situational judgement tests mock exam 2

Dental Foundation Training

national recruitment

Situational Judgement TestsMock Exam 2

Jonathan Lewney, BDS, BSc. BA, MSc, MPH

Alasdair G Miller, BDS, DPDS,FDS,FFGDP, F.AoMEJonathan

Alasdair

Hello, welcome to the second SJT mock examination. This is part of our new BDA series for 5th year students.I'm Alasdair Miller, the past president of the BDA and former dental post graduate dean. In that capacity I helped to introduce national recruitment to dental foundation training in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.Today I will be taking you through more SJTs and the rationale behind the answers.Our aim is to help you answer SJTs and gain the most marks.

1

SJTs Mock Exam 2 – OVERVIEW

1. Practice sessions on 10 SJTs

2. Answers and explanation

3. Benefits of BDA membership.

This presentation has 3 parts1. Practice sessions on 10 SJTs 2. A chance to reflect on your answers and hear an explanation of the rationale

behind the preferred answers.3. Finally a brief look at more benefits of BDA membership.It is designed to give you further practice with SJTs in advance of the COPDEND SJTs at the Pearson Vue centres in November.

2

Reminder !Get a pen and paper handy to record your answers to the questions

Just a quick reminderDo you have a pen and paper handy to record your answers to the questions?

If you intend to time yourself to see how long it takes to do the ten SJTs – have you got a timer or watch set up?

3

Tips for SJTs

1. Read the question TWICE - Is it a ranking or best 3 response?

2. Is there a NOW issue? e.g. pain, medical emergency, patient or staff safety issue that must be addressed now?

3. Think of the GDC standards - Which are relevant to the scenario?

4. Is there a legal issue? e.g. Health & Safety, GDPR that needs to be considered?

5. What will sort the issue out with least delay?

6. Do I have all the facts? Assumptions can be risky.

7. Who else can I turn to for advice? Or to escalate the matter.

8. What is the most sensible option and which the least helpful? This can be a useful method with ranking of options.

Here are some of the key points to consider when trying to pick the best options to an SJT question.

4

SJT Mock Exam

Now we have 10 SJTs for you to work through. On the videos there is a countdown timer on each question.In the COPDEND SJT test in November you will have just under 2 minutes per question.To give you an idea of time for each question SJT 1 to 5 have been set to scroll on after 1.5 minutes and questions 6-10 after one minute.

5

SJT1

Rank in order the following actions in response to this situation.

1 = Most appropriate; 5 = Least appropriate. Ask one of the associates to take your tutorials instead of the trainer.

A. Carry on as normal – you are a qualified dentist and feel capable of independent practice.

B. Ask your trainer what arrangements there are for supervision during his holiday.

C. Speak to your Training Programme Director.

D. Refuse to work unless you have access to another dentist for support.

E. Book holiday so you don’t have to work alone so much.

It’s almost the end of your DFT year and your nurse tells you that your trainer is going

to be away on holiday for six weeks and you will be working alone in the practice for

two days a week. What should you do?1 min 30 secs

6

SJT 2

Choose the THREE responses most appropriate to this situation

A. Explain the pro’s and cons of tooth whitening and book an appointment for them for whitening.

B. Consult your educational supervisor for advice.

C. Advise them that it is against the law to whiten teeth for anyone under 18 for cosmetic reasons.

D. Offer to provide ceramic veneers to whiten the teeth.

E. Write to your defence organisation for advice.

F. Refer the patient to a beauty parlour for whitening.

G. Consult your Training Programme Director for advice.

H. Offer to provide composite veneers to whiten the teeth.

16 year old girl comes to your surgery and asks you to whiten all of her incisors as she

has been told she needs them if she is going to get a modelling contract. She has

brought her mother who is very insistent she has them whitened. The incisor teeth are

straight and an even colour around shade A3.

1 min 30 secs

7

SJT 3


A. Advise your Educational Supervisor you don’t feel confident to chair the meeting.

B. Phone your Training Programme Trainer for advice.

C. Agree to Chair it but request a tutorial on chairing and that your Educational Supervisor appointssomeone to act as your deputy and help you out.

