight questions Otago panels ask
“What experience has shaped your commitment to healthcare in New Zealand?”
“Tell us about a time you worked as part of a team.”
“What challenges does Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora face today?”
“How should a doctor or dentist respond if a patient refuses treatment?”
“What does cultural safety mean to you, and why does it matter in New Zealand healthcare?”
“Describe a time you received critical feedback and how you responded.”
“Why do you want to practise in New Zealand specifically?”
Preparation
An Otago panel preparation plan
Three to five weeks of focused practice is ample for a panel. Because there is no station circuit to drill and no admissions test to revise, the work is narrower and deeper.
01
Before any invitation
Read the New Zealand context
The shape of Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora, Pharmac, the Medical and Dental Councils, cultural safety as a regulated standard, Te Tiriti obligations under the Pae Ora Act, and the equity gaps in Māori and Pacific health.
02
Invitation out
Build your material
A 90-second motivation answer anchored to a real experience; five to seven reflective examples; an honest failure and what changed; for BDS, why dentistry rather than medicine.
03
From the first week
Mock panels with follow-ups
Practise with someone who will push on every answer. Record the Zoom call and review your eye-line, pace and whether your answers build on each other.
04
The week before
Know your own application
Be ready to expand on everything you submitted, including the statement of reasons for Alternative-category applicants. Prepare two or three thoughtful questions for the panel.
05
Day before
Tech, not scripts
Test the exact platform, camera and microphone; camera at eye level, light from the front, a quiet private room. Review bullet points, never full scripts.
06
On the day
One coherent conversation
Pause before answering, link new points back to experiences you have already mentioned, and engage every panellist on the call, not only the lead questioner.
Mistakes
Eight common Otago panel mistakes
Preparing for an MMI. The Otago interviews are live Zoom panels, not station circuits. MMI drills leave you resetting between prompts on a call that rewards one coherent conversation.
Wasting time on UCAT or GAMSAT. Neither is used for the Alternative category or for BDS. Put the hours into the conversation.
Looking at your own thumbnail. Eye-line is communication. Look at the lens, not the screen.
Treating cultural safety as a buzzword. In Aotearoa cultural safety is a regulated clinical standard. Name-dropping principles without understanding is transparent.
Sounding over-rehearsed. Scripts collapse under follow-ups. Practise the structure, not the words.
Describing experience instead of reflecting on it. The panel wants what you learned and how it changed you.
Over-selling in a threshold interview. For BDS the interview is a gate and offers are ranked academically. Competent, genuine and professional clears it; an overblown performance can hurt you.
Having no questions at the end. Two or three thoughtful questions show you have researched the programme.
FAQ
New Zealand panel interview questions, answered
Yes. All shortlisted Otago BDS applicants, across the HSFY, Graduate and Alternative categories, are invited to a structured Zoom panel interview (around 350 invitations a year). The panel assesses motivation, decision-making and communication as a suitability threshold; once you pass, offers are ranked on your weighted GPA. UCAT ANZ is not required for Otago BDS: it was removed from the 2025 intake onwards.
Sources
Sources
The universities’ own admissions pages (linked from the table above, through each guide) and the regulators and services behind the questions.
University of Otago →Health Sciences admissions: the BDS and MBChB categories, which are interviewed, the topics covered and the timelines.University of Auckland →The MBChB MMI and the MAPAS Specialty Interview, for the comparison on this page.Dental Council of New Zealand →Registers and regulates dentists; publishes the standards and the cultural competence framework.Medical Council of New Zealand →Registers and regulates doctors; publishes Good Medical Practice and the cultural safety standard.Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora →The national health service that replaced the District Health Boards in 2022 under the Pae Ora Act.
Rehearse the follow-ups before the real panel
Book a mock Zoom panel with a tutor who knows the Otago format, or start with a free practice mock you can take today.