Situational

Judgement Tests
Lisa Knox
Day Lewis Teacher Practioner
 What is a
Situational
Dates
Judgement Test
(SJT)?

How can you

Question types and
Content how they are
scored
prepare?/What
support is
available?

Pearson Vue
Booking
centres/on the day
Dates
Invitations open
August 4th 2021

Invitations close
August 18th 2021

SJTS sat Sept 27th-

October 9th 2021
 Designed to assess judgement in work-relevant situations, based on
hypothetical challenging scenarios

Tests your ability to choose most appropriate actions in a workplace

situation- in our case a pharmacy setting

The Oriel Assess you against criteria from the Person Specification and
Professional Attributes Framework – READ THESE THOROUGHLY

SJT Tests 4 attributes from the PAF (but may interlink with others)

• Person-centred care
• Multi-professional working and leadership
• Professional integrity and ethics
• Problem solving, clinical analysis and decision making

When responding to each scenario you will be asked to place yourself in

the role of a Pre-Registration Pharmacist and indicate what you would
do in response to the situation presented.
 Online test held in Pearson VUE centres
same day as numeracy test, 52 questions in
104 minutes
The Oriel
SJT Ahead of the selection centres, an example
of both SJT response formats will be made
available on the England and Wales Pre-
Registration Pharmacist Recruitment
website for you to familiarise yourself with.
 It is NOT examining knowledge

The Oriel So it is NOT something you revise

facts for
SJT
The best preparation is to practice,
and to be familiar with the PAF
 • 2 types of question
– Rank 5 responses in order of
appropriateness in response to the
scenario
Question types – Multiple Choice where you will be
required to select the 3 most
appropriate actions (out of a total of
8) in response to the scenario
 A situation is described, followed by 5
possible responses as to how you
would handle the situation

Ranking You are asked to rank the options from

1 to 5 where 1 is the most appropriate
questions response and 5 is the least appropriate

Total of 20 marks available for each

answer
 Ranking questions
4 points available for each option you have ranked correctly

3 points available for each option you have ranked in a position which differs by 1 from
the correct ranked position e.g correct ranked position was 2 but you ranked it 1 or 3
2 points available for each option you have ranked in a position which differs by 2 from
the correct ranked position e.g correct ranked position was 3 but you scored it 1 or 5
1 point available for each option you have ranked in a position which differs by 3 from
the correct ranked position e.g correct ranked position was 1 but you scored it 4
0 points for each option you have ranked in a position which differs by 4 from the
correct ranked position e.g correct ranked position was 1 but you scored it 5
 Ranking questions; example of scoring
Ideal rank Candidate Candidate Candidate Candidate Candidate
Answers answers ABDCE answers EDCBA answers BEACD answers CEADB
ABCDE=Perfect
score

1= A A=4 A=4 E=0 B=3 C=2

2=B B=4 B=4 D=2 E=1 E=1
3=C C=4 D=3 C=4 A=2 A=2
4=D D=4 C=3 B=2 C=3 D=4
5=E E=4 E=4 A=0 D=3 B=1
TOTAL SCORE 20 18 8 12 10

NB if you rank 2 options the same you will score 0 for both
 8 possible responses

Multiple
You must choose the 3 responses
Choice you feel are most appropriate
scoring
Each correct response scores 4
points so each question is worth up
to 12 points
 Tips on answering questions
Ranking qus- Choose best and worst response first

Try to determine which attribute(s) is/are being assessed, then choose the responses that best demonstrate these

Be aware of the limitations and capabilities of a preregistration pharmacist. You should be careful not to refer a problem on
when you can deal with it yourself, but also you should not attempt to resolve a problem that should be referred
You should base answers on what you think you should do, not necessarily what you may have witnessed in practice

Time management – you have on average 2 mins per question, so you should not dwell on a single question for too long. You
can skip a question and return to it at a later point
If you have finished answering all of the questions, you should go back and review any questions you were unsure about; the
system allows you to flag questions for review before the exam is finished
Choose options which prevent patient harm
 Overall score
Determines your place in the offers ‘queue’

In tiebreak situation the following are used (in this order);

• SJT trial questions score

• Person-centred care SJT score
• Professional integrity and ethics SJT score
• Problem solving, clinical analysis and decision-making SJT score
• Multi-professional working & Leadership SJT score
• Numeracy test score

There is a pass threshold (varies each year)

You can view your score on Oriel (dashboard) by end Dec

 Preparation and support
• Practice, practice, practice
• Be familiar with the Professional Attributes Framework, particularly
• Person-centred care
• Multi-professional working and leadership
• Professional integrity and ethics
• Problem solving, clinical analysis and decision making
• Take extra training packages that will give you a deeper understanding
of key areas of the PAF
• Propharmace sessions
• July 28th/Aug 21st 10.00-13.00
• Oriel sample SJTs 2020 practice qus
 Preparation and support
Book; The Pharmacy Situational Judgement Test, by Faroukh Egbejobi (mixed reviews)

UoB Practice paper

Warwick _sjt_practice_paper_answer_and_rationales_large_print.pdf

https://www.studocu.com/Uni portsmouth/pharmacy-practice/practice-materials/samplepractice-exam-9-j
une-2017-answers/2925207/view

https://studentpharmacist.co.uk (7-day free trial or subscribe. Not tested so ?quality?)