D. Phone in sick on the day of the staff meeting.

E. Phone the BDA for advice.

F. Phone your defence organisation for advice.

G. Agree to chair the meeting.

You have been in your foundation practice for 4 months. Your Educational Supervisor

(Trainer) asks you to chair the monthly staff meeting as they can’t attend. You don’t

feel you are competent to do this.

1 min 30 secs

8

SJT 4


A. Ask her who else she has spoken to about this matter and when.

B. Recommend she talks to the practice manager and reports back to you on the result.

C. Advise the nurse to ask the therapist what the reason for these treatments and how does it sit with theGDC Scope of Practice.

D. Phone the GDC for advice.

E. Discuss the matter with your Educational Supervisor.

F. Speak to your TPD on the next Study Day

•

Your nurse reports to you that the therapist who works in the practice undertakes

endodontics and extractions on adults. 1 min 30 secs

9

SJT 5

You find that your nurse doesn’t give you the forceps you request for extractions,

though you know the practice has them.


A. Ask your nurse what her reason for her not giving you the forceps you ask for.

B. Report the matter to the practice manager.

C. Discuss it with your Educational Supervisor.

D. Discuss the matter with your Training Programme Director at the next Study Day


F. Phone your defence organisation for advice

1 min 30 secs

10

SJT 6


A. Extract the tooth as requested by the patient.

B. Go and ask your Educational Supervisor for their advice.

C. Phone your Training Programme Director for Advice.

D. Advise the patient you can’t take a tooth out without local anaesthetic.

E. Refer the patient to the local hospital Oral Surgery Department.

F. Refer the patient to an Oral Surgery Specialist.

G. Phone your defence organisation for advice.

H. Ask your nurse what you should do.

A patient requests you extract a mobile lower incisor tooth without using local

anaesthetic, they report the tooth is causing them a lot of pain. You agree it needs

extraction. You are not keen to do so without local anaesthesia?

1 min

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SJT 7

You have been a foundation dentist for a few months and your educational supervisor (trainer) has

cancelled your weekly tutorials, scheduled for last thing on a Friday, for two weeks running. They

have told you to complete online learning packages instead. You notice your trainer seems

distracted and has arrived late in the mornings several times recently. What do you do?



A. Ask one of the associates to take your tutorials instead of the trainer.

B. Complete the on-line learning.

C. Tell the training programme director at the next study day.

D. Tell the trainer you are entitled to more tutorial time with him/her.

E. Complete the on-line learning at home on Friday afternoon.

1 min

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SJT 8


A. Get on and cash up as requested.

B. Ask your Educational Supervisor why the practice manager can’t do it.

C. Ask for a tutorial on ‘cashing up’ and ask them to supervise you doing it.

D. Refuse to do it as you don’t think it is part of your Foundation Training contract

E. Phone your Training Programme Director for advice.


Your Educational Supervisor mentions to you he thinks that a member of staff may be

taking money from the till and asks you to cash up at the end of the day. You are

reluctant to do so, they are very insistent and say it’s part of working in practice and

your training.

1 min

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SJT 9


A. Discuss the treatment plan with the grandparent.

B. Carry out the planned extractions.

C. Find out who has responsibility for consent and check with them.

D. Check the notes to see if a parent has already consented for the extractions.

E. Re-book the patient when a parent can attend.

F. Make certain the patient is happy with the treatment plan and understands all the issues.

G. Check with the orthodontic specialist.

H. Tell the grandparent they can’t give consent for the extractions..

A grandparent brings in their 14-year-old grandson for planned orthodontic extractions.

What should your priorities be? 1 min

14

SJT 10


A. You do as the patient requests and do not record the condition in the patient records.

B. You reassure the patient that all staff of the surgery are subject to the law of confidentiality.

C. You ask a different dental nurse to work with you for this patient.

D. You tell the patient that you cannot treat them as there is a conflict of interest for the staff.

E. Advise the patient that it is your duty to note the HIV status in the notes as it may be relevant to futuremanagement of the dental health. You will enter the data personally so the nurse does not need toknow.

F. The patient insists you don’t write it in the clinical notes, so you advise the patient you cannot treatthem.


H. Ask your Educational Supervisor for advice.

A patient who is HIV positive tells you of his condition. He asks you not to record it in

your records and not to tell your dental nurse because he is dating her best friend. 1 min

15

Best answers and explanations

Now you can work through the questions and the best answers and listen to the rationale behind them.

