Situational Judgement Test (SJT)

What is a Situational Judgement Test?

The Situational Judgement Test (SJT) is a computer-based assessment, which has been designed to assess some of the essential competences outlined in the national Person Specification and is based around clinical scenarios.  

The purpose of the SJT is to target key attributes in the Foundation Programme person specification including patient focus, commitment to professionalism, coping with pressure, effective communication and team working.

The SJT presents applicants with a series of work-related situations and asks them questions about how they would respond to these situations. These questions take multiple formats such as multiple choice and ranking.  

Scenarios may include

  • Evolving dilemmas: are comprised of up to 3 scenarios which are linked by a common context. Candidates respond to each scenario independently, as with each scenario new information is presented, but each of the scenarios is related to one another (e.g. may relate to the same patient or same colleague). These scenarios are therefore considered to be more representative of real workplace dilemmas, which tend to be multi-faceted.
  • Speech dilemmas: Applicants will select how they would respond in conversation to difficult situations. These items will revolve around how applicants interact with patients, to patients’ family members and with other professionals.
  • Multimedia elements: The digital SJT will include a small number of video-based questions, allowing a more immersive experience