UCAT Critical Thinking and Problem Solving 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A new hospital policy reduces patient waiting times by 20% but increases administrative costs by 15%. Which conclusion is best supported?
- The policy is definitely cost-effective
- The policy improves patient flow but has a financial trade-off (Correct answer)
- The policy should be abandoned immediately
- The policy has no downsides
Correct answer: The policy improves patient flow but has a financial trade-off
The evidence shows both a clinical benefit (reduced wait times) and a financial cost (higher admin costs), supporting a nuanced conclusion.
Question 2: A study concludes that doctors who drink coffee make fewer errors. Which of the following is the strongest alternative explanation?
- Coffee improves cognitive function
- Doctors who drink coffee are more alert due to better sleep, not the coffee itself (Correct answer)
- The study is definitely correct
- Coffee should be provided to all doctors
Correct answer: Doctors who drink coffee are more alert due to better sleep, not the coffee itself
A confounding variable — such as better sleep rather than coffee itself — could explain the association, making it a strong alternative explanation.
Question 3: Which of the following best describes an assumption underlying the argument: 'We should increase GP numbers because long appointment wait times cause poor health outcomes'?
- Long wait times cause poor outcomes
- More GPs will reduce wait times (Correct answer)
- Poor health outcomes are inevitable
- GP training takes too long
Correct answer: More GPs will reduce wait times
The argument assumes that increasing GP numbers will actually reduce wait times — this is an unstated premise on which the conclusion depends.
Question 4: A hospital administrator argues: 'Patient satisfaction scores are high, so our care quality must be excellent.' Which flaw weakens this argument most?
- Patient satisfaction scores are hard to measure
- Satisfaction and clinical quality are not the same thing (Correct answer)
- High satisfaction scores are always reliable
- The administrator has no evidence
Correct answer: Satisfaction and clinical quality are not the same thing
Patient satisfaction measures perceptions and experience, which may not correlate with objective clinical quality, making this a flawed equivalence.
Question 5: A junior doctor must choose between two patients for the one remaining ICU bed. Patient A has a better prognosis; Patient B has been waiting longer. Which ethical framework primarily supports prioritising Patient A?
- Deontology
- Utilitarianism (Correct answer)
- Virtue ethics
- Rights-based ethics
Correct answer: Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism focuses on maximising overall welfare or benefit, which is best served by prioritising the patient with the better prognosis.
Question 6: In an argument, which of the following is an example of a logical fallacy known as 'post hoc ergo propter hoc'?
- A new drug lowers blood pressure; therefore it should be approved
- Infection rates fell after introducing hand hygiene training; therefore training caused the fall (Correct answer)
- All doctors should practice evidence-based medicine
- Patient A recovered after surgery
Correct answer: Infection rates fell after introducing hand hygiene training; therefore training caused the fall
'Post hoc ergo propter hoc' is the fallacy of assuming that because B followed A, A caused B — correlation in time is mistaken for causation.
UCAT Critical Thinking and Problem Solving 1
A new hospital policy reduces patient waiting times by 20% but increases administrative costs by 15%.
Which conclusion is best supported?