While the Situational Judgement Test (SJT) section of the UCAT may not receive as much attention as other sections, it can be particularly beneficial when applying to medical or dental schools. SJT is unlike any other exam; it tests not academic knowledge and calculating ability, but rather the ethical values, judgement and attitudes of future clinicians. It will help you learn the test’s format, the questions’ values, and effective strategies.
Use this SJT guide to get the most relevant UCAT situational judgement tips, step-by-step explanations, and latest changes so you are ready for test day.
What is the UCAT Situational Judgement Test?
The last part of the UCAT is the SJT, which evaluates your behaviour when applying to real-life situations that you may find in healthcare. The test focuses not on your knowledge but on your actions, which include weighing options in difficult situations, practising professional limits, demonstrating integrity, and supporting patient well-being.
The core values are evaluated based on the very principles put forth by the General Medical Council (GMC) in the UK, which revolve around notions of integrity, resilience, teamwork, ethical reasoning, and patient-centred care.
Format and Timing
The UCAT Situational Judgement Test consists of a strictly timed session lasting 26 minutes, during which you must answer 69 questions based on a series of brief scenarios. Every situation can be presented with no more than six questions. s.
Questions normally compel you to identify whether a particular response is most appropriate or significant to answer the situation, or you may be required to rate different responses concerning the scenario’s appropriateness on a highest-to-lowest scale.
The total number of questions has increased to 69, which includes three additional ones while maintaining the same time limit. Such a change implies that time management and pacing will be more important than before since the candidates will have fewer minutes for each question.
How is the SJT marked?
The Situational Judgement Test is scored on a banding system, unlike the rest of the UCAT, which uses a numerical marking system. The system will measure how well your responses align with those of a panel of healthcare professionals.
- Band 1 performance will show that we have solid ethical reasoning because your judgement will be very close to the expert responses.
- Band 2 indicates slight inconsistencies in judgement, but it still reflects excellent reasoning, whereas Band 3 signifies a basic understanding that shows many differences from the expert answers.
- The lowest band, Band 4, suggests a lack of understanding of professional values and a significant distance from the expert opinion. The majority of candidates are in the Band 2 and Band 3 categories, and also, in most medical and dental schools, getting a Band 4 can be a ticket to rejection.
What Does the SJT Assess?
What makes the SJT unique is that it does not involve any medical or procedural knowledge assessments but assesses your core values and behaviours. Primarily, these aspects are evaluated in terms of ethical conduct, including staying honest and confidential, particularly through core dilemmas, or when the safety of the patients is endangered.
Communication and teamwork also play a major role where you are supposed to learn to identify your shortcomings and be in a position to respond effectively and be in a position to engage others and do so.
Furthermore, patient care and professionalism are challenged by situations where you need to make decisions that place the interests of patients at the centre of attention, safeguard vulnerable people, and report errors or negligence. Lastly, resilience and adaptability are vital, as shown by how you handle stress, self-care, and seeking help.
Key UCAT Situational Judgement Tips for Success
Understanding the format and staying up-to-date
These new developments give rise to questions and a new format – the drag-and-drop style. You may now be requested to categorise more than one answer (e.g., “appropriate, not appropriate, “most important, or least important”) in one question. Build speed and precision with these new types of questions, which you will learn to practise.
Immerse Yourself in Professional Standards
Many answers align with GMC guidance (Good Medical Practice), underscoring the importance of reading and understanding these standards. Additionally, review the GMC guidance for students, which addresses situations encountered in medical school. Being aware of these documents will help you think logically, even when faced with grey areas, and enable you to respond consistently to the panel of experts. s.
Introduce yourself to UCAT question types
You will have two broad types to encounter:
- Appropriateness: Evaluate how appropriate an action is – very, moderately, or not at all.
- Importance: How critical would it be to consider a certain aspect?
Recent years may have seen a change where you may end up with questions which involve having to assess three answers and having to drag and drop them into categories, which is a seemingly minor detail but an important change, as it requires close judgement and working on your part.
Know Your Priorities and Avoid Extremes
Not every action is the most appropriate, and some actions may be entirely inappropriate. There are many decisions in between. Be able to distinguish between satisfactory, adequate, or poor actions. It is not such a significant extreme that answers need to be ordered or scored; rather, it is a matter of nuance.
Recognise Fatigue and Manage Your Time
SJT follows four other UCAT sections, and exhaustion can disrupt your performance. Build stamina during practice, and learn to pace yourself; 69 questions in 26 minutes translates to you having to remain focused and move at a steady pace.
Practise, Reflect, and Review
Reflection is essential, as is active practice. Review your answers, particularly your mistakes, after each practice test is completed. Retrain and adjust your decision-making pattern to accommodate the new types of questions, such as the new drag-and-drop type.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Several typical pitfalls negatively impact your performance on the UCAT Situational Judgement Test. The most common pitfalls include focusing on your intuition rather than basing your answers on the current professional standards; you need to ground your choices on ethical and clinical principles rather than personal preferences.
The other common pitfall is the disregard for the role one has been assigned in the situation—being a doctor when you are playing the role of a student can yield wrong decisions that will be out of line with the duties in a real-life situation. Ignoring official guidance in favour of what feels easiest or less confrontational, as opposed to ethical best practices and institutional procedures, can also lead to wrong answers.
Lastly, feeling stressed and rushing through situations may cause you to miss important details; sometimes, the information that determines the optimal action can be subtle and difficult to notice, which is why it is essential to read carefully.
How Schools Use the SJT
The vast majority of UK medical and dental schools take your SJT band into consideration, and many use Band 3 as an interview cut-off point. Band 1 may be a serious boost to your application, as it indicates your maturity and your ethical and professional awareness of obligations
The UCAT Situational Judgement is much more than just a soft skills assessment – it is an important way to show that you are the right person to become a doctor or dentist. Mastering the format, following these UCAT Situational Judgement tips, and combining practice with up-to-date resources will not only help increase your band and raise your overall score, but they will also open the door to your preferred course.
RAAKEMDICS are known to offer bespoke UCAT situational judgement tips and strategies drawn by high-scoring medical students and mentors with years of experience under their belt, and these tips and strategies can mould you into the mindset and type of skills required to be in a band 1 bracket. They will help provide you with the confidence and edge you need to pass the UCAT SJT and move closer to your goals of going to medical school and becoming a doctor.
