The situational judgement test (SJT)

What is the SJT?

A SJT is a measurement method designed to assess judgement in work-relevant situations. The STP situational judgement test has been developed by researchers from the Work Psychology Group (WPG) in collaboration with those working across healthcare science roles. It maps closely to the person specification for an STP trainee and explores values, behaviours, and professionalism, measuring target attributes including the following.

Empathy and compassion

• Seeks to recognise and understand emotions, motivations and behaviours from the patient/colleague perspective.
• Considers situations from viewpoint of patients/colleagues, demonstrating an understanding of others’ situations and circumstances.
• Acknowledges and explores the patient’s wants and needs.

Professional integrity

• Open and honest with others, treating others with respect.
• Takes responsibility for own actions and is willing to admit mistakes.
• Conducts oneself in accordance with ethical standards.
• Demonstrates a commitment to act in the patient’s best interests.
• Recognises the limitations of own knowledge, seeking advice where appropriate.

Team collaboration

• Capability and willingness to work effectively in partnership with others.
• Demonstrates a collaborative approach, respecting others’ views.
• Offers support and advice, sharing tasks appropriately.
• Demonstrates an understanding of own and others’ roles within the team and consults with others where appropriate.

Adaptability

• Remains calm when faced with stressful or changing situations.
• Identifies when support is needed in times of difficulty or pressure and actively draws upon support.
• Understands and manages own emotions (even in times of disagreement when needed), employing effective coping strategies when dealing with difficult or stressful situations.
• Accepts and manages uncertainty and change and responds flexibly.
• Capable of modifying behaviour to adapt to a specific situation.

The questions are developed to provide insight into how well an individual is suited to the role of a Trainee Clinical Scientist. SJTs are frequently used for recruitment purposes and research has shown that SJTs have significant validity in predicting job performance. During the assessment, applicants are presented with a set of hypothetical scenarios that they may encounter at work and are asked to make judgements about possible responses on a scale from 1 (very appropriate) to 5 (very inappropriate). Responses are then scored against a pre-determined answer key.

The SJT is strictly confidential and made available to applicants solely for the purpose of assessment. Applicants are prohibited from disclosing, publishing, reproducing, or transmitting any part of the exam in any form. All applicants will be required to accept the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and terms of use prior to completing the SJT. If declined, the STP application cannot progress.

Structure of the SJT

During the SJT applicants will be presented with 25 hypothetical scenarios relevant to someone working in healthcare science. For each scenario there will be between 4 and 8 response options, which applicants will need to rate in terms of their appropriateness using this scale:

Sample test availability

You will have access to a sample test prior to completing the actual assessment. This will be available through the Pearson VUE website.

It is advised that applicants use this to familiarise themselves with the test format, navigation and question types. This will include the desired response options for the sample questions and a rationale to explain why that is the correct rating.

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 situational judgement test including sample questions is only available on the National School of Healthcare Science and Pearson VUE websites.

Technical requirements for the SJT

Pearson VUE advise the computer system you use for the Situational Judgement Test must meet these minimum requirements:

What if something goes technically wrong during the SJT?

If you experience technical difficulties during the SJT there is technical support information on the Pearson VUE website. If this support does not resolve the issue please notify us at england.hcsapplicants@nhs.net with evidence (for example, a screenshot). There is no technical cover available at weekends or outside office hours.

As the applicant, you are responsible for checking the above requirements are met. We recommend that all applicants read the guidance and FAQ’s available on both the School’s and Pearson VUE website prior to starting the SJT and in the event of any technical issues.

SJT time limit and reasonable adjustment requests

Applicants have 50 minutes to complete the SJT. The only reasonable adjustment that can be offered for the SJT is 25% additional time to complete the online test. If you feel that you are eligible to receive extra time to complete the test as a reasonable adjustment, please indicate this in the reasonable adjustments section of the Oriel application form and upload suitable evidence before submitting your application. We are unable to consider any requests or additional documents once an application form has been submitted.

Evidence requirements for a reasonable adjustment request

Suitable evidence to support a reasonable adjustment request is:

• A Cognitive Diagnostic Report confirming your requirement for additional time.

and/or

• Documentation from a registered healthcare professional confirming your requirement for additional time; this can be from a doctor, physiotherapist, optician or psychologist or similar and should be on headed paper and signed by the practitioner.
• Evidence must not be password protected.
• Evidence must contain your full name, date of report and contact details of the professional.
• Evidence must be in English and clearly visible and not blurred.
• Evidence must clearly indicate your requirement for additional time.

Any evidence received that does not meet the above criteria will not be considered and your request for additional time will be rejected. This decision cannot be appealed.

All requests will be reviewed by the NSHCS recruitment team. We will inform you via Oriel whether the additional time has been approved or not. Do not start the test until you can see if your request has been approved or rejected. If you need to contact us about a reasonable adjustment, please email england.hcsapplicants@nhs.net.