We are aware of unofficial and unauthorised advice and resources that applicants may find online and elsewhere, much of which can be entirely inaccurate. Applicants who use such resources do so at the risk of being misled. Official guidance for the STP SJT including sample questions is only available on the NSHCS website and Pearson platform. These resources are free of charge and therefore any voluntary personal expenses relating to the SJT cannot be claimed.
All applicants must complete the online SJT within the allocated timeframe. Any applications without the completed SJT will be removed from the recruitment process.
Applicants’ responses are evaluated against a pre-determined scoring key, which has been determined by Subject Matter Experts. A near-miss scoring convention is used, meaning that marks are given based on how close you are to the correct answer. There is no negative marking and you are therefore expected to attempt all questions.
For applicants who have not previously sat the SJT, these will be provided in emails from the test provider, Pearson. Your username will be provided to you, this will not be your email address. Communications will be sent to the email address you provided in your application. Ensure you check junk mail.
If registration emails have been received from Pearson but there are issues with login, we advise using the reset password function in the first instance.
For applicants who have previous sat the STP SJT and have applied for the STP using the same Oriel account, you will not receive log in details from Pearson. You will need to use your previous log in details. You can use the forgotten username/password function to reset this.
The SJT can only be accessed during the test window via this link https://www.pearsonvue.com/us/en/nshcs.html. Dates for the SJT test window are published on our website once available.
Please visit the STP page on the Pearson platform at https://www.pearsonvue.com/us/en/nshcs.html. Here you will find the technical requirements, troubleshooting advise and contact details for technical support. You can contact the NSHCS recruitment team on england.hcsapplicants@nhs.uk. The recruitment team are not available outside office hours. We recommend that you complete the SJT promptly allowing time for any issues you may encounter.
Please check you are using the email address provided on your STP application form and check your junk folders. If the login still hasn’t been received please contact Pearson directly at https://www.pearsonvue.com/us/en/nshcs.html#contact. Alternatively go through the forgotten username and password process.
Visit the Pearson website at https://www.pearsonvue.com/us/en/nshcs.html and click on ‘forgot my password’.
No, the NSHCS is unable to confirm submissions and you will not receive a confirmation email. To check your test has been submitted successfully, applicants must log out of their account after completing the test, log back in and select Exam History from the menu. Within this section against the exam it should state ‘Delivery Successful’, this confirms the test has been submitted. The score or exam result will not be shown. You will know if you have scored enough for the next stage when longlisting outcomes are released.
During this time there is a lot of administration and set up that needs to happen, this includes checks and verifications of the applications received and review of requests reasonable adjustments.
No, there is no set percentage of applications that are longlisted. When applicants apply for the STP they are in competition with all other applicants who have also applied for that specialty. The best scoring applicants will go through to shortlisting, but the amount will depend on the number of applications received. For example if there is a relatively small number of applicants for a particular specialty and all score well on the SJT it is possible that all applications will go through to shortlisting.