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Are you applying for the NHS graduate scheme 2026 or having an NHS online assessment centre coming up?
Our NHS recruitment guide provides a full candidate recruitment, assessment preparation & practice guide, for wherever you may apply within the UK However, the application process within the UK may vary.
Check out our Free and Premium mock NHS practice aptitude tests and video interviews, tailored by our highly qualified chartered psychologists to boost your preparation for your NHS recruitment process.
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Not sure if you should go for practice NHS aptitude tests this time? Research shows 60-80% of candidates are rejected based on their aptitude test results. It is proven that practice increases your chances of getting hired.
A recent study (Bradley et al, 2019) found that candidates who do not practice assessments, tend to fail at the first hurdle of psychometric assessments (54%-84%). This study looked at the Top 100 global employers.
The NHS application process may require you to attempt various assessments depending on the job role. These include:
Did you know: NHS online assessments can sift out up to 50-80% of candidates at this stage? The only proven way to get to the next round is to practice.
Prepare for your NHS video interview questions by practicing with mock interviews and answering typical interview questions related to your role. To practice for your NHS interview, use the following:
Use the STAR+R method to practice answering for your upcoming NHS interview. Practice each answer several times until satisfied to ace your interviewing skills.
4. Ace the NHS Assessment Centre Exercises
The NHS assessment centre may require you to attempt the following exercises to assess your on-the-job competency:
Continue reading to find answers to the following critical questions:
Start practicing for NHS assessments today with our expert-crafted assessments. All you need is just a click on any of the tests below!
Practice Numerical Reasoning Tests
Practice Verbal Reasoning Tests
Practice Logical Reasoning Tests
Practice Situational Judgement Tests
Practice Video Interviews
Prepare for your Assessment Centre
Or Go Premium and get all our relevant assessments for your NHS hiring process listed above to ace your NHS online tests and interviews with GF first time.
Now, let’s dive in by first discussing the important information about the NHS that you must know before applying.
The National Health Service (NHS) is a publicly-funded healthcare system in the United Kingdom (UK). Founded on 5th July 1948 by then Minister of Health Aneurin Bevan, the NHS is primarily government-funded and comes under the Department of Health and Social Care.
The NHS has over 1.3 million employees spread across 4 of the nations: England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. The NHS also conducts research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
So, which job positions does the NHS hire for? Keep reading to find out more!
The NHS hires for the following job roles including:
To apply for any of the above job areas at NHS, you must know NHS’s core values to get through its recruitment process. But what are these?
The NHS core values consist of the following 6 areas:
Working Together for Patients
Adopt a patient-centred aAdopt a patient-centred approach and prioritise their needs and collaborate well with staff, families, and communities.pproach and prioritise their needs and collaborate well with staff, families, and communities.
Respect and Dignity
Respect everyone and honour their needs, priorities, and commitments while being honest about what they can achieve.
Commitment to Quality of Care
Strive to provide excellent service and quality patient experience.
Compassion
Offer a compassionate environment and address the individuals’ pain, distress, and anxiety.
Improving Lives
Aim to contribute with service and innovations to enhance people’s wellbeing
Everyone Counts
Respect for diversity and strive for inclusivity. Aim to benefit the community.
Now that you know key information about the NHS and its major job areas, let’s dive deeper into what the NHS application process looks like, starting with the NHS online application.
The NHS application is the first step of the NHS hiring process that you go through on the NHS careers website. While the application process may vary depending on the NHS you are applying for, most will require you to provide the following details:
Let’s discover below what your NHS online application form may look like.
NHS Online Application Form
Source: NHS Careers
Keep reading to discover our top 8 tips to help prepare an effective application to help ace your NHS application process.
Want more effective research tips to help pass your NHS application process effectively? Check out this short video below:
Once you are shortlisted from the NHS online application stage, you will attempt the NHS online assessment tests. Let’s find out more about these tests i the following section.
The NHS aptitude tests are usually the second stage of the NHS recruitment process. Provided by renowned providers like Pearson VUE, you may attempt these tests depending on the programme, job role and location you are applying for.
Depending on your job role, you may attempt one or more of the following types of NHS assessments as part of your application process:
Let’s check out each of these tests, starting with the NHS Numeracy and Literacy test.
The NHS Numeracy and Literacy test is part of the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme (GMTS). It is a 2-section NHS assessment with both fill-in-the-blank and essay-type questions.
