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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Siddique, Zahid, 1985- , author. | Anand, Shivana, 1990- , author. | Lewis-Greene, Helena, 1954- , author.
Title: Situational judgment tests for dentists : the DF1 guidebook / Dr. Zahid Siddique, Dr. Shivana Anand, Dr. Helena Lewis-Greene.
Description: Chichester, West Sussex ; Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015043956 | ISBN 9781119109143 (pbk.)
Subjects: | MESH: Education, Dental, Graduate–Great Britain. | Dentists–psychology–Great Britain. | Educational Measurement–Great Britain. | Employment–Great Britain. | Judgment–Great Britain.
Classification: LCC RK76 | NLM WU 20 | DDC 617.60071/141–dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015043956
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.
Cover image: © Getty/Westend61
There are several books available on medical situational judgement tests (SJTs) but none for dentistry. Situational judgement test questions were introduced as part of the DFT application interview process in 2013. A relatively new concept in dentistry, SJTs have been widely used in industry as part of the selection criteria for professionals. We wanted to provide students with a selection of subject-specific SJT questions to help with their DFT preparations. Guidance for preparation has been put together by recently qualified dentists who understand the pressures that undergraduate study can impose. We hope that this book will be useful in helping all students gain experience with SJTs, leadership and management as well as clinical scenarios.
The DFT application process is highly competitive. Simply put, the higher the ranking the better the chance of getting your first choice placement. We hope that this book gives you all the information that you need in order to achieve this goal.
The SJTs in this book were verified and standardized by a group of dentists and are answered in accordance to their opinion and expertise.
Thank you to Mr Raj Rattan for his continued support and mentorship throughout this process. Thank you to Professor Dunne our Professor in Primary Dental Care at King's College London Dental Institute for his support and guidance from the beginning.
A huge thank you to some of the panel members who include:
Dental foundation training is a year when dental graduates across the United Kingdom embark on a period of relevant employment general dental practitioners under a contract of service by approved educational supervisors to provide a wide range of dental care and treatment. The successful completion of the DF1 year is mandatory for those who want to work in the NHS as part of their future dental career. Dental foundation training (DF1) introduces new graduates to general practice and gives them a protected environment in which to work and enhance the basic dental skills achieved through their BDS degree under the supervision of a educational supervisor practitioner. The educational supervisor's role is to help and support the dental foundation trainee in all aspects of employment and provide continuous academic development through tutorials. The DF1 trainees also attend weekly study days outside of their general practice with the aim and objective of enhancing clinical and administrative competence and promoting high standards through relevant postgraduate training. The following competencies are included within the DFT curricula:
Excerpts from the National Health Service (Performers Lists) (England) Regulations 2013, found at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/335/pdfs/uksi_20130335_en.pdf (accessed 24 February 2016).
All DF1 training vacancies are allocated through a centralized process for England, Northern Ireland and Wales. The online application process usually opens in the month of September for all UK-based year 5 dental students and EU graduates or overseas dentists.
The recruitment process is split in two stages:
It is important to understand that the DFT application process is competitive. The number of DFT training places is generally linked to the number of final-year students but places cannot be guaranteed for all UK graduates and it is therefore of utmost importance that all students give themselves the best opportunity to secure a place.
Over the past few years the number of candidates applying has exceeded the number of DF1 positions available with EU and oversees dental applicants also applying.
Table 2.1 shows the data collected for the application years 2011/12 and 2012/13 from the Committee of Postgraduate Dental Deans and Directors (COPDEND).
Table 2.1 data collected for the application years 2011/12 and 2012/13 from COPDEND
Numbers | 2011/12 England and Wales | EEA | United Kingdom | ROW | 2012/13 England and Wales | EEA | United Kingdom | ROW |
Places Total | 927 | 978 | ||||||
Applicants Total | 1190 | 101 | 1044 | 45 | 1172 | 110 | 1031 | 31 |
Applicants eligible and short listed | 1145 | 97 | 1042 | 6 | 1153 | 109 | 1027 | 17 |
Applicants interviewed | 1110 | 86 | 1018 | 6 | 1138 | 104 | 1021 | 13 |
Applicants offered place | 940 | 47 | 889 | 4 | 1040 | 77 | 953 | 10 |
Applicants accepted offer | 928 | 42 | 882 | 4 | 978 | 58 | 914 | 6 |
Applicants not accepted offer | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 18 | 13 | 3 | 2 |
Applicants not offered a place | 48 | 13 | 35 | 0 | 55 | 11 | 41 | 3 |
Notes: *EEA – European Economic Area; ROW – Rest of the World
The London deanery and COPDEND change the application process on a yearly basis. It is always beneficial to look at the guidance notes released by COPDEND on the London deanery web site beforehand at http://www.lpmde.ac.uk/ (accessed 22 November 2015).
See below.
COPDEND has the right to change the recruitment process on a yearly basis. Table 2.2 is a proposed timeline for recruitment with guideline months.
Table 2.2 Proposed recruitment timetable
Applications open | 25 August 2015 |
Applications close | 22 September 2015 |
Interview window | 16 – 20 November 2015 |
Preferencing of schemes opens | 8 December 2015 |
Preferencing of schemes closes | 15 December 2015 |
Initial offers out by | 06 January 2016 |
2nd round offers | 06 July 2016 |
Placements commence | March 2016 and September 2016 |
Table 2.3 gives the selection centre interview venues across the United Kingdom.
