UCAT® Situational Judgement Overview
What exactly is UCAT® Situational Judgement?
The situational judgment test is the final UCAT® examination component, evaluating a candidate's comprehension of real-world situations, identification of critical factors, and appropriate response.
Why is situational judgment so important in medicine?
Medical professionals' character is tested beyond problem-solving, reasoning, and academic abilities, which are crucial but challenging to evaluate through tests.
Situational Judgement Structure for UCAT®
UCAT® Situational Judgement questions are structured with stems describing common decision-making situations, such as high school or medical school, and should be obviou
How much time have you allotted for UCAT® Situational Judgement?
Each candidate is given 26 minutes to complete the test, followed by 1 minute for instruction. This comes to approximately 23 seconds per question.
Situational Judgement Timing in UCAT®
Test Duration: 26 minutes.
Number of questions: 69.
Average time per question is 23 seconds.
Question Types for the UCAT® Situational Judgement
There are three types of UCAT® Situational Judgement questions.
- Appropriateness (Type 1): UCAT® Situational Judgement Questions - presents the candidate with a person in a scenario and a series of questions, each of which is a unique response to the scenario. Each subsequent question describes a different response by the person described in the scenario, and the candidate is expected to rate the responses on a scale of appropriateness.
- Appropriateness (Type 2) Questions for UCAT® Situational Judgement - presents the candidate with a person in a scenario and a single question with multiple responses to the scenario. The following question asks the candidate to select the most and least appropriate plans of action from three suggested responses.
- The significance of UCAT® situational judgment questions - Provide the candidate with a person in a scenario and a series of questions. Each question represents a factor to be considered in the given situation. The candidate must determine whether something is very important, important, of minor importance, or not important at all.
How does the UCAT® Situational Judgement Subtest get graded?
- Each appropriateness (Type 1) and importance question receives partial marking, with more points awarded the closer a candidate comes to the answer agreed upon by the expert panel.
- The second type of appropriateness question, in which a candidate must identify the most and least appropriate plans of action from a given set, does not have partial marking. In these questions, both plans of action must be selected correctly in order for the question to be scored.
- The situational judgement section of the UCAT® exam is graded on a scale of 300 to 900, with a score range of 1200 to 3600.
How to Prepare for UCAT® Situational Judgement:
- Do UCAT® situational judgement practice questions - The best way to become acquainted with the types of scenarios, questions, and answers that examiners expect is to practise.
- Read Good Medical Practice (GMC) - The ethical and moral values of a medical professional tested in the UCAT® situational judgement are derived from AHPRA (Australian Health - Practitioner Regulation Agency) and Good Medical Practice.
- Identify the issues and principles - Common ethical issues and principles addressed in scenarios include confidentiality, cheating, alcohol and drug abuse, managing priorities and pressure, and patient safety. Linking these issues to each scenario will allow you to select the most distinct response.
- Familiarize yourself with each character's role - It is critical to understand what different characters can and cannot do.
- Review your answers - When practicing, focus on reviewing your incorrect answers. Consider why the examiners are assessing this question differently than you are.
Tips for Making Situational Judgements on the UCAT® Exam
- Time is not an issue - Although 69 questions in 26 minutes may appear to be a tight schedule, each scenario is brief, and each question should not take long to answer. Because there is partial marking, candidates are advised not to dwell on questions where they cannot choose between two answers. If you need to return to the question with a fresh perspective, make an initial guess and then flag it to come back in the remaining time.
- Consider the ideal response - Situations involving moral or ethical conflict are designed to test a candidate's ability to respond appropriately. Make sure you choose the ideal answer, even if it differs from what you've seen in real life.
- Remember the hard and fast rules: knowing the boundaries of what a medical student is allowed to do, maintaining confidentiality, avoiding dishonesty, and so on. If any of these hard and fast rules are broken, the outcome should be obvious.
For more information, check out our full article here: https://gradready.com.au/ucat-situational-judgement
