Epic Systems (the Verona, Wisconsin healthcare giant) keeps a notoriously mixed OA in the 2026 cycle: situational judgment + math / logic + coding, scored independently. This guide is built from oavoservice student debriefs and walks each segment along with where points are typically lost.
1. Epic OA structure
For SDE / SWE candidates, the most common layout is three stages:
| Stage | Items / Time | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Situational Judgment Test (SJT) | 30 / 30 min | scenario judgment |
| Math / Logic | 25 / 35 min | reasoning + arithmetic |
| Coding | 2 / 60–90 min | LC Easy–Med |
Each stage scores independently — a miss on any stage drops you straight into the reject pool. Coding isn't a bonus; it's an elimination gate.
2. SJT: long prompts, look for "Epic values"
SJT trips up most candidates. A 200–400 word workplace scenario is followed by several response options that you rank (best / worst).
Values Epic actually optimizes for
| Value | How it shows up in SJT |
|---|---|
| Customer first | The customer hospital's need outranks internal scheduling |
| Team transparency | Tell your teammates first, then go fix it |
| Ownership | No blame-shifting, you see it through |
| Direct communication | No hedging — say what's broken |
Recall (paraphrased)
You're shipping an urgent customer hospital bug fix. Coworker A asks for a PR review on a different project. Conflict. Rank these: a) Tell A to wait until your fix ships, then review b) Drop the fix immediately and review for A c) Suggest A find another reviewer d) Do both at once, with quality slipping
Epic's expectation: a is best (direct, customer-first); d is worst (quality is non-negotiable). "Drop everything to help" is rarely the answer Epic wants.
3. Math / logic: ~84 seconds per question
Math isn't about hard problems — it's speed × accuracy. Common patterns:
| Theme | Frequency | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Ratios / percentages | very high | fraction + estimation |
| Probability | high | identify mutual exclusivity vs. independence |
| Sequences / pattern | high | second differences |
| Unit conversion | mid | dimensional analysis first |
| Light combinatorics | mid | multiplication principle |
Recall: pharmacy stock
A warehouse consumes X% of stock per day, then immediately replenishes Y units. Stock 7 days ago: 1000. Today: 800. Daily replenishment: 50. Find the consumption rate (1 decimal).
Set up inv_{t+1} = inv_t * (1 - x) + 50. Solve over the 7-day boundary: x ≈ 6.4%. Trap: replenishment order — pre- vs post-consumption — flips the answer.
4. Coding: 2 problems, LC Easy–Med
The platform is Epic's in-house editor (not HackerRank). Spartan UI, full functionality. Notes:
- External paste blocked, in-editor copy is allowed
- Java / C# / Python / C++ / JavaScript supported
- No automatic sample tests — you write your own
Recall: pharmacist shift conflicts
Given
shifts[i] = (pharmacist, start, end), return all conflict pairs where the same pharmacist's shifts overlap.
from collections import defaultdict
def conflicts(shifts):
by_p = defaultdict(list)
for i, (p, s, e) in enumerate(shifts):
by_p[p].append((s, e, i))
out = []
for p, lst in by_p.items():
lst.sort()
for i in range(1, len(lst)):
if lst[i][0] < lst[i-1][1]:
out.append((lst[i-1][2], lst[i][2]))
return out
Complexity: O(n log n). Trap: whether start == end counts as overlap depends on the spec — clarifying with the interviewer is encouraged at Epic.
Recall: duplicate-case detection
Given case tag lists
cases[i] = [tags...], return all pairs whose tag sets are identical. Aim for O(N + total) average.
from collections import defaultdict
def dup_cases(cases):
sig = defaultdict(list)
for i, tags in enumerate(cases):
key = frozenset(tags)
sig[key].append(i)
pairs = []
for ids in sig.values():
if len(ids) >= 2:
for a in range(len(ids)):
for b in range(a + 1, len(ids)):
pairs.append((ids[a], ids[b]))
return pairs
Follow-up: 1M tag types and 10M cases? Replace frozenset with a sorted-array hash to avoid collision; in distributed settings, use MinHash for approximation.
5. Threshold and pass rates
Across 22 samples:
all stages pass ████ 18%
SJT stuck ████████ 35%
math stuck ██████ 27%
coding stuck ████ 18%
other █ 2%
Roughly 18% pass overall. SJT and math are the two most common cuts. Coding actually has a higher pass rate — the questions aren't hard, but they reward care.
6. 4-week prep cadence
| Week | Focus |
|---|---|
| W1 | Epic values alignment + 30 SJT recall items |
| W2 | Mental math drill + probability / sequence templates |
| W3 | LC Easy–Med timed mocks × 5 |
| W4 | Full back-to-back simulation + loss diagnostics |
7. Scoring dimensions (from student debriefs)
| Dimension | Weight | Trigger keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Customer lens | 30% | "patient", "hospital workflow" |
| Communication transparency | 25% | "I would tell", "share early" |
| Code readability | 20% | naming + comments + function split |
| Complexity awareness | 15% | proactive Big-O |
| Edge cases | 10% | proactive enumeration |
oavoservice covers Epic OA with SJT value bank, math speed pack, coding timed mocks, and 1:1 review.
FAQ
How long after the OA invite?
Usually a 7-day window, single attempt, no save-and-resume. Block off your best 3 hours.
Retake?
12-month cooldown. Switching role family / BU can reset. The SJT bank is huge anyway, memorization rarely helps.
Does Epic care about school name?
Epic hires plenty of non-elite candidates. OA performance + culture fit > school rank, but you need to be willing to relocate to Wisconsin (hybrid).
Calculators on the math section?
Not allowed. Mental math and quick estimation are core skills.
Preparing for 2026 Epic OA?
oavoservice has tracked Epic OA for over three years, covering SJT, math, and coding. Services include pattern prediction, timed mocks, SJT value alignment, and score diagnostics.
👉 Add WeChat: Coding0201, grab the latest Epic OA pack and prep plan.
Contact
Email: [email protected]
Telegram: @OAVOProxy