Table 2.3 Selection centre interview venues
Centre | Venue | Dental schools covered |
London | London Recruitment Events Centre | King's College London Queen Mary University of London |
Bristol | Bristol Marriott Hotel, City Centre | Bristol University Cardiff University Peninsula College of Dentistry |
Manchester | Reebok Stadium, Bolton | University of Central Lancaster University of Liverpool University of Manchester |
Birmingham | West Bromwich Albion | University of Birmingham University of Sheffield |
Belfast | Ramada Hotel, Shaw's Bridge, Belfast | Queen's University, Belfast |
Newcastle | Newcastle United Football Club | Newcastle University University of Leeds |
A component of the DF1 application process involves choosing DF1 scheme area preferences around the United Kingdom. In 2014, applicants were asked to rank their scheme preferences via the UK Offers System, which was done separately from the submission of their online application form for their original DF1 application. Candidates will be emailed with information regarding their interview date (which they must confirm within 48 hours) and full instructions on how to complete scheme preferences, including use of the UK offers system. This involves logging into the system approximately 3 weeks after the interview and submitting their scheme area preference. The submission for schemes is open for 7 days – after this period submissions cannot be made.
The London Deanery usually produces an information sheet about the available schemes for that year. It is of utmost importance that candidates take time to consider all the schemes and their locations. Due to the competitive nature of the application process it is imperative that the candidates give themselves the best possible opportunity to obtain a DF1 job offer. These opportunities can decrease if candidates limit the number of schemes they are willing to work in. If they do not rank one of the schemes they will automatically forfeit their place, even if a position is available. However, it should also be noted that there is no point in candidates ranking a scheme if they are absolutely certain that they are not willing to work in that region. The rationale for this is that if they do rank such a region and are offered a place within it, they will not be offered an alternative, or be given an opportunity to swap, if they decline the offer. We therefore advise candidates to try to be as flexible as possible when ranking schemes to give themselves the best opportunity to secure a DF1 job.
It is also important to note that, at this stage of the application process, candidates will only be given information regarding their scheme locations and not the locations of the actual training practices as they are not approved until spring / summer and can change on an annual basis. Some schemes cover a large geographical area and the distance between practices within a scheme can take over an hour to commute. The deanery will only provide detailed information about practices once they have all been approved; however, it might be possible to see the previous year's information regarding individual practices on its web site.
Once candidates have accepted their scheme in the beginning of January, they will have an option to ‘upgrade’ or ‘accept’ the offer. If they choose to accept, their deanery will be notified of their acceptance and their place for the DF1 year will be confirmed. If they choose to ‘upgrade’, then on the last day of January their scheme will either be upgraded to a higher choice or the candidate will stay in the same scheme.
Here are some useful points to consider when choosing where to work:
The list below gives the schemes that are available for DF1 applications. They may be subject to change in the forthcoming year. The HE region or deanery is displayed in bold and scheme names are displayed below them. A virtual map of DF1 schemes in the United Kingdom may be found at https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=209915530480942479969.0004c3c6972fd1afc3248&msa=0 (accessed 13 November 2015).
Assessments are scheduled to take place in late November in six centres across the United Kingdom.
The assessment process consists of:
This station is more like a mini viva station with the candidate discussing the scenario with two assessors. The candidate will be given a mark by both assessors, who will then collate their marks to calculate an average score for the student. Candidates will have 5 minutes to prepare in advance and 10 minutes for the actual station. (See mark scheme template in Chapter 3.)
This station will consist of a typical patient-dentist role-play scenario where an actor will be posing as the patient with a clinical problem. There will also be an assessor in the room, although he will have no involvement in the role play. The candidate will be marked by both the assessor and the actor in the role play (see mark scheme template in Chapter 3). Candidates will have 5 minutes to prepare for the station by reading and familiarizing themselves with the scenario and then 10 minutes for the actual station.
Scotland has its own application process for which all year-five students can apply. The application for Scotland closes in early January and is done by emailing dental.recruitment@nes.scot.nhs.uk.
There is an application form to complete and to send to dental recruitment for Scotland. Supporting documentation is needed, such as proof of identity – one copy of photographic ID and two copies of confirmation of address.
The situational judgement test exam is designed to assess nonacademic skills and ethical values rather than clinical skills. Situational judgement tests are a measurement method designed to assess an individual's judgement regarding situations in day-to-day working practice. These questions provide an effective method of assessing the key attributes required in dentistry:
The exam consists of 56 SJT questions comprising both ranking-based SJTs and ‘best of three’ SJTs. Six of the SJT questions will be used for evaluation purposes. The candidate will have 105 minutes for the exam, which is machine marked.
Candidates will be given a question with five possible responses to specific situations. They will then need to rank the five options from the most to least appropriate usually from A to E.
The candidate will be presented with a situation question in which there will be eight possible answers. The candidate will then need to choose the three most appropriate answers when all of the answers are considered together.
As explained above, the candidate is asked to rank five possible answers from the most appropriate to the least appropriate. The table below demonstrates how the candidate can score the maximum mark of 20 points for each question.
For example, if the answer to a question is ACBDE, with A being the most appropriate and E being the least appropriate, your score will be calculated according to a matrix which can look like the one in Table 3.1. Ranking the options correctly scores the candidate 20 marks.
Table 3.1 Mark scheme for ranking-based SJTs
Correct | If you ranked | If you ranked | If you ranked | If you ranked | If you ranked |
ranking | it first | it second | it third | it fourth | it fifth |
A | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
C | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
B | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
D | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
E | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
In this format the candidate must choose the three most suitable options when all the options are considered together. Each option scores four marks and therefore a maximum of 12 marks can be scored for each question. For example, if the correct three options are BCD the candidate will score 12 marks for choosing BCD, eight marks for only choosing two correct options, for example BCA, and four marks if the candidate only chose one correct option, for example BAE.