You may not agree with the rationale completely, this is normal with SJTs.

You should though be close to the top 3 rank options and 3 answers. Remember if, you and your colleagues put the answers in a different order of importance, this is OK as the national SJTs best answers are based on results from previous cohorts of students.

The important thing about SJTs is having a methodology to help you work out the best and least useful options.

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SJT1



A. Carry on as normal – you are a qualified dentist and feel capable of independent practice.

B. Ask your trainer what arrangements there are for supervision during his holiday.

C. Speak to your Training Programme Director.

D. Refuse to work unless you have access to another dentist for support.

E. Book holiday so you don’t have to work alone so much.

It’s almost the end of your DFT year and your nurse tells you that your trainer is going

to be away on holiday for six weeks and you will be working alone in the practice for

two days a week. What should you do?

4

3

1

2

5

Rationale for the answers:Is there NOW issue. No – nothing needs to be sorted now.1. B.- If you have concerns re cover and support during your DFT then your ES is the

best person to raise the concerns with. As a professional you should be prepared to raise issues about your training directly with your ES. Your ES may have got cover organised but had not told you yet. So getting all the facts before you decide on an action is important.

2. C – if you don’t get a satisfactory answer from them then getting advice from your TPD is the next best option. They are likely to counsel you to talk to your ES in the first instance.

3. A – At the end of your DFT year you should be able to operate as an independent professional so it might be appropriate to expect you to manage for 6 weeks. You will only be on your own for 2 days per week.

4. D – Is this the action of a professional who should be able to work independently for 2 days per week unsupported?

5. E – is this the action of a professional? Does it meet GDC criteria of patients best interests?

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SJT 2


A. Explain the pro’s and cons of tooth whitening and book an appointment for them for whitening.

B. Consult your educational supervisor for advice.

C. Advise them that it is against the law to whiten teeth for anyone under 18 for cosmetic reasons.

D. Offer to provide ceramic veneers to whiten the teeth.

E. Write to your defence organisation for advice.

F. Refer the patient to a beauty parlour for whitening.

G. Consult your Training Programme Director for advice.

H. Offer to provide composite veneers to whiten the teeth.

16 year old girl comes to your surgery and asks you to whiten all of her incisors as she

has been told she needs them if she is going to get a modelling contract. She has

brought her mother who is very insistent she has them whitened. The incisor teeth are

straight and an even colour around Shade A3.

✓

✓

✓

Is there a NOW issue? Yes – you have a patient in your surgery.C- This is acting professionally – advising them that it is against the law., So they have the facts to help them understand why whitening cant be provided.B – Get your ES advice – especially if you haven’t dealt with this sort of thing before. The mother may not believe you and so a 2nd opinion is valid.G – if you and your ES cant sort it out the next person who should be able to advise is your TPD. Though it is unlikely they can come to the surgery and speak to the patient and mother.

Not appropriate:A – whilst this is informed consent, you are breaking the law on providing whitening on multiple teeth for purely cosmetic reasons to someone under 18.D – ceramic veneers are an irreversible procedure and may jeopardise the long term vitality of the teeth so would not be in the patients best interest.E – write to defence org. This will take time and you need to address the concerns of the patient and mother in your surgery now. Writing will take time to get a response. If phoning had been an option then this might have been reasonable though a delay in getting an answer for the patient may take time.F – the use of whitening compounds of high strength is restricted to dental

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professionals – referral onto a beauty parlour – may put you at risk at the GDC as having supported the parlour if they are doing illegal tooth whitening. H. Whilst this might work, it is difficult to get a good result without bulking up the labial face of the teeth. Also if whitening is the best thing in the long term, then having composite veneer to remove it may be difficult to get back to enamel without loosing some healthy enamel prior to bleaching – so would it be in the patients best interest.

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SJT 3


A. Advise your Educational Supervisor you don’t feel confident to chair the meeting.

B. Phone your Training Programme Trainer for advice.

C. Agree to Chair it but request a tutorial on chairing and that your Educational Supervisor appointssomeone to act as your deputy and help you out.

