SJT Examples for Public Health
Situational Judgement Test questions assess how candidates respond to realistic professional scenarios. In the Public Health Assessment Centre context, these questions commonly explore judgement, communication, professionalism, ethical reasoning, teamwork, leadership, and the ability to manage competing priorities.
This page provides independently created Public Health SJT examples across two common formats: ranking questions and multi-select questions. Each example includes a detailed explanation to support understanding of the reasoning behind the preferred responses.
These questions are intended for general preparation purposes and are not taken from any official assessment.
What Do Public Health SJT Questions Assess?
Public Health SJT questions assess professional judgement rather than factual recall. Candidates are usually asked to consider how they would respond as a Public Health Specialty Registrar in realistic workplace situations.
Strong responses usually demonstrate professionalism, integrity, clear communication, appropriate escalation, empathy, patient and public focus, and an ability to work collaboratively. Less appropriate responses may ignore the problem, act dishonestly, escalate too early, damage relationships, or fail to consider the wider context.
The best answer is rarely the most dramatic response. In many scenarios, the strongest actions are balanced, constructive, proportionate, and focused on resolving the issue while maintaining professional relationships.
Types of SJT Questions
Ranking Questions
In ranking questions, candidates place five actions in order from most appropriate to least appropriate. These questions test prioritisation, professional judgement, and the ability to distinguish between actions that are all possible but not equally appropriate.
Multi-Select Questions
In multi-select questions, candidates choose the three most appropriate actions from a longer list. These questions test whether candidates can identify a balanced set of responses that address the issue safely, professionally, and constructively.
Ranking Question 1 – Managing Stakeholder Expectations
Scenario
You are a Public Health Specialty Registrar working with a local authority team on a health needs assessment. A voluntary sector organisation has provided useful community insight, but they are now asking to see early draft recommendations before these have been reviewed by your supervisor or the project steering group. You are concerned that sharing the draft too early may create expectations that the recommendations are already agreed.
Task
Rank the following actions in order from most appropriate (1) to least appropriate (5).
Drag the options to reorder them, or submit with the current order.Use the arrows to reorder options, or submit with the current order.
Drag to Rank
A.Thank the organisation for their contribution and explain that draft recommendations need to be reviewed internally before they can be shared more widely.
B.Ask your supervisor for advice on how to manage the organisation's request and agree what information can appropriately be shared at this stage.
C.Send the draft recommendations to the organisation because they contributed to the project and may feel excluded if they are not involved early.
D.Offer to arrange a meeting with the organisation after internal review to discuss the emerging findings and how their input has been reflected.
E.Ignore the request until the steering group has met, as the recommendations are not yet ready to share.
Answer and Explanation
Correct Ranking: B, A, D, E, C
B is the most appropriate response. It recognises that you are working within a governance structure and appropriately seeks advice from your supervisor before sharing draft recommendations. This is proportionate, professional, and helps protect the integrity of the project.
A is also appropriate because it communicates clearly and respectfully with the organisation. It acknowledges their contribution while explaining why draft recommendations cannot yet be shared.
D is constructive and collaborative. It keeps the organisation engaged and creates a clear route for discussion once the recommendations have been reviewed. However, it is slightly less immediate than B and A because it does not first clarify the governance position.
E is less appropriate. Although it avoids premature sharing, ignoring the request risks damaging trust and does not model good stakeholder communication.
C is the least appropriate response. Sharing unreviewed recommendations could create misunderstanding, undermine governance processes, and imply that the recommendations are final before appropriate review has taken place.
Key Insight
In SJT ranking questions, the best response often balances transparency with appropriate governance. Good communication does not mean sharing everything immediately.
Common Trap
A common mistake is assuming that being collaborative means giving stakeholders access to all draft material. Collaboration still needs to respect confidentiality, governance, and decision-making processes.
Ranking Question 2 – Data Quality and Professional Integrity
Scenario
You are preparing a report on childhood obesity trends for a local partnership board. Shortly before the report is due, you notice that one ward appears to have a sudden large reduction in obesity prevalence. When you check the spreadsheet, you realise the denominator for that ward looks unusually high compared with previous years. Your manager says the report is already late and asks you to "just use the figures as they are for now".
