Disability inclusion in medical school admissions and selection processes
Online research workshop description
Are you an educator, professional staff member or program lead involved in medical student admissions and selection?
Would you like to learn more about supporting students with disability and ensuring equity in medical school admissions and selection processes?
The Disability Inclusive Health Professions Education Alliance ANZ (DIHPEA) is offering the next research workshop in a series aimed at building the evidence base in Australia and New Zealand for developing good practices for disability inclusion and support in medical education. This research workshop focuses on approaches to equitable and inclusive selection and admissions processes.
Date: Friday 14th August 2026
Time: 11am – 1pm AEST / 1pm - 3pm NZST
Location: Zoom (link to be provided upon registration)
What can I expect at the workshop?
This interactive research workshop will explore with participants how medical schools can work towards equitable and inclusive processes for admissions and selection into medicine. Drawing on case studies and research evidence, the workshop will explore barriers applicants may experience in the processes of applying to medical school, and how equity can be built into selection design in the context of identifying the future health workforce and operating within resource constraints.
Participants will have the opportunity to:
share experiences, problems of practice and examples of what has worked in their context
review their own processes for providing adjustments to selections processes
explore opportunities for shifting from reactive adjustments to proactive inclusion by design
contribute to resource development to support medical programs across Australia and Aotearoa
The research workshop will be collaborative, focussed and practical, and you can choose to join and participate anonymously.
Research
The data collected through the workshop will be used to create updated guidelines and resources to support disability inclusion in medical education.
For further details on what participation will entail, please see the Research Information Form.
This project has received ethical approval from Deakin University (2026-HE000285)
Who is DIHPEA?
The Disability Inclusive Health Professions Education Alliance ANZ (DIHPEA) is a group of health professions educators who have made a commitment to supporting disability inclusion through research, professional practice and program support. We include scholars, clinicians, and educators from Deakin University, Western Sydney University, Waipapa Taumata Rau – The University of Auckland, University of Melbourne, University of Notre Dame Australia, and University of Western Australia.
FAQs
- Who is DIHPEA?
DIHPEA is a group of health professions educators who have made a commitment to supporting disability inclusion through research, professional practice and program support. We are scholars, clinicians, and educators from Deakin University, Western Sydney University, Waipapa Taumata Rau – The University of Auckland, University of Melbourne, University of Notre Dame Australia, and University of Western Australia.
The group arose from the MDANZ Disability Inclusion Special Interest Group, and has support from MDANZ, UCAT and GEMPASS. DIHPEA seeks to connect and support health professions educators across Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand, to collaboratively advance disability inclusion.
- What is expected from me at the workshop?
You will be asked to actively participate during this research workshop, sharing your experiences and ideas to help inform the practice guidance available for disability inclusion in Australia and New Zealand.
This will include contributing to workshop polls, small and large group discussions, and other activities designed to gather your perspectives and practice experiences.
For further details on what participation will entail, please see the Research Information Form.
This project has received ethical approval from Deakin University (2026-HE000285)
- How will data be gathered during the workshop be used for research processes?
Transcripts of the workshop as well as contributions to collaboration tools (such as Mentimeter) will be used for research purposes. For further details, please see the Research Information Form.
- Where can I find more information about the research project?
Details about what the project entails can be found in the Research Information Form.
- Can I contribute to the research in other ways?
Yes! We recognise that online workshops do not suit everyone’s communication preferences and needs, and others may not be available on the day of the workshop. If you would prefer to participate via a confidential online interview, please contact l.gray@deakin.edu.au. If you would prefer, you can participate via this anonymous online survey.
- Will a recording be available after the event?
Yes, you will be emailed a link to a recording of the presentation sections of workshop. Any parts of the workshop with group participation will not be included in the shared recording.
Please allow a week or two for the session recording to be edited and uploaded.
- Can I provide my access needs and preferences to the event hosts prior to the workshop?
Yes, you will be able to share your access needs or preferences during the registration process.
- How can I protect my privacy whilst participating?
