Teaching and research: Staff Specialist Interview Questions Australia
Teaching and supervision, and research and quality improvement, are criteria in every position description. Panels want real teaching experience, a plan for supervising trainees through college exams, and honesty about research.
Updated 26 October 2026
How to answer
Say what you have taught, to whom and how you know it worked, then something specific for this post. Describe how you supervise and how you give difficult feedback. For research, describe what you have done and what you would realistically do here; supporting trials and supervising projects is a credible answer.
Frameworks: STAR for teaching examples
- STAR Situation in a sentence, Task: what you had to do, Action: what you did in the first person, Result: the outcome with a number where there is one. Add Reflection for STARR. Full guide →
Tell us about your teaching experience and how you would contribute to teaching and supervision here.
What you have taught, to whom, and how you know it worked. Then something specific for this post: a teaching session, simulation, supervision of trainees. Match it to the hours the job allows.
How would you supervise and support trainees, including those preparing for college exams?
Regular meetings, clear expectations, feedback that is specific and timely, exam preparation that fits service, and early action when a trainee struggles. Give one example of a trainee you supervised well.
What research have you done, and what would you want to do here?
Be realistic. Describe what you have done and what it taught you, then what you would do here: a question, collaborators, the time it needs. If you will support rather than lead research, say so.
How do you give feedback to a trainee who is underperforming?
Early, private, specific and about behaviour not character; ask what is going on; agree a plan; follow up; involve the supervisor of training if needed. One example, including what you found out.
What makes a good supervisor of training?
Available, interested, honest and organised, with a real interest in the trainee's progress. Give one example from your own experience as a trainee or a supervisor.
How would you contribute to the education of nurses, allied health staff and junior doctors in this hospital?
Teaching that fits the whole team: handover teaching, simulation, skills sessions, bedside teaching on rounds. Mention what you have learned from nurses and allied health in return.