Public Health National Recruitment (PHNRO)
Faculty of Public Health recruitment information website
Pearson VUE demo test
What to expect in a Pearson VUE test centre
Public Health National Recruitment
Applicants to Public Health Specialty Training:
You have now been invited to attend the Public Health assessment test which forms the next stage of the recruitment process. Applicants will be tested on critical thinking, numerical reasoning and situational judgement in Public Health (examples of these tests can be found at the bottom of this page).
For all UK and European centres, the assessment centre will take place on Wednesday 12th January 2022 (alternative dates will not be provided).
For other international sites the following test dates and times will apply:
Boston USA – Tuesday 11th January 2022
Johannesburg ZFA – Tuesday 11th January 2022
Auckland NZ – Tuesday 11th January 2022
Sydney AUS – Tuesday 11th January 2022
Melbourne AUS – Tuesday 11th January 2022
The outcome of the assessment will be made known to all applicants by no later than 11th February 2022. Those passing a minimum threshold in all three areas will be ranked, and those scoring most highly will be invited to attend a selection centre/interview which this year will be held virtually.
Further information regarding Public Health recruitment can be found on the Faculty of Public Health website.
Reasonable adjustments: If you have a reasonable adjustment that has been pre-agreed with the Public Health National Recruitment Office (PHNRO), Pearson VUE will book the test centre slot for you. A confirmation email of the booking will be sent once this has been done.
Overseas booking: Pre-approved candidates for overseas location, Pearson VUE will book the test centre slot for you. A confirmation email of the booking will be sent once this has been done.
Sample exam timing with 25% extra time reasonable adjustment:
Watson Glaser
RANRA
Scheduled Break
Total Appointment time (minutes)
Normal time 5 30 40 5 100 10 190
25% Additional time 5 37:44 49:53 5 125:22 10 232.5
Candidates who wish to book a UK test centre and who do not require a reasonable adjustment should use the links on this page to locate their nearest centre and book a place. Applicants should log on to the site using the username and password sent directly by Pearson VUE (do not use the application form log on details). The Public Health assessment test is "PHNRO Exam". Further guidance about scheduling an assessment is given below.
Applicants will be able to book an appointment from Tuesday 4th January 2022. Applicants will not be allowed to book before this date. The last date for scheduling your appointment is Tuesday 11th January 2022 for UK and European appointments and Monday 10th January 2022 for other countries. Spaces are allocated on a first-come first-served basis, so you are advised to book as early as possible. If you wish to cancel the exam appointment, this has to be cancelled 24 hours before the appointment date/time.
The PHNRO would like to wish you every success in the assessment.
Please follow these steps to ensure you have booked a test:
After signing into your Pearson VUE account choose the PHNRO Exam, select a centre and date and click "Proceed to Checkout".
Please ensure your personal information is correct and click "Next" when ready to proceed.
Read and agree to the Testing Policies by ticking the box at the bottom of the page, then click "Next". The screen will not let you go to the next page until the testing policies have been agreed to.
Confirm Order Details – please check this is all correct and press "Submit Order" at the bottom of the page. You will be prompted to do this with a bold statement highlighted in red at the top of the summary.
After submitting, the next page will confirm that the booking has been completed, and you should receive a confirmation email in the next 24 hours to your registered email address. Please check this has been received and carefully read the instructions in preparation for your test.
If you have not received an email to confirm your booking please contact Pearson VUE at phnrocustomerservice@pearson.com or phone: 0161 855 7511 between 9 am – 5 pm, Monday to Friday UK time; except local holidays.
Please be cautious when using mobiles or tablets to make your booking. Not all of the page will be visible at a single glance. If you do not complete all of the steps above your booking will not be complete.
If you book a place, but decide not to attend, you must cancel your booking 24 hours before your test appointment. Applicants should be aware that a charge will be incurred if they fail to attend a booked assessment or cancel the test 24 hours before the test appointment. Please note that if you have a reasonable adjustment that has been pre-agreed with the PHNRO you will need to contact the call centre in order to reschedule or cancel your booking. Call centres are open between 9 am and 5 pm, Monday to Friday UK time; except local holidays. The assessment will begin with a short tutorial to familiarise you with the controls and layout of the screens and will end with a short evaluation questionnaire.
Should you require more information about a particular location or booking/cancelling a test centre slot, please email phnrocustomerservice@pearson.com.
If your enquiry is about the Public Health recruitment process, please email publichealthrecruitment.em@hee.nhs.uk.
Sample Test Introductions
This stage involves 3 assessments, plus a 5-minute tutorial, a 5-minute scheduled break and a 10-minute evaluation form (survey) which you will be asked to complete to help us monitor and evaluate the tests.
The types of assessments we use are psychometric tests. These are a way of assessing a person's ability in a measured and structured way. Psychometric tests are used as part of the selection process, as research indicates that recruitment processes which incorporate psychometric assessment are significantly more effective in identifying high performing applicants than interviewing alone. We use these tests as they accurately assess areas of the Public Health Person Specification which cannot easily be assessed in other ways.
You will complete the following assessment tests:
Watson – Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal lasting 30 minutes (40 questions)
RANRA – Rust Advanced Numerical Reasoning Appraisal lasting 40 minutes (32 questions)
A Public Health-specific Situational Judgement Test lasting 100 minutes (53 questions)
Please be aware that the tests you will complete as part of the selection process are designed to be challenging. You are not necessarily expected to get all the answers correct or to complete the tests. The style of the tests is such that you may find it difficult to be confident about how you have performed. This is a perfectly normal reaction.
An example of the Rust Advanced Numerical Reasoning Appraisal and Watson – Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal - UK Edition can be downloaded below. There is also an introduction to the Public Health Situational Judgement Test.
Example Questions
Example Test: Rust Advanced Numerical Reasoning Appraisal PDF 96 KB
Example Test: Watson – Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal - UK Edition PDF 152 KB
Introduction to the Public Health Situational Test PDF 267 KB