What the PD paper is testing
The official paper asks you to respond as an F2 doctor. It assesses professional judgement rather than specialist policy knowledge: integrity, coping with pressure, empathy and sensitivity are central themes.
Start with four questions
- Is anyone at immediate risk?Patient safety, serious misconduct and an impaired colleague may require prompt protective action.
- Can I address this directly?A calm, private conversation is often better than escalating a manageable issue without first clarifying it.
- Do I have enough information?Do not accuse, promise or act on assumptions when a proportionate fact-finding step is available.
- What follow-through is needed?The strongest response often combines immediate action with appropriate support, escalation or documentation.
Ranking questions
Judge each action independently for appropriateness. The options are not a timeline, so do not rank something highly simply because it might happen first. Separate them by likely benefit, risk, proportionality and whether they address the central concern.
Protects safety, addresses the issue directly and stays within your competence.
Helpful but incomplete, indirect or less well targeted.
Avoids responsibility, delays action or passes the problem elsewhere unnecessarily.
Creates risk, breaches trust, acts dishonestly or ignores a serious concern.
Best Three questions
The three selected actions should work together. Look for a balanced set rather than three versions of the same response. A strong combination often covers the immediate issue, appropriate communication and sensible follow-up.
- Do not select an option only because it is kind; it must also be effective.
- Do not escalate every difficulty to the most senior person available.
- Do not manage serious risk alone merely to appear independent.
- Prefer actions you can genuinely take in the role described.
Escalation without over-escalation
Escalation is strongest when there is significant risk, repeated behaviour, a power imbalance, impaired performance or a problem beyond your competence. It is weaker when it replaces a safe direct conversation or sends a minor issue immediately to a distant authority.
If senior input changes safety, authority or support, escalation is probably useful. If it merely avoids an uncomfortable but appropriate conversation, it may not be the best first response.
Common traps
Supporting a colleague does not mean overlooking risk or poor conduct.
Formal action may be disproportionate when facts can be checked safely.
Helping is good; working outside your competence or role is not.
Reflection and future learning rarely replace action needed now.
How to improve between mocks
Do not memorise a rigid ranking formula. Instead, write down why the keyed response was more proportionate. Over time, build a small set of principles you can apply across unfamiliar scenarios: protect safety, communicate directly, seek appropriate help, respect confidentiality and follow through.