D. Phone in sick on the day of the staff meeting.



G. Agree to chair the meeting.

You have been in your foundation practice for 4 months. Your Educational Supervisor

(Trainer) asks you to chair the monthly staff meeting as they can’t attend. You don’t feel

you are competent to do this.

1

3

2

7

5

4

6

Is there a NOW issue? No – no harm is going to befall any party involved if this isn’t sorted out now.

1. A – It is the action of a professional to advise when you feel a task is outside your experience/ expertise. So letting your ES know your concerns is acting professionally.

2. C – Agree shows you are professional and recognise the need to develop skills, asking for a tutorial shows you are willing to learn and requesting a deputy is a sensible pre-caution to help make certain the meeting runs as well as it can.

3. B - when you and your ES cant resolve a matter then normally your TPD is the next person to get advice from in relation to your DFT

4. F - Defence organisations don’t normally advise on practice management issues but as you are DFT they may offer you some suggestions to manage the situation. Def Soc normally deal with matters relating to patients and your GDC registration, not practice management issues.

5. E – If you are a BDA member – you can phone them for advice as this is a practice management issue.

6. G – Agreeing to chair the meeting you are don’t feel competent to do so without support could be viewed as not working within your competencies.

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7. D – Pulling a ‘sickie’ to avoid something you don’t want to do is very unprofessional.

19

SJT 4


A. Ask her who else she has spoken to about this matter and when.

B. Recommend she talks to the practice manager and reports back to you on the result.

C. Advise the nurse to ask the therapist what the reason for these treatments and how does it sit with theGDC Scope of Practice.

D. Phone the GDC for advice.

E. Discuss the matter with your Educational Supervisor.

F. Speak to your TPD on the next Study Day

•

Your nurse reports to you that the therapist who works in the practice undertakes

endodontics and extractions on adults.

✓

✓

✓

Is there a NOW issue? Unless the therapist is doing either of these procedures on a patient NOW then NO. You need more facts.

C- You don’t employ the therapist or the nurse – so is it your responsibility to deal with it. You haven’t observed the issue – so you have to be careful what you do as you maybe acting on hearsay – Has the nurse an issue with the therapist. Coaching the nurse to gather more facts and especially how the Therapist sees the matter, if what you have been told is true then the Therapist is acting outside their Scope of Practice as described by the GDC and so it is likely to be illegal.B – Again this is coaching her to resolve the matter herself and avoid you being drawn in. Having the nurse report back to you is being professional as you are keeping track of the matter in case it does need escalating, if true and not dealt with.E – Staff management is not your responsibility so talking to your ES is appropriate after C & B to try and sort the matter out.

Not:A – this is not unreasonable but doesn’t get the nurse to act in a professional way.F - Yes, you could speak to your TPD. Are they going to be able to advise you in a different way than C B &E?

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D – You could phone the GDC for advice. They may have to log the call and if the facts are incorrect it may not be helpful. Would they advise differently from the other actions.

20

SJT 5

You find that your nurse doesn’t give you the forceps you request for extractions,

though you know the practice has them.


A. Ask your nurse what her reason for her not giving you the forceps you ask for.

B. Report the matter to the practice manager.

C. Discuss it with your Educational Supervisor.

D. Discuss the matter with your Training Programme Director at the next Study Day


F. Phone your defence organisation for advice

2

1

3

5

4

6

Is there a NOW issue? NO - we aren’t told there is a patient in the chair needing an extraction now.

1. A – First seek to understand before trying to be understood. Get the facts, there may be a good reason. Don’t assume

2. C – Once you have asked your nurse and cant resolve it with her then talking to your ES is appropriate.

3. B- The practice manager is likely to be responsible for staff matters and if you cant resolve the issue maybe they can assist.

4. F – Having the wrong forceps might result in a tooth fracturing during extraction and needing a surgical – this is not in the patients best interest, if it could be avoided. So advice from the defence org is appropriate. As with other SJTs - this option may not get a quick answer – so always look to resolve in practice first.

5. D – You could do this - would the TPD suggest anything other than the options we have already discussed. This may take time and you may have patients needing extractions before then.