The NHS Numeracy and Literacy test includes the following test sections:
Let’s discuss each of these NHS Numeracy and Literacy test sections, starting from the NHS Numeracy test.
The NHS Numeracy test assesses your basic mathematical ability through basic pharmaceutical calculations. Here, you have to answer 10 questions within 10 minutes. The questions may range from involving drug calculations to hypothetical drug administration scenarios.
The NHS Numeracy test measures your ability to perform basic arithmetic operations like addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication. Some questions in this NHS Basic Maths test may also involve you interpreting data using tables.
Good to Know: For some technical roles like data analyst in London, UK, you may alternatively attempt the NHS numerical reasoning assessment. While this NHS test also assesses your numeracy skills, its prime aim is to evaluate your ability to work with numerical data including graphs.
Want to know how to practice effectively for this part of the NHS online assessment test? Here are our top 5 tips to ace your NHS Numeracy test section.
Looking to practise for your upcoming NHS Numeracy test?
Practice with over 10,000+ unique preparation questions to boost your numeracy skills with our GF Accelerated Learning Tool to uncover your key strengths across all mathematical areas to boost your NHS Numeracy test practice.
After discussing the Numeracy test, let’s discuss another part of the NHS Numeracy and Literacy test section: the NHS Literacy test.
The NHS Literacy test assesses your basic written language ability through scenario-based questions. Here, you have to answer one essay-type question within 250 words. This NHS English test question may present scenarios like administering a drug to a patient.
The NHS Literacy test measures the following skills:
Good to Know: Depending on the location, your recruiter may assess you with another test called the NHS Occupational English Test to assess skills similar to its literacy test. In either case, a good grip on your verbal reasoning skills can help boost your written language skills for these NHS assessment tests.
Now, let’s cover how you can ace this NHS Literacy test section with our top 5 tips:
Bonus NHS Literacy Test Practice Tip: Practice with sample passages such as patient instructions, policy documents, or reports to help boost your vocabulary relevant to the healthcare context. It will give you an edge in your NHS Literacy test assessment.
After the numeracy and literacy test, let’s discuss our next NHS online assessment test: the NHS logical reasoning test.
The NHS logical reasoning test is part of the NHS hiring process though this may vary throughout the UK.This multiple-choice test aims to assess your logical reasoning skills necessary to perform effectively in the job role.
The NHS logical reasoning test measures your ability to identify patterns and decode relationships between abstract shapes or any patterns in a sequence.
Practice to boost your logical reasoning skills with our FREE logical reasoning questions with GF with our NHS-style logical reasoning question below.
NHS-style Logical Reasoning Test Example
Think you got it cracked? Don’t forget to head to the bottom of the page for the answer!
Now, let’s cover our top 5 tips to boost your NHS logical reasoning test practice for this NHS online assessment test.
Want more such practice questions to level up your logical reasoning skills for your next NHS test?
After the logical reasoning test, let’s move our discussion to our next NHS online test: the NHS situational judgement test.
The NHS situational judgement test aims to assess your ability to work through different workplace-relevant scenarios. Offered by Pearson VUE, this NHS test is part of the NHS Scientist Training Programme (STP) and NHS Foundation Trainee Pharmacist hiring process.
The NHS situational judgement test requires you to answer 25-52 hypothetical healthcare-oriented scenarios within 50-104 minutes, depending on the role you are applying for. You will either rank order or choose the most appropriate actions for each scenario.
Let’s take a break from reading to better understand how NHS assess your competencies with a short video:
Wondering how to pass this NHS assessment? Here are our top 5 tips to help you ace this NHS situational judgement test.
Looking forward to effective practicing to sharpen your skills for this NHS assessment test?
After discussing situational judgement tests, our next NHS assessment that we will cover is the NHS work-based scenarios assessment.
The NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme online assessment is usually a 1 hour 45 minutes-long interactive assessment that you may take as part of your NHS hiring process.
Good to Know: Before you begin the NHS work-based scenario assessment, you will be provided with a practice question to help warm up for the actual NHS assessment.
The NHS GMTS online assessment involves a 2-stage approach:
Let’s discuss the second stage of this NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme online assessment in a bit of detail i.e. the NHS GMTS Alignment assessment.
The NHS GMTS Alignment assessment is part of the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme online assessment. Similar to a typical video interview format, it requires you to video-respond to 4 video questions with 2 minutes of preparation time for each.
