UCAT Situational Judgement (SJT) Practice Questions

The UCAT Situational Judgement Test assesses how you would respond to realistic situations in medicine and dentistry. You get 69 questions in 26 minutes: you rate how appropriate or important responses are, or choose the most and least appropriate action. It is reported in Bands 1 to 4, where Band 1 is the highest.

Written and reviewed by Dr Akash Gandhi, NHS GP (GMC 7601216) and founder of TheUKCATPeople, teaching the UCAT since 2012. Last reviewed 9 October 2026.

UCAT Situational Judgement sample questions with answers

One worked example of each main SJT format. Answers follow GMC Good Medical Practice. In the test you get full marks for the keyed answer and partial marks for an answer close to it.

Appropriateness

Zoe is a third-year medical student on a children's ward. The parents of a boy on the ward are raising money online for treatment abroad. They ask Zoe to share the fundraising page with her friends and to have a photo taken with their son that they can post to show support.

How appropriate are each of the following responses by Zoe?

1. Zoe explains kindly that, as a student on the ward, she should not appear in photos with patients or promote their fundraising, and offers to ask the nurse in charge what help the hospital can give the family.
2. Zoe shares the page on her own social media, adding details about the boy's condition from his notes to encourage donations.

• A very appropriate thing to do
• Appropriate, but not ideal
• Inappropriate, but not awful
• A very inappropriate thing to do

Answer: 1: A very appropriate thing to do. 2: A very inappropriate thing to do.

The first response keeps a professional boundary, is kind, and makes sure the family's request reaches someone who can tell them what help is available. The second discloses confidential information from the boy's notes publicly, which breaks his confidentiality whatever the intention.

Tip: Ask whether the response keeps professional boundaries and still helps the person. The best answers usually do both.

Importance

Ravi is a second-year nursing student on a community placement. While preparing for the afternoon's home visits, he notices that the address on the visit list for Mrs Adeyemi, a frail patient who needs her insulin, is different from the address in her care record.

How important are each of the following considerations for Ravi when deciding what to do?

1. That Mrs Adeyemi may miss her insulin if the nurse goes to the wrong address.
2. That the community nurse he is shadowing might be irritated with him for interrupting her planning.

• Very important
• Important
• Of minor importance
• Not important at all

Answer: 1: Very important. 2: Not important at all.

Patient safety comes first, and a missed insulin dose could cause real harm, so the first is very important. The risk of irritating the nurse does not change the fact that Ravi must raise the discrepancy now, so it is not important at all.

Tip: A consideration is unimportant if it would not change what you should do. Personal awkwardness rarely outweighs patient safety.

Most and least appropriate

Liam is a third-year medical student on a GP placement. Mr Haldane, an elderly patient, tells Liam that he has just received a parking fine in the surgery car park because his appointment ran 40 minutes late, and he is very upset.

Choose the most appropriate and the least appropriate action for Liam.

• A. Listen, say he is sorry the delay has caused this, and tell Mr Haldane how to raise it with the practice manager, offering to let reception know.
• B. Say he is sorry to hear about the fine, and suggest Mr Haldane writes to the parking company to appeal, explaining that his appointment overran.
• C. Explain that the car park is run separately, so the fine is nothing to do with the medical team and the surgery cannot help.

Answer: Most appropriate: A. Least appropriate: C.

A acknowledges how Mr Haldane feels and points him to the person who can actually help, which is the most appropriate. B is kind and reasonable advice but leaves him to sort it out alone. C is dismissive and likely to make a distressed patient feel worse, so it is the least appropriate.

Tip: The most appropriate action usually combines empathy with practical help from the right person. Dismissive or unhelpful responses are rarely right.

Frequently asked questions

What is the UCAT Situational Judgement Test?

The Situational Judgement Test (SJT) is the fourth and final section of the UCAT. It presents clinical and professional scenarios and asks you to judge how appropriate or important various responses are. Rather than testing medical knowledge, it assesses whether you can recognise the values and behaviours expected of a medical professional, as defined in the GMC's Good Medical Practice guidance.

Which SJT question formats can I practise here?

This trainer offers appropriateness ratings, importance ratings and most/least appropriate selections. Rating drills use a four-point scale. Most/least drills present three responses. Use the official UCAT question tutorials and practice materials to familiarise yourself with the full range of live-test formats.

How is the SJT scored and what do the bands mean?