6. E – you could phone the BDA, if you are a member – but this is a clinical matter –it could take time.

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SJT 6


A. Extract the tooth as requested by the patient.

B. Go and ask your Educational Supervisor for their advice.

C. Phone your Training Programme Director for Advice.

D. Advise the patient you can’t take a tooth out without local anaesthetic.

E. Refer the patient to the local hospital Oral Surgery Department.

F. Refer the patient to an Oral Surgery Specialist.


H. Ask your nurse what you should do.

A patient requests you extract a mobile lower incisor tooth without using local

anaesthetic, they report the tooth is causing them a lot of pain. You agree it needs

extraction. You are not keen to do so without local anaesthesia?

✓

✓

✓

SJT6 a patient requesting removal of a painful, mobile lower incisor without local anaesthetic.Is there a NOW issue? Yes, you have a patient in the chair so the options should resolve then issue ASAP.D – This is being professional – GDC working within your competence – so letting the patient know your concerns is the first thing you should do.B – If you cant agree to what the patient wishes – GDC – working with colleagues in pts best interest – so getting your ES advice is appropriate.A – If your ES thinks you should get a mobile tooth out easily then it may be appropriate to do so. To give a pt LA without their agreement is assault. If they know your concerns and still wish you to proceed, as it is a mobile tooth then having a go is in the patients best interest as it will get them out of pain.

These three options would sort the issue out reasonably for the patient.C – You could phone your TPD – would it change the options?D – You may think this is true. Unless you have tried to take a mobile tooth out without LA how do you know. The pt may have had other teeth taken out this way and so knows what is acceptable for them.E – Refer to local OS dept – you could do this – this will take time – is that in the

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patients best interest?F – you could do this – but the same points apply as for option EG – Yes you could phone defence org – it will take time – will they offer a different answer? Pt best interest.H – you could ask your nurse – she may have experience in these situations – would she offer any other option than the above.

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A. Ask one of the associates to take your tutorials instead of the trainer.

B. Complete the on-line learning.

C. Tell the training programme director at the next study day.

D. Tell the trainer you are entitled to more tutorial time with him/her.

E. Complete the on-line learning at home on Friday afternoon.

SJT 7

You have been a foundation dentist for a few months and your educational supervisor (trainer) has

cancelled your weekly tutorials, scheduled for last thing on a Friday, for two weeks running. They have

told you to complete online learning packages instead. You notice your trainer seems distracted and

has arrived late in the mornings several times recently. What do you do?

4

1

3

2

5

Is there a NOW issue? No – its non urgent – nobody is going to suffer if this isn’t sorted out ASAP.

B – This is being professional and doing what you have been advised to do and gain further knowledge.C – There may be more to this issue than you know about. Eg why are they arriving late and distracted? Your TPD may give you advice on how to raise the matter of the tutorials with your ES.D – This is being professional but may not be sensitive if there are other issues you are not party too affecting things. Telling is a rather dominant approach. Asking the reason for not having the tutorials and saying you noticed they are distracted may allow you to gain more information before working out how best to resolve the issue.E – You are supposed to be in the practice normally for your tutorials so this is complying with your DFT contact. I accept that in this COVID era this approach may change.

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SJT 8


A. Get on and cash up as requested.

B. Ask your Educational Supervisor why the practice manager can’t do it.

C. Ask for a tutorial on ‘cashing up’ and ask them to supervise you doing it.

D. Refuse to do it as you don’t think it is part of your Foundation Training contract

E. Phone your Training Programme Director for advice.


Your Educational Supervisor mentions to you he thinks that a member of staff may be taking

money from the till and asks you to cash up at the end of the day. You are reluctant to do so,

they are very insistent and say it’s part of working in practice and your training.

5

3

4

2

1

6

Is there a NOW issue? No – no patient or member of staff will come to harm if you don’t deal with the situation now.

C – During your DFT you are expected to learn how a practice runs. So knowing how to ‘cash up’ could be considered part of that. As you are reluctant, then asking for a tutorial and watching you is a reasonable request.B – This is not an unreasonable request, as you don’t feel competent and you might expect the practice manager to be competent to do it.E – If you are concerned about an issue in your training practice and cant resolve it with your ES then your TPD is the next person you should contact.F – As this is a practice management issue your defence organisation could refuse to advise you, but as a DFT they are likely to assist, though there advice is likely to be one of the other options or a combination.A – If all else fails then you could have a go at cashing up.D- this is not a professional response. It’s a low risk issue and as a graduate you should be able to manage it. You are expected to learn about the running of practice,

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A. Discuss the treatment plan with the grandparent.