Task
Rank the following actions in order from most appropriate (1) to least appropriate (5).
Drag the options to reorder them, or submit with the current order.Use the arrows to reorder options, or submit with the current order.
Drag to Rank
A.Review the data source and check whether the denominator is correct before finalising the report.
B.Explain to your manager that you are concerned the figure may be inaccurate and discuss how best to manage the deadline.
C.Include the figure but add a note explaining that the data has not been checked.
D.Remove the ward from the report without explanation to avoid presenting potentially inaccurate data.
E.Use the figures as they are because your manager has asked you to do so and the report is already late.
Answer and Explanation
Correct Ranking: A, B, C, D, E
A is the most appropriate response. The concern is about possible data error, so checking the data source is the most direct and responsible first step. Public health work depends on accurate interpretation of data, and errors should be investigated before conclusions are presented.
B is also highly appropriate. It communicates the concern to your manager and recognises the need to balance accuracy with the deadline. This demonstrates professionalism, openness, and good judgement.
C is less appropriate than A and B. It is transparent about uncertainty, but it still risks presenting potentially misleading information before reasonable checks have been completed.
D is not appropriate because removing data without explanation reduces transparency and could distort the report. If data is excluded, there should be a clear rationale.
E is the least appropriate response. Using figures that may be inaccurate simply because of time pressure risks misleading decision-makers and undermines professional integrity.
Key Insight
In public health SJT scenarios involving data, accuracy and transparency are central. A good response should not hide uncertainty, but it should also not present unchecked data as reliable.
Common Trap
A common mistake is treating a deadline as more important than data integrity. Time pressure matters, but it does not justify knowingly presenting potentially inaccurate information.
Multi-Select Question 1 – Confidentiality and Remote Working
Scenario
You are a Public Health Specialty Registrar attending an online meeting about a health protection incident. A colleague messages you privately to say they are joining from a café because they are travelling between appointments. During the meeting, you notice they are not using headphones and appear to be in a public area. The discussion may include sensitive information.
Task
Choose the three most appropriate actions to take.
Select exactly 3 options. 0/3 selected.
Options
Send your colleague a private message asking them to move to a private location or leave the call if they cannot do so.
Raise the issue with the whole meeting immediately and tell everyone your colleague is in a café.
Remind the meeting chair privately that sensitive information may be discussed and ask whether confidentiality arrangements should be checked.
Continue with the meeting because your colleague is responsible for managing their own working environment.
After the meeting, discuss the situation with your colleague to understand what happened and reinforce the importance of confidentiality.
Inform the Training Programme Director immediately without first speaking to your colleague or the chair.
Suggest that sensitive details are not discussed until all attendees are confirmed to be in appropriate settings.
Take a screenshot of your colleague in the café as evidence.
Answer and Explanation
Correct Answers: A, C, G
A is appropriate because it addresses the immediate risk directly and discreetly. It gives the colleague an opportunity to correct the situation without unnecessary embarrassment.
C is appropriate because the chair has responsibility for the conduct of the meeting. Raising the issue privately allows the chair to manage confidentiality without publicly singling out the colleague.
G is appropriate because it protects sensitive information. If confidentiality cannot be assured, it may be safer to pause sensitive discussion until the situation is resolved.
E may be useful later, but it does not address the immediate risk during the meeting, so it is not one of the three most appropriate actions.
B is inappropriate because it publicly identifies the colleague and may be disproportionate when the issue could be handled discreetly.
D is inappropriate because confidentiality is a shared professional responsibility. Ignoring the risk could lead to inappropriate disclosure of sensitive information.
F is premature. Escalation may be needed if the issue persists or is serious, but immediate local action should be attempted first.
H is inappropriate because it may create further confidentiality and professionalism concerns.
Key Insight
In multi-select SJT questions, the best combination of actions often includes immediate risk management, appropriate communication, and proportionate escalation.