To support confidentiality and minimise the collection of identifying information during online workshops, participants may wish to use a pseudonym when joining Zoom sessions. Please note that it may not be possible to change your display name once you have joined the meeting, depending on Zoom settings. For this reason, participants are asked to set their preferred display name before joining.
Before joining the Zoom meeting, please follow these steps:
Do not click “Join with your personal meeting ID” or join while logged into an institutional Zoom account if you prefer not to display your name.
Click the Zoom meeting link provided above.
When prompted to enter your name, type the name you would like displayed during the session. This could be a pseudonym (e.g. “Participant A”, “Educator1”), or any non‑identifying name of your choice.
Check that the displayed name is acceptable to you before selecting “Join”.
If you are using the Zoom desktop application and are logged into an account, you may wish to temporarily log out before joining the meeting so that your account name is not displayed. Instructions for logging out of Zoom can be found on the Zoom support website.
Participants are also welcome to:
Turn their camera off at any time
Participate via the chat function rather than verbally
Use anonymous interactive tools provided during the session
Limit the extent to which they disclose information about themselves, their roles or their institutions
We also request that you do not disclose identifiable information regarding students or any other third parties.
Please note that while these steps reduce identifiability within the session and in research materials, participation via Zoom cannot be considered fully anonymous, as the platform may collect technical metadata (such as IP address or device information) outside the control of the research team.
For further details regarding privacy please review the Research Information Form.
Facilitators
Associate Professor Lise Mogensen
Lise Mogensen is the Associate Professor in Medical Education, and the Director, Learning and Teaching at the Western Sydney University School of Medicine. She is an award-winning researcher and educator. Lise is recognised internationally for her participatory and inclusive research methods, and her longstanding commitment to advocating for disability justice through research and education. Her research has advanced disability access and participation in medical and health professional education in Australia with translation to policy and practice. She is the author and facilitator of the microcredential ‘Disability Access & Participation in Health Education and Work’.
Dr Neera Jain
Neera Jain is a senior lecturer at the Centre for Medical and Health Sciences Education, Waipapa Taumata Rau – The University of Auckland in Aotearoa/NZ. A former disability resources professional for health professions education in the US, her research focuses on anti-ableism in health professions education, research, and practice.
Dr Gisselle Gallego
Gisselle Gallego is a senior lecture at the School of Medicine at the University of Notre Dame Australia and a Centre for Disability Research and Policy, The University of Sydney affiliate. She is a clinician, health professional educator, disability researcher and advocate. Her research and teaching focus on the experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse people and those living with disability, as well as the intersection of these. Her research has a strong focus on accessibility and inclusion across the spectrum of health and higher education for people with disability.
Dr Eeman Shahzad
Eeman Shahzad is an Emergency Medicine Senior Resident Medical Officer and Researcher at Western Sydney University. Her work focuses on disability inclusion in medical school admissions and education, with a commitment to translating evidence into meaningful policy change and building a more equitable medical workforce.
Dr Louisa Ng
Louisa Ng is a senior clinician-academic and rehabilitation physician whose academic work spans the University of Melbourne’s graduate-entry Doctor of Medicine (MD) program, the Royal Melbourne Hospital Clinical School and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. She is the Subject Coordinator for final year MD subjects Transition to Practice and Clinical Scholar, the latter of which she designed from inception and is focused on student choice, innovation, advocacy, and leadership. She has a long-standing commitment to equitable student support and disability inclusion.
Dr Bryony McNeill
Bryony McNeill is a Senior Lecturer in Medical Physiology and Deputy Course Director (Foundations of Medicine) of the Deakin University Doctor of Medicine program. In this role, she is committed to improving access to medical study and fostering inclusive, accessible learning environments. Her medical education research uses a co‑design approach with students and focuses on understanding the experiences of neurodivergent medical and health students, particularly within clinical learning contexts.
Dr Laura Gray
Laura Gray is the Director of the Drapac Centre for Equity in Health Professions Education and an Associate Professor with the School of Medicine, Deakin University. She leads programs of research, evaluation, strategy and policy design and implementation, with a focus on equity and inclusion. With extensive experience in higher education leadership, she is committed to advancing equitable access to higher education and programmes to enable all students to thrive.
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