B. Carry out the planned extractions.

C. Find out who has responsibility for consent and check with them.

D. Check the notes to see if a parent has already consented for the extractions.

E. Re-book the patient when a parent can attend.

F. Make certain the patient is happy with the treatment plan and understands all the issues.

G. Check with the orthodontic specialist.

H. Tell the grandparent they can’t give consent for the extractions..

SJT 9

A grandparent brings in their 14-year-old grandson for planned orthodontic extractions.

What should your priorities be?

✓

✓

✓

Is there a NOW issue? Yes – there is a patient booked for extractions. Key issue is Consent to the extractions as the patient is a minor.

Correct answers:C – Ask the grandparent about the family – can either or mum or dad consent then contact the appropriate parent to check that they understand the treatment plan and consent for it.D – Check the notes as the consent should have been recorded in the notes.F – as the child is of a reasonable age and if they have a good understanding of the procedure and issue they could give there own consent to the extractions.

There is no correct order for these – all three though should solve the issue and allow you to proceed.A – unless the grandparent has power of Attorney for the child then they can’t consent, so whilst you can discuss it with them, they may not be able to give valid consentB – without consent doing the extractions is not a professional way to proceed.E – not an unreasonable thing to do, but the child is prepared for the extractions and you should merely be checking consent has been given before proceeding. Putting Pt

25

best interest first.G – you could check with the orthodontist – can you do this any quicker than contacting a parent?H – this maybe correct – but is it acting in the patients best interest.

25

SJT 10


A. You do as the patient requests and do not record the condition in the patient records.

B. You reassure the patient that all staff of the surgery are subject to the law of confidentiality.

C. You ask a different dental nurse to work with you for this patient.

D. You tell the patient that you cannot treat them as there is a conflict of interest for the staff.

E. Advise the patient that it is your duty to note the HIV status in the notes as it may be relevant to futuremanagement of the dental health. You will enter the data personally so the nurse does not need toknow.

F. The patient insists you don’t write it in the clinical notes, so you advise the patient you cannot treatthem.


H. Ask your Educational Supervisor for advice.

A patient who is HIV positive tells you of his condition. He asks you not to record it in your

records and not to tell your dental nurse because he is dating her best friend.

✓

✓

✓

Is there a NOW issue: Yes – there is a patient wishing treatment, though nothing to say it is urgent.

Correct Answers:E – this is the professional thing to do. B – this is correct and should be satisfactory. As this prohibits the nurse from telling her friend.H – if you have not dealt with this issue before getting advice is appropriate.

Other options:A – this is not professional and may not be in the patients long term best interest.C – is reasonable though your nurse may wonder what is going on and suspect something.D – not unreasonable – but healthcare workers should treat all patients who request it.F – if a patient applies pressure to get you to do something that is against professional guidance you have a right to decline to treat them, unless its an emergency and you cant make other arrangements.G – a reasonable approach but this will take time and you have a patient in the

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surgery.

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The BDA: supporting

you at dental school

As I mentioned earlierWhat does your membership entitle you to?Lets look at the BDA library and what it offers you now as a student member.

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Courses

bda.org/learning

The BDA holds a wide range of events, clinical to business – CPD verifiable – some listed on screen here (including Careers Day – see next slide.)

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Preferential rates on financial products

• Free financial health check

• Income protection

• Get £60 off your BDA membership renewal if you take out

Income Protection when you graduate.

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Advice

24-7 counselling and emotional support

bda.org/advice

We offer advice on practical issues affecting dentists.

Student members can access our ‘Health Assured’ package where you can get 24-7 emotional support from trained counsellors. We know life at uni can be tough.

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bda.org/careers

@drandreaogden

@TheBDA

Follow Dr Andrea Ogden, our Undergraduate and Career Development Lead. Andrea can talk to your year group about career options and life as a newly qualified dentist.

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Good luck with your SJTs in November

Thank you for viewing

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situational judgement tests mock exam 2

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