GP Training

SJT and CPST for GP training entry

The test formats, worked examples, application stages and scoring used for GP training entry, based on ICGP guidance.

What the SJT and CPST are

The Situational Judgement Test (SJT) and Clinical Problem-Solving Test (CPST) are the online tests the Irish College of GPs (ICGP) uses at the first stage of GP training recruitment. Both are sat in a single online session, proctored, with the CPST immediately following the SJT and an optional break between them.

The SJT presents roughly 45 scenarios depicting situations a hospital doctor is likely to face. ICGP states it assesses professionalism, empathy, integrity and coping under pressure. It does not assess clinical knowledge.

The CPST has roughly 50 single-best-answer questions, around 60 minutes, on common clinical presentations a recently qualified doctor might meet in a hospital setting. It does test clinical knowledge, but ICGP says the standard expected is that of a current intern, not a specialist. ICGP uses a criterion-referenced pass mark (the Ebel method) for the CPST — applicants who do not reach it are not shortlisted, regardless of how well they do on the SJT.

These format figures — 45 SJT scenarios, 50 CPST SBAs — are from ICGP's 2026-intake Guide to Applicants. Check the guide for your intake for any changes.

SJT formats and examples

Every SJT scenario uses one of two formats. Both examples below are ours, written to show how the mechanics work — they are not ICGP questions, and there is no official answer key for them. For real ICGP-authored examples with the correct answers shown, see the two free official sample PDFs linked in the resource list on the exam record.

Format 1: rank five options

You are given a scenario and five possible actions, and asked to rank them 1 (most appropriate) to 5 (least appropriate).

Format 2: choose three of eight

You are given a scenario and eight possible actions, and asked to choose the three most appropriate.

Application stages

The SJT and CPST are stage one of three. The other two stages have their own requirements and deadlines, set out below.

Stage 1 — Application A, then the SJT and CPST

You register, agree the terms and pay the application fee. A mandatory online technical and proctoring check must be completed in a set window before the test; skipping it means no link to the live test at all. The SJT and CPST themselves are then sat on a specific test day (or one of two, depending on the cycle).

Stage 2 — Application B, eligibility and references

Only applicants who meet the minimum standard in bothtests are invited to complete Application B. This is where ICGP verifies IMC trainee-register eligibility, HSE English-language requirements, and a minimum of nine months' paid postgraduate acute hospital experience (as an intern or SHO, in posts of at least three months each). Two supervising-consultant references are also required at this stage.

Stage 3 — the assessment stage, then offers

Applicants who clear Application B are invited to a further online assessment. In the 2026 intake this was described as an interview with simulated patients, assessing the core competency domains for general practice. For the 2027 intake, ICGP has renamed this stage the Scenario-Based Competency Assessment (SBCA)— an online assessment allocated across a multi-day window. ICGP's Terms & Conditions for 2027 describe it as occupying the same position in the process (after Application B, before offers); the full format detail for the SBCA was not published in ICGP's Guide to Applicants as of the date this page was last verified, since that guide had not yet been released for the 2027 cycle.

2027 intake dates

Confirmed directly from ICGP's 2027 Recruitment Process page and 2027 Terms & Conditions, both fetched when this page was last verified.

For comparison, the 2026 intake (applications in autumn 2025) sat the test on a single day, 22 October 2025, and its interview stage ran 10–12 February 2026. Check the dates and assessment format for the intake you are applying to.

Shortlisting and final ranking

You must meet the minimum standard in both tests to progress to Application B and the assessment stage. Test results also contribute to the final ranking. ICGP states that "scores from the SJT/CPST and interview will be combined to give an overall candidate score," and that offers are made "in rank order of this overall score, taking into consideration the candidate's scheme preference(s) and HSE policy on the allocation of training places."

The 2026 intake process diagram showed an indicative weighting of 50% SJT, 10% CPST and 40% interview within that overall score — that figure comes from a diagram rather than the guide's running text, and ICGP has not republished it for the 2027 cycle, so treat it as historical context rather than a confirmed current formula.

How competitive GP training entry is

ICGP's most recently published figure: 1,800 applications for 350 training places in 2025 (the round that fed the 2026 intake). The number of places for 2026 was confirmed unchanged from 2025; the College has not yet published intake numbers or an applicant count for the 2027 cycle. It is the most recent confirmed figure, not a live number.

What the interview (or SBCA) involves

For the 2026 intake, ICGP described this stage as an online interview including simulated patients, assessing the core domains of competency for general practice, with applicants randomly allocated to an interview day, time and panel. Feedback was available to unsuccessful applicants on request, and any appeals go through ICGP's GP Training Selection Appeals Policy.

For 2027, the equivalent stage is the online Scenario-Based Competency Assessment, allocated across three possible days. ICGP's Terms & Conditions confirm it sits in the same place in the process — after Application B and references, before scheme preference selection and offers — but do not spell out whether the assessment format itself (number of stations, simulated-patient scenarios, marking approach) has changed from the interview format. That level of detail is expected in the 2027 Guide to Applicants, which ICGP had not yet published as of the date below.

Preparation costs and TSS

The application fee itself (€150 for the 2027 intake) is explicitly not covered by the HSE's Training Supports Scheme — TSS policy excludes training-body application fees by name. Whether a paid question bank or mock-exam product for the SJT/CPST specifically is claimable is less clear-cut; see the training funds guide for the eligible expense categories and what remains unconfirmed. The SJT & CPST exam record has the tiered comparison of what the two named prep vendors charge and include, alongside the two free official ICGP sample papers.

After the entry process

This test is the entry gate to the GP training programme itself — a four-year scheme (three years with Recognition of Prior Learning), split between hospital SHO posts and supervised general practice. Passing the SJT/CPST gets you to Application B; it does not by itself get you a training place.

• SJT: ~45 scenarios, professionalism/judgement, not clinical knowledge, two answer formats.
• CPST: ~50 SBAs, ~60 minutes, its own pass mark, common hospital presentations.
• Both sat in one online proctored session; a mandatory pre-test check happens first.
• Scores shortlist you and carry into your final rank alongside the assessment/interview stage.
• 1,800 applications for 350 places (2025 figure, most recent published).

Facts on this page last verified 22 August 2026. GP training recruitment changes cycle to cycle — always confirm against ICGP's current Guide to Applicants and Key Dates page before relying on a specific date or number here.