The SJT is reported in four bands rather than a scaled score. Band 1 is the highest and indicates performance closely aligned with the professional approach of doctors. Band 4 is the lowest. In this trainer, exact answers are worth one mark, a rating one step away on either side is worth half a mark, and the remaining rating options receive no credit. In this trainer, ranking scenarios are worth two marks: one for the most appropriate response and one for the least appropriate response. These practice marks do not predict an official SJT band.

What is GMC Good Medical Practice and why does it matter for the SJT?

Good Medical Practice (GMP) is the GMC's official framework for what it means to be a good doctor. Every SJT scenario is designed around the same principles: being competent and safe, partnering with patients, working well with colleagues, and maintaining trust and professionalism. Understanding which domain is being tested in a scenario is the fastest route to the correct answer.

How should I approach Appropriateness Rating questions?

Ask yourself two questions: Does this action directly address the core professional duty in the scenario? And does it risk any harm to the patient, a colleague or the profession? Rate each response independently. A very appropriate action may address one aspect well without solving everything, and several responses can share a rating. Judge negative responses by their actual seriousness; inaction is not automatically very inappropriate. Most nuance sits in the Appropriate versus Inappropriate boundary, which is where the GMC domain reference helps most.

How should I approach Importance Rating questions?

Start with the specific decision in the scenario and assess each consideration independently. Ask whether ignoring it would change the decision, whether it helps carry out the response, or whether it should have no influence. Several considerations can be very important. Learning needs, wellbeing and teamwork can be central even when no patient is in immediate danger. Do not assign ratings from topic labels alone.

How should I approach Ranking questions?

In a ranking question you are only scored on your Most and Least choices; the middle item is implicit. Identify the option that most directly addresses the central professional obligation in the scenario without overstepping or causing harm: that is your Most. Then look for the option that either ignores the problem entirely or would actively make things worse: that is your Least. Each correct extreme is worth one practice mark in this trainer.

What is partial credit and how do I use it strategically?

In this trainer, a rating one step away on either side of the key earns half a mark. This makes the SJT more forgiving than all-or-nothing scoring, but it still rewards precise professional judgement. Strategically, if you are unsure between two adjacent options, pick the one that better reflects active professional responsibility. There is no negative marking in the UCAT. Use the stated facts and professional principles to choose the most defensible rating rather than guessing a pattern.

How many questions are in the UCAT SJT and how long do you get?

The UCAT Situational Judgement section has 69 questions in 26 minutes, plus 1 minute 30 seconds for instructions, which is roughly 22 seconds per question. Each scenario is followed by several questions, and you rate or choose between responses rather than writing anything. The SJT is the last section of the test, so practise some of it when you are already tired, for example straight after a block of Quantitative Reasoning.

What is the UCAT SJT out of, and does it count towards the 2700 total?

The SJT is not given a mark out of a fixed total. Your raw marks are converted into a Band from 1 to 4, with Band 1 the highest, and the band is reported separately from your other scores. The 900 to 2700 total covers only Verbal Reasoning, Decision Making and Quantitative Reasoning. Within the SJT, the keyed answer earns full marks and answers close to it earn partial marks, so every question is worth attempting.

How do medical and dental schools use the UCAT SJT band?

Each university decides for itself, so check the admissions policy of every school on your list. Some use the band when shortlisting for interview, some set a minimum band, and several treat Band 4 as a serious concern or a reason not to progress an application. Others give it little weight beside the total score. Because policies vary, it is worth steady SJT practice rather than leaving it to the final week before your test.

Where can I find free UCAT SJT practice questions and mock tests?

The UCAT Consortium publishes free practice tests and question banks on ucat.ac.uk, which are the closest match to the real interface; it does not release past papers. On this site, the Appropriateness Rater, Importance Rater and Ranking Trainer hold 150 scenarios each, every one with a full rationale. When you want timed practice, the free full UCAT mocks here include a complete 69 question SJT section with an estimated band.

Do I need to read GMC guidance for the UCAT SJT, and what about dentistry?

You do not need to memorise it, but reading GMC Good Medical Practice once is worthwhile, because SJT keys follow its principles: patient safety first, honesty, confidentiality, consent and working within your competence. Dental applicants sit the same SJT, and dental scenarios follow the GDC Standards for the Dental Team, which share the same core values. Every scenario in these trainers is tagged with the GMC domain it tests, and this page links each domain to the official guidance.

How should I practise for the UCAT SJT?

Practise little and often, and spend more time on the explanations than on the questions. Start untimed with one trainer at a time, read why the keyed answer sits where it does, then mix the three formats under time. Filter by GMC domain to target the areas where your scores are lowest, and retry missed scenarios when they come back for review. Because the SJT tests judgement rather than recall, short regular sessions suit it better than one long cram.