Discover more about what the NHS GMTS Alignment assessment may entail with our short video below!
The NHS GMTS Alignment assessment questions as part of its work-based scenario assessment may test you on NHS’s values and motivation for the job role alongside the following common questions:
Here are a few questions you can expect as part of your NHS GMTS Alignment assessment:
Want to level up your video interviewing skills for your upcoming NHS GMTS Alignment assessment?
So, how to ace this NHS online assessment test first time? Here are our top 5 tips to help ace this NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme online assessment.
Once you’ve aced the work-based scenarios, you will receive a feedback report and will be invited to the final stage of the NHS application process: the NHS virtual assessment centre.
The NHS GMTS virtual assessment centre aims to evaluate you on different assessment centre exercises and interview sessions. The assessment centre exercises as part of your NHS graduate scheme assessment centre may include individual and group exercises, including interviews.
During your NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme assessment centre, you can expect the following exercises:
Good to Know: Depending on the location you are applying for NHS, the types of virtual assessment centre exercises that you may attempt may vary.
Take a break from reading to let’s discover with a quick video why the NHS uses virtual assessment centres in their hiring:
This NHS graduate scheme assessment centre aims to evaluate you on its core values besides the following skills:
Let’s discuss each of these NHS virtual assessment centre exercises one by one starting from the NHS group assessment.
The NHS group assessment exercise aims to evaluate your interpersonal skills and ability to work in a team. Here, your recruiters will observe how you will collaborate with other 4-6 candidates to best solve the given task.
The NHS group assessment exercise majorly aims to assess your ability to:
Want to take your NHS group assessment preparation to the next level? Don’t miss our top 5 group assessment tips.
After the group assessment, let’s move our discussion to another NHS virtual assessment centre exercise: the NHS job simulation exercise.
Depending on the job role, your recruiter may require you to attempt a variety of NHS job tests as part of your NHS assessment centre. These NHS job tests help recruiters screen you for the technical and soft skills necessary for the job role.
The NHS job tests can include a variety of assessment centre activities which you find in your upcoming NHS assessment centre:
Let’s discuss the last two of the NHS assessment centre exercises in the list above, in detail, starting with the NHS role-play exercise.
The NHS role-play exercise aims to assess your ability to play the job role you are applying for. You can expect this exercise as part of your hiring for the NHS graduate scheme and apprenticeship.
Good to Know: For clinical roles, this NHS assessment centre exercise assesses you with a practical role simulation using a mannequin or verbal clinical simulation. Here, you will simulate the role and explain the steps that underlie the clinical procedure.
The NHS role play exercise requires you to demonstrate a short 10-minute role play in the given job role. The recruiter will evaluate your persuasion skills, communication skills and understanding of the role’s responsibilities through a Q&A round.
Looking forward to passing this NHS assessment centre exercise? Here are our top 5 tips to help you prepare for the NHS role-play exercise.
Check out even more body language tips you can use to ace your NHS assessment centre in our short video below:
After discussing the role-play exercise, let’s discuss our next NHS assessment centre exercise: the NHS in-tray and job simulation exercise.
The NHS in-tray exercises are usually part of the NHS graduate scheme recruitment process. This paper-based simulation of a real work scenario helps recruiters assess your potential to handle the role’s responsibilities, including your work style.
Depending on the job role, your recruiter may aim to assess you for skills, like organisational and prioritisation skills necessary for the job role. Following exercises as part of your NHS in-tray exercise round:
Looking forward to tips to best prepare for this NHS assessment centre exercise? Here are our top 5 tips to help ace your next NHS in-tray exercise round.
Practice with our Assessment Centre package to develop your organisational and prioritisation skills for your upcoming NHS assessment centre in-tray exercise.
Having discussed job simulation exercises, let’s shift our discussion to our next NHS virtual assessment centre exercise: the NHS case study.
The NHS case study exercise is part of the NHS recruitment process for roles like the clinical psychologist. Here you will be given a case study to solve and prepare a report with your suggestions, followed by a Q&A round.
In the NHS case study exercise, depending on the job role, the 3-member panel may assess your clinical skills and effective problem-solving skills. You will be given 15 minutes to read the case and then prepare the plan of action.
Keep reading to discover our top 5 tips to practice for your case study as part of your NHS assessment test.
After the case study, let’s discuss our next NHS assessment centre exercise: the NHS presentation.
