New South Wales selects its Stage 1 psychiatry trainees with a one way recorded video interview. There is no panel in the room; a question appears on screen, a timer starts, and you record your answer to camera, then the next question. The recordings are scored later by psychiatrists against the selection criteria. It is efficient for the health service and disconcerting for candidates, because the usual cues of an interview are absent. This guide explains how it works and how to prepare.
How it runs
You receive a link and a window in which to complete the interview. Each question is shown on screen, usually with a short time to read it, then a fixed time to answer, commonly two or three minutes. Most platforms allow no re recording; once the answer time starts, the recording is the answer. The questions are the same for every candidate and map to the selection criteria, as merit selection requires. The college's own interview is separate and happens in person or online with a panel.
Why it feels different
Three things are missing: probes, reactions and recovery. Nobody asks you to say more, so you have to read the question for every part and answer all of them. Nobody nods, so you cannot tell whether you have said enough. And a bad answer cannot be rescued by the next question, because the scorer sees each recording in isolation. The format rewards preparation and structure more than any panel does.
The questions
The same as a psychiatry registrar panel would ask: why psychiatry and why this service; what you understand the work to be; a teamwork or conflict example; an error and what changed; cultural safety for an Aboriginal patient and family; how you look after yourself; and clinical scenarios such as the patient after an overdose who still wants to die, the acutely agitated patient, the elderly patient who is confused, and the patient on lithium with vomiting and tremor.
Structuring a recorded answer
Signpost, cover the parts, one specific, close.
Open by restating the question and naming the parts you will cover. Give the principle or the framework in a sentence. Give one specific example or, for a scenario, the structured approach: safety, assessment, the legal framework, the decision, the team, the review. Close with a one sentence answer to the question. Stop when you have finished, even with time left; a clean ending scores better than padding.
For risk assessment after an overdose: safety now, the assessment of intent, plans and means, static and dynamic risk, protective factors, collateral, the mental state examination, the decision about admission and the legislation that applies, and the consultant's involvement. Two minutes is enough if you say it in order.
Delivery to camera
Look at the lens, not at your own image. Sit at a desk with the camera at eye level and good light in front of you. Speak at a normal pace; nerves accelerate people and two minutes of content becomes ninety seconds. Use a plain background and no notes in view, though a single card with the structure below the camera is fine. Dress as you would for a panel. Test the equipment and the connection beforehand, and do the interview somewhere you will not be interrupted.
Practising
Record yourself answering the likely questions against the same time limits, then watch the recordings. Most candidates discover they look away, speak too fast and finish early. Fix those three things and the format becomes an advantage, because you can prepare every answer fully in a way a probing panel does not allow. Do at least ten recorded practices with questions you have not seen before.
The college interview still matters
The recorded video decides the health service position. The college interview, with a panel of four or five including a trainee, decides your acceptance as a trainee, and it is scored on foundations of practice, interpersonal skills, diverse experience and performance. Prepare both; they overlap in content and differ entirely in format.