Common Trap
A common mistake is choosing only actions that happen after the event. In confidentiality scenarios, immediate action is often required to prevent harm.
Multi-Select Question 2 – Managing Workload and Collaboration
Scenario
You are coordinating a rapid review of local mental health support for young people. The report is due in three weeks. A colleague from another team has agreed to provide service activity data, but they email to say they are under significant pressure and may not be able to provide the data on time. You need the data to complete the report, but you are also aware that the colleague has several urgent deadlines.
Task
Choose the three most appropriate actions to take.
Select exactly 3 options. 0/3 selected.
Options
Ask the colleague whether there is a smaller or quicker dataset they could provide within the timeframe.
Speak to your supervisor about the risk to the report timeline and agree a plan for managing the dependency.
Tell the colleague that the report cannot be completed unless they send the data immediately.
Explore whether another appropriate contact in the service could provide the data or support extraction.
Remove the service activity data from the report without mentioning the limitation.
Offer to meet briefly with the colleague to clarify exactly what data is needed and reduce unnecessary work.
Escalate directly to the colleague's senior manager without discussing it with them first.
Wait until the deadline to see whether the colleague sends the data.
Answer and Explanation
Correct Answers: A, B, F
A is appropriate because it is pragmatic and collaborative. A smaller dataset may still allow useful analysis while recognising the colleague's capacity constraints.
B is appropriate because the delay creates a risk to the report timeline. Discussing this with your supervisor allows you to manage expectations and agree next steps.
F is appropriate because it may reduce the burden on the colleague and clarify what is essential. This shows collaborative working and good project management.
D may be reasonable in some circumstances, but it should usually follow discussion with the colleague or supervisor to avoid bypassing them inappropriately. It is less appropriate than A, B, and F as an immediate action.
C is too forceful and may damage the working relationship.
E is inappropriate because it removes important data without transparency. If data is missing, the limitation should be acknowledged.
G is premature and may undermine the colleague. Escalation may be needed later, but not before collaborative steps have been attempted.
H is not appropriate because it is passive and risks leaving too little time to respond.
Key Insight
Strong SJT responses often combine practicality, empathy, and accountability. The best actions protect the work while maintaining professional relationships.
Common Trap
A common mistake is choosing actions that are either too passive or too confrontational. Public health work often requires collaborative problem-solving across teams.
How to Approach Public Health SJT Questions
When approaching Public Health SJT examples, first identify the main issue in the scenario. This may involve confidentiality, stakeholder management, teamworking, data integrity, workload, leadership, or professional communication.
For ranking questions, consider which action is most constructive, proportionate, and likely to resolve the problem. Avoid responses that are passive, overly confrontational, dishonest, or unnecessarily escalatory. For multi-select questions, look for a balanced set of actions that together address the situation safely and professionally.
It can be helpful to ask: who is affected, what is the immediate risk, who should be involved, and what response maintains trust while moving the situation forward?
Common Mistakes in Public Health SJT Questions
Common mistakes include escalating too quickly, avoiding difficult conversations, ignoring governance concerns, or focusing only on completing the task rather than how it is completed.
Candidates may also choose responses that sound decisive but are actually too abrupt or damaging to professional relationships. In public health settings, good judgement often involves balancing action with communication, empathy, and proportionality.
Another common mistake is failing to distinguish between immediate risks and longer-term issues. The most appropriate response usually addresses immediate safety, confidentiality, or integrity concerns while also supporting constructive follow-up.
SJT Examples for Public Health – Frequently Asked Questions
What types of SJT questions are used in public health assessment preparation?
Public Health SJT practice commonly includes ranking questions and multi-select questions. These assess professional judgement, communication, ethical reasoning, and decision-making.
Are these official SJT questions?
No. These questions are independently created for general preparation purposes and are not taken from any official assessment.
How should I approach SJT ranking questions?
In ranking questions, consider which action is most appropriate, constructive, proportionate, and professional, then rank the remaining options in order.
How should I approach SJT multi-select questions?
In multi-select questions, look for three actions that work well together to address the issue safely, professionally, and constructively.
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