The NHS presentation aims to assess your confidence and presentation skills. You can usually expect this exercise in the final interview round of your NHS graduate scheme and apprenticeship hiring process.
Good to Know: Depending on the location and job role, alternatively, you may undergo an NHS group presentation round as part of the NHS group interview round.
The NHS presentation measures your ability to demonstrate a professional presentation under time pressure, usually through a short 15-minute presentation.
Looking forward to best practice for your NHS assessment centre exercises?
After Let’s start with covering the final step of the NHS Superday: the NHS final interview.
What is the NHS interview process?
The NHS final interview evaluates you with 3-4 rounds of interviews that may include a group interview, panel interview and one-on-one interview each lasting 30-45 minutes.
How does the NHS interview process work?
Your NHS final interview can be either in-person or online and individually or with a group, depending on the location and job role. This NHS interview round usually combines with the NHS assessment centre exercises to facilitate comprehensive candidate evaluation.
What are the questions asked in the NHS interview?
Your NHS interview questions may range from competency-based, strength-based, motivational, value-based and technical. Here are some of the common types of questions to prepare beforehand, before sitting for your NHS final interview.
What questions should I ask in my final NHS interview?
At the end of your final NHS interview, aim to ask questions that show your confidence and enthusiasm for the job role. Here are a few questions you may ask in your NHS final interview:
Before moving on, let’s now discuss a few NHS-style interview questions and answers to help you boost your interview practice for your next NHS graduate scheme application process.
Tip to Answer: This question aims to assess your organisational and time-management skills, especially under time pressure. Answer using the STAR+R format in a way that demonstrates your learning experience.
Example Answer:
Situation
During my last clinical psychology internship, I had to shadow my supervisor and also prepare a report for an urgent case presentation by the end of the day.
Task
My task was to ensure I could attentively shadow the therapy session while also completing the report before the end of the day.
Action
I prioritised the therapy session first since the diagnosis was similar to the one to be covered for the case presentation. Later, I immediately headed down to prepare the report.
Result
My supervisor appreciated my ability to use my insights from the therapy session to the case presentation report. She was also impressed by my ability to handle both tasks effectively under time pressure.
Reflection
Looking back, my ability to prioritise, and incorporate creative problem-solving and efficient planning skills helped me tackle both tasks smoothly.
Tip to Answer: This question helps the recruiter assess your counselling skills like empathy and open-mindedness alongside emotional regulation. Use STAR+R to outline how you approach the situation and how this learning experience built your skills for the job role.
During my last internship at a clinic, my supervisor asked me to help a frustrated patient calm down ahead of the counselling session.
My goal was to empathise with and validate his struggle and ensure that he could be positive about the recovery ahead of his counselling session with my supervisor.
I maintained my composure and used my counselling skills to build rapport and allowed him to vent. I helped him build confidence in his recovery.
The patient calmed down and expressed gratitude for making him feel heard. My supervisor lauded my patient handling skills as she could see a significant change in his attitude and his trust in the therapeutic process improved.
Looking back, effective counselling skills, and maintaining calm under pressure with a patient-oriented approach helped me defuse the situation. This helped me as a medium to restore the patient’s trust in his recovery and healthcare.
Looking to discover more potential NHS interview questions like the above?
Ace your upcoming NHS final interview preparation with our video interview practice tool packed with example questions used by employers such as NHS to boost your interview technique with practice.
So, as we reached the end of the process, a big thumbs up to your patience and dedication.
If you have passed all the NHS recruitment stages, the NHS will contact you in a week or two with the offer letter. Congratulations!
Wait, before you go! Check out some more bonus information about the NHS early careers opportunities for students below:
NHS offers the following two major types of early career programs for all university students to upskill them and make them job-ready:
Let’s start our discussion with the first NHS early career programme: the NHS apprenticeships.
The NHS apprenticeships are 1-5 year long programmes, available from level 2 to level 7 across different locations in the UK. They help you develop skills necessary for a career in healthcare through a mix of classroom and on-the-job training.
The NHS apprenticeships are available in the UK for the following areas including:
While NHS apprenticeships are available year-long with application deadlines varying across roles and locations, not all apprenticeships are available everywhere. Some of the locations where NHS apprenticeships are commonly available are:
The NHS apprenticeship’s eligibility varies depending on the NHS employer, type and level of the apprenticeship you are applying for. For eg: Those candidates who meet the minimum criteria including the following can apply for the NHS apprenticeships:
The NHS apprenticeships application process includes the following stages, though this may vary depending on the location you are applying for the NHS:
After apprenticeships, let’s discuss our next NHS early career program i.e. the NHS graduate scheme.
