Section 2 in Oblique: What Do They Want? (Part 1)

It’s fairly common knowledge that section 1 of the UMAT® Exam tests your IQ and section 3 your spatial reasoning. Section 2 seems to be a bit more controversial, as no one is really completely clear on what it is trying to asses and by way of consequence, how to prepare or improve. Here is my take on what the objectives of section 2 are and how a prospective UMAT® Exam candidate should tackle preparing for it.  

UMAT® Exam preparation is never easy but it seems to be more difficult when you don't know the end goal. For section 2, my suggested mantra is: "put myself in other people’s shoes". Indeed the consensus among medical staff is that section 2 of the UMAT® Exam is there to assess your personality and your EQ- or emotional quotient. Essentially, it boils down to finding out whether or not you are capable of understanding people’s motives and emotions and demonstrating empathy.

The good news is that it means you have an avenue of preparation. Obviously UMAT® Exam exam prep routine is no substitute for developing genuine empathy but here are a few tricks that can help boost your scores!

No extremes

One of the greatest pieces of advice I have ever received from doctors is "to stay away from extremes" and "if you hear hooves think horses and not zebras". Essentially, what this meant is that you should assume that the emotions felt are not extreme and always assume that the most simple and elegant explanation is likely the correct one. So with this is mind, the smart money is to avoid extreme answers as this is what an emotionally stable and rational person would most likely do. In the UMAT® Exam, this can be difficult as some of the questions are designed to provoke you and incite strong emotions- however learning to control this is part of the preparation.

Compassion

Always think about what Mother Teresa (or someone equally selfless and compassionate) would do. In most of the questions, it is as important to show compassion as it is to show that you are able to be emotionally unbiased. It might seem like contradicting requirements but this is where treading that fine line between excessive emotional investment and callousness becomes really important. A medical person must be compassionate and empathetic, yet remain sufficiently emotionally distanced to be able to provide help for their patients. You definitely don't want to appear cold, so avoid answers that seem harsh, derogatory or just unnecessary, but demonstrate understanding and compassion without letting yourself become too emotionally involved.  

One useful trick that can guide you in selecting your answers in Section 2 of the UMAT® Exam is to think of a medical person you greatly admire and wonder what qualities and personality traits make them good at their job. Try and emulate their personality and think how they would answer the questions in front of you!