Attribute 1
Empathy & Compassion
Recognising and responding to the feelings and needs of patients, families and colleagues
- Rated 1 to 5
- Scored by closeness to the key
Who it's for
Made for STP applicants
Written for healthcare scientists
Scenarios are set in laboratories, physiological measurement, physics and engineering across the STP specialties, and every key cites the HCPC standard or Good Scientific Practice clause behind it.
Updated every recruitment round
We review the bank after each SJT window, and again when NSHCS publishes new guidance for the next round.
Part 1 • The four attributes
What the SJT measures
NSHCS assesses four attributes, each with published behavioural indicators. Every scenario targets one of them, and your score report breaks your results down the same way.
Attribute 2
Professional Integrity
Honesty, accountability, working within your competence and raising concerns
- Rated 1 to 5
- Scored by closeness to the key
Attribute 3
Team Collaboration
Working with colleagues across disciplines, communicating clearly and supporting others
- Rated 1 to 5
- Scored by closeness to the key
Attribute 4
Adaptability
Responding to change, pressure and uncertainty while keeping quality and safety
- Rated 1 to 5
- Scored by closeness to the key
Try it
Try two real STP scenarios
The test is really 150 or more independent judgements, not 25 questions. If the key says 1 and you put 2, you lose one point, not four.
You are a second-year STP trainee. A new first-year trainee has just joined your department and is clearly struggling with the amount of information she is expected to absorb in her first two weeks. She has not asked for help but you have noticed she stays late each evening and appears stressed. Your training officer has not mentioned any concerns about her.
Rate how appropriate each response is, from 1 (very appropriate) to 5 (very inappropriate). Judge each response on its own.
The same rating can be used more than once.
Wait until she asks for help, as offering unsolicited support may feel patronising.
Say nothing and tell other trainees she is not coping, as she has not asked you directly for help.
Approach her informally, acknowledge that the first weeks can be overwhelming, and offer to share what helped you.
Mention to your training officer that the new trainee seems to be struggling, in case they are not aware.
Key and explanation
Rate the responses first, then reveal the key. You get the reasoning behind every rating, and the standard it rests on, throughout the course.
That's two scenarios. There are 85 more.
Part 2 • The score report
See whether you rate harsher or softer than the key
After every test you get a near-miss report, not just a percentage. It shows how often you were harsher or more lenient than the key, how far off each rating was, and which attribute cost you most.
Most candidates lean one way. Knowing which way, before January, is the single most useful thing the diagnostic tells you.
Practice and progress
Start free, then sit the real thing
Free diagnostic + 3 full mocks
Twelve scenarios free, then three 25-scenario mocks on the real 50-minute clock, with flag-for-review and a question map.
Every response explained
After you submit, each response shows the key, your rating, the points kept and the reasoning. Response order is shuffled on every attempt.
On the day
What to expect in the STP SJT
Every direct-entry applicant sits the SJT, and a cut score decides who is longlisted. In 2025 it took the field from 7,861 applicants to 3,525. It is the stage where practice pays off most.
- Sat online through Pearson VUE, in one window in late January
- Each response is judged on its own; the same rating can be used more than once
- No fixed pass mark: the cut is set per specialty
- Format
Scenarios
Set in healthcare science work
25scenarios - Time
Minutes
About two minutes a scenario
50minutes - Each scenario
Responses
Rate every one from 1 to 5
4-8responses
No negative marking. Rate every response. Near-miss marking means a close rating still keeps most of the marks.
Source: National School of Healthcare Science guidance and recruitment data.
Get ready
How to prepare
Sit the free diagnostic
Twelve scenarios in 24 minutes, no card. You get the full near-miss report.
Read your bias profile
See whether you rate harsher or more leniently than the key, and which attribute costs you most.
Work through Mock 1 with the explanations
Every response comes with the reasoning and the standard behind it.
Sit Mocks 2 and 3 against the clock
Two more full-length papers on the real 50-minute limit, so the pacing feels familiar.
How we compare
Built for the STP, not generic test prep
Generic SJT packs use ranking or best-three formats set on hospital wards. The STP test does neither.
| Feature | STP Practice | Generic SJT packs |
|---|---|---|
| Rate every response 1 to 5, as in the real test | Yes | No |
| Healthcare science scenarios | Yes | No |
| Near-miss score report with bias profile | Yes | No |
| Rationale for every response | Yes | Sometimes |
| Free diagnostic with full report | Yes | A few sample questions |
| Pricing | £24.99 one payment | Varies |
No. NSHCS keeps the live test confidential and candidates sign an NDA. Every scenario here is original, written to the published format and the four attributes. No unofficial resource can promise its keys match the official ones, and we don't. We publish our scoring model and the reasoning behind every key so you can judge it yourself.
Until the 2027 SJT window closes. NSHCS has not yet published the 2027 dates, so we have set access to 31 January 2027 and will extend it if the window runs later.
Twelve scenarios across all four attributes, timed, with the same near-miss report the full mocks produce: points lost by attribute, whether you rate harsher or more leniently than the key, and how far each rating was from it. You need an email address to sign in. No card.
Each response is rated from 1 (very appropriate) to 5 (very inappropriate) and compared with a key. NSHCS confirms near-miss marking with no negative marking, but does not publish the point values. Our practice tests award 4 points for an exact match, 3 for one off, 2 for two off, 1 for three off and 0 for four off, and we label that as our model.
Scenarios are set in clinical biochemistry, microbiology, haematology and transfusion, immunology, genomics and bioinformatics, medical physics, radiotherapy physics, nuclear medicine, radiation safety, MRI, cardiac, respiratory and vascular science, neurophysiology, audiology, clinical engineering, scientific computing, embryology and andrology, reconstructive science and more. The judgement being tested is the same across specialties; the setting is there so the situations feel like real healthcare science work.
Start preparing for the STP situational judgement test
- Free diagnostic first, with no card
- One payment of £24.99, access until 31 January 2027
- Secure payment by Stripe