Volunteers wanted: MBChB/HCP-Med Assessment Days

We would love to have you on board as part of our bank of ‘selectors’ to interview our applicants to Undergraduate Medicine here at the University of Edinburgh and give you the opportunity to help us select tomorrow’s doctors.

Given your skills, experience, and expertise as a healthcare professional, you will probably already have a good idea of the attributes we are looking for.

We have provided a brief overview below of our process so that you have an idea of what you would be doing, but you are supported all the way through the 'Assessment Days' (this is the term we use for our interviews) by the Recruitment and Admissions Team within the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, who are on hand to troubleshoot any issues; answer any questions you have on the day and just generally ensuring that everything runs like clockwork.

Our Assessment Days are part of our admissions process for entry to our MBChB and HCP-Med programmes here at the University of Edinburgh. We use these Assessment Days to assess candidates on a range of qualities and attributes we are looking for in our medical students. These attributes have been selected from those published by the Medical Schools Council.

Statement on core values and attributes needed to study medicine (Medical Schools Council) 

We are looking for volunteers from across all Allied Health Professions to help interview these applicants. Please note that you do not need to be a doctor, surgeon, GP or similar to be eligible to volunteer. We are looking for a wide range of professionals across all health professions.

As selectors, you will be asking the candidates pre-determined questions and giving your marks for them on the specially created marksheets provided to you. This is a great opportunity for you to interact with potential doctors of the future.

We aim to interview approximately 800 applicants over 17 days. We would expect those volunteering to commit to at least two half days, but preferably four half days if possible (full days are particularly tiring, which is why we recommend spreading this over half days). Those who have helped us in the past have found the experience greatly rewarding. We really appreciate any support that you can provide to help us interview these well-qualified applicants. 

Most Assessment Day sessions will take place in person at the Usher Building, Edinburgh BioQuarter. Additionally, we will conduct virtual sessions to accommodate overseas applicants. For these virtual sessions, you may participate from your home or workplace, provided you have a quiet, private space with reliable Wi-Fi. We will also be conducting an Assessment Day for our HCP-Med programme, designed to offer healthcare professionals, clinical scientists, and veterinary surgeons a pathway to become doctors. This Assessment Day will also take place in person at the Usher Building and will follow the same format as the other days.

We run five sessions of interviews per day (three sessions in the morning and two sessions in the afternoon). Each session consists of two individual stations and a group station which the applicants will rotate between.

We aim to recruit ten selectors per half day, with eight signing up to the main selector slots and two signing up as stand-ins to cover any last-minute cancellations or drop-outs. Selectors will have the option to sign up to either a morning slot (three sessions) or an afternoon slot (two sessions).

Stand-in selectors must be on-site at the Usher Building for the in person Assessment Days, with workspace provided for their own tasks while waiting. If they are needed, they will step in promptly. We will inform stand-ins as early as possible if they will be needed (this will vary from a couple of days’ notice to perhaps an hour or so before the session). Stand-ins should treat the day as an official Assessment Day and come prepared by reading through all of the information sent to them in advance of the day.

As full days can be long and mentally demanding, we don’t encourage selectors to sign up to assist for a full day. However, if you wish to assist for a full day if this would work better for your work or personal schedule, we recommend combining a regular half-day slot with a stand-in slot for the other half.

• Monday 23 November 2026 
• Tuesday 24 November 2026 
• Wednesday 25 November 2026 
• Monday 30 November 2026

• Tuesday 1 December 2026 
• Wednesday 2 December 2026 
• Wednesday 9 December 2026 
• Thursday 10 December 2026 
• Friday 11 December 2026

• Wednesday 27 January 2027 (HCP-Med)
• Thursday 28 January 2027 
• Friday 29 January 2027 

• Tuesday 2 February 2027 
• Wednesday 3 February 2027 
• Thursday 4 February 2027 

• Tuesday 9 February 2027 
• Wednesday 10 February 2027
• Thursday 11 February 2027

If you want to find out more about the format of the days themselves before committing to anything, we would love for you to join us at one of our online information sessions. We will be conducting these information sessions to provide detailed insights into our Assessment Days and offer an opportunity for you to ask any questions. Both sessions will be identical, so you only need to attend one of them.

Our information sessions will be held online via Microsoft Teams.

• Wednesday 23 September 2026 4-5pm
• Monday 12 October 2026 4-5pm

If you wish to be sent the links to join the information sessions, please register your interest below.

We would advise all selectors, regardless of previous experience, to attend our information sessions to ensure a clear understanding of what is expected when conducting our interviews and to be kept up to date with any changes from previous years. If you are unable to attend either of the sessions but still wish to receive the information discussed, please let us know and a recording of the session will be sent to you afterwards.

If you think you might be interested in participating in our Assessment Days this year as a selector, please complete the form below with your details.

If you have assisted us in previous years and wish to do so this year, please still register your interest as this helps us keep an accurate contact list of those who wish to be contacted this year.

If you have any questions about your eligibility to assist with our Assessment Days or would like any further information, then please do not hesitate to get in touch with us by emailing us at MBChBInterviews@ed.ac.uk.