The NHS graduate schemes are typically of 1-3 years, depending on the programme and job role. Here are two of the major NHS graduate schemes available in the UK:
Let’s discuss all these NHS graduate programmes, starting with the NHS Graduate Management Training Programme.
The NHS Graduate Management Training Programme is a 2-year long programme that commences in the summer or early fall each year. This NHS graduate scheme programme helps you develop skills for a career in health service management with hands-on experience.
The NHS graduate management training is available in the UK for the following areas including:
You can apply for the NHS Graduate Management Training Programme in the UK across the following 7 locations:
You require a 2:2 degree in any discipline to apply for the NHS Graduate Management Training Programme.
The NHS GMTS hiring process includes the following stages:
After the graduate management training programme, let’s discuss our next NHS graduate scheme: the NHS Scientific Training programme.
The NHS Scientific Training Programme is a 3-year-long programme that prepares science and engineering graduates for senior healthcare science roles. Here, you will get workplace-based training and obtain a master’s degree to apply for clinical scientist positions.
The NHS NHS Scientific Training Programme is available in the UK for the following specialisation/ areas including:
You can apply for the NHS Scientific Training Programme in the UK across:
The NHS Scientific Training Programme as its eligibility criteria requires you to have a 1st grade or 2.1 undergraduate honours degree or an integrated master’s degree in a pure or applied science subject relevant to the area for which they are applying.
The NHS Scientific Training Programme application process includes the following stages, though this may vary depending on the location of the NHS you are applying for:
After covering the NHS Scientific Training Programme and its hiring process, let’s discuss our next NHS graduate scheme: the NHS accelerated programme.
The NHS accelerated programmes are typically 2-year programmes available for certain clinical professions, like nursing and the allied health professions. They help you get prior experiential learning (APEL) from your university to complete your training in two years.
The NHS accelerated programmes are available in the UK for the following specialisations/ areas including:
You can apply for the NHS Scientific Training Programme in the UK across the following:
For applying to the NHS accelerated programmes, you need to satisfy the following eligibility criteria:
So, here we are at the end of the NHS early careers section. Want answers to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding the NHS graduate scheme hiring process?
Head down to our FAQ section below!
The NHS Health Leadership model includes the following 9 dimensions:
The NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme is highly competitive. The applications for the scheme far exceed the positions available. Their average acceptance rate is around 3%. However, a dedicated practice will help you ace the NHS recruitment process.
The NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme programme lasts generally for 2 years, but finance trainees in the GMTS program will require an additional six months, making the total duration 2.5 years, to accommodate the necessary studies for related qualifications.
Yes, you can use a calculator during your NHS Numeracy test. However, you can’t use your smartphones, tablets, smartwatches or equivalent technology to access the calculator application. So, keep a calculator ready with you in advance of this NHS assessment.
Whether going for an NHS interview or assessment centre, it’s always best to go with formal casual attire. It’s also recommended to look into the NHS employee dress code to demonstrate your ability to blend in with the organisational environment.
Do you want to pass your NHS Assessments, first time? Sign up for tools offered by GF, the only aptitude practice test experts that provide tests to over 150 UK universities and their students, and also across Asia and continental Europe. Go to GF now and select from the range of products we offer at no risk. We offer a comprehensive premium package with a full set of assessment tools for job candidates (numerical, logical, verbal reasoning, situational judgement tests, assessment centre exercises, and more). Buy with peace of mind without commitment to a full 100% money-back guarantee if you do not pass your job tests. Correct answer to the logical reasoning test example question: Logical Reasoning Test – C
Do you want to pass your NHS Assessments, first time? Sign up for tools offered by GF, the only aptitude practice test experts that provide tests to over 150 UK universities and their students, and also across Asia and continental Europe.
Go to GF now and select from the range of products we offer at no risk. We offer a comprehensive premium package with a full set of assessment tools for job candidates (numerical, logical, verbal reasoning, situational judgement tests, assessment centre exercises, and more).
Buy with peace of mind without commitment to a full 100% money-back guarantee if you do not pass your job tests.
Correct answer to the logical reasoning test example question:
Logical Reasoning Test – C
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