PJ article/oriel-situational-judgement-test-what-pharmacy-students-need-to-know

Be aware of law with respect to confidentiality, patient consent, safeguarding (MEP)

mep
 Sample questions (Oriel)
Have a go!
You are a preregistration pharmacist working on a hospital ward. You are approached by a junior
doctor, Marcella, who asks you to supply a new drug that the consultant has just prescribed for a
patient. You’re aware that the medication is not kept in the hospital pharmacy and the local
formulary has not approved its use in the hospital as yet.
Choose the THREE most appropriate actions to take in this situation.
A. Say to Marcella that you are unable to assist
B. Suggest to Marcella that she makes enquiries on a different ward
C. Explain to Marcella that the medication is not kept in the hospital
D. Ask Marcella why the consultant wants this medication specifically
E. Suggest appropriate alternative medication
F. Refer the request to the formulary pharmacist
G. Refer the request to a consultant
H. Refer the request to a senior pharmacist for their advice
 Answer and rationale
• Answer Key: CDH
• Rationale:
• This scenario is assessing your approach to working within a multi-professional team and taking responsibility
for the situation whilst understanding your limitations as a trainee.
• Of the options available:
A and B can be discounted quickly as they demonstrate neither leadership nor responsibility.
E can be discounted as, working within your trainee remit, you may not have the expertise or authority to
suggest an alternative, unless it is under the supervision of a pharmacist (which the statement does not
mention)
F would not help resolve the situation-the drug is not on the formulary and so referring to the formulary
pharmacist will not help the current patient
G would not help resolve the situation-the consultant is the one who requested the drug and so the query
would just be prolonged
• Of the correct responses, you would take responsibility and show leadership by personally explaining to a
member of your multi-professional team that the drug is not available (C), further explore why the specific drug
is needed (D), before taking all the relevant information to the senior pharmacist to explore next steps (H).
 Example 2
• Your ward pharmacist has asked if you can advise a patient on a new medication. You have discussed
what you need to tell the patient and the pharmacist is happy for you to advise the patient alone. When
you approach the patient, you realise that she does not speak English or any language you understand.
The patient’s daughter, Hannah, is present, and is able to speak both English and her mother’s native
language.
• Rank in order the following actions in response to this situation (1= Most appropriate; 5= Least
appropriate).
A. Accept you will be unable to counsel the patient as you are unable to speak her native language
B. Arrange for a translator to attend the ward and counsel the patient whilst she is present
C. Use the patient’s daughter as a translator so you can counsel her on how her mother needs to take
the drug
D. Use Google Translate to change the patient information leaflet into the patient’s native language and
use this instead of verbally counselling them
E. Seek the guidance of the ward pharmacist, explaining that you are not able to counsel the patient
because she does not speak English
 Answer and rationale
• Answer Key: BEACD
• Rationale:
• When thinking of how to answer this question, consider which options would do least harm to
the patient, and order your responses accordingly. Therefore: Option B is the best option, as
having a translator able to correctly translate your instruction to the patient will minimise risk
to the patient and give them the best chance of taking their medication correctly.
• Option E is next, as it demonstrates you have understood the barrier and are looking to resolve
the situation by approaching someone senior for guidance Option A is next, as you have
explored the best options before accepting you can’t help. Remember, you are looking at
which options potentially cause least cause harm to the patient
• Although option C may seem appealing, consider the effects of mistranslations or omissions of
instructions for a new medication-you will have no idea what is being said to the patient and
so cannot be sure it is correct
Option D is potentially even more high risk and inaccurate than option C, and so comes last
 Booking (August 4-18 ) th

All eligible applicants will be invited to sit numeracy and SJTs

• Mostly at Pearson Vue centres
• Online in exceptional circumstances

Invitation sent via Oriel

Check Oriel and email regularly

Invitation includes booking instructions

Book early so you get a good choice

 Booking (August 4-18th)

To register and book a slot you will need

• First name
• Surname
• Oriel PIN
• Assigned when application was submitted
• Can also find it in your Oriel account

Oriel advise book travel and accommodation early

If entitled to reasonable adjustments system will recognize this & only allow you to book
slots that can facilitate this, through the Pearson Vue website
 Pearson Vue centres/on the day
• Arrive 15 minutes before your booked time
• Bring ID
• Original, not copy, and in date
• Must include name, photograph and signature
• Name must be exact match details you used to register
• Numeracy test first then SJT
• There are some trial SJTs at the beginning
• Do not contribute to your SJT score
• Measure same attributes plus ‘Communication & consultation skills’
• May be used in a tiebreak situation
 Check Oriel/email Book your slot
Summary/action regularly leading up early, make sure
plan to/during Aug 4- your details match
18th your ID

Practice, practice, Read PAF/PS (In

practice Oriel handbook)

Check uni email Attend

regularly for news Propharmace
of our practice SJT session