SJT strategy

UCAT Situational Judgement strategy

· Editorial owner: MedMantis

Official format

Situational Judgement has 69 questions in 26 minutes and is reported in Bands 1–4. Scenarios are based in clinical or educational settings, but medical or procedural knowledge is not required. Full and partial marks are available.

Principles to practise

Practise recognising immediate safety risks, honesty, confidentiality, scope of responsibility, teamwork, escalation and the difference between solving a problem and responding proportionately.

Repeatable practice workflow

  1. Identify who may be affected and the immediate risk.
  2. Name the professional principle involved.
  3. Judge whether the response addresses the issue safely and proportionately.
  4. Compare the official rationale with the principle you applied.

Error-to-action guide

Situational Judgement review decisions
ErrorNext action
Ignored immediate safetyIdentify the person at risk before rating the action
Over-escalated immediatelyCompare direct resolution with proportionate escalation
Confused intention with actionJudge the actual response and likely effect
Memorised isolated answersGroup review by professional principle

Review checklist

  • Who is affected first?
  • What principle is being tested?
  • Is the response safe and proportionate?
  • Does the official rationale reveal a calibration error?

Sources and official resources

Add SJT to a sample plan