CASPer Exam CASPer: 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In a CASPer video scenario, a customer is verbally aggressive toward a store employee in front of you. What is your best course of action?
- Record the incident on your phone for evidence
- Calmly intervene and redirect the conversation to de-escalate (Correct answer)
- Leave the area to avoid becoming involved
- Shout at the customer to stop their behavior immediately
Correct answer: Calmly intervene and redirect the conversation to de-escalate
Calm de-escalation is the most effective and professional response in bystander conflict situations.
Question 2: You are asked to rank competing priorities in a healthcare setting: patient autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. When a competent patient refuses life-saving treatment, which principle takes precedence?
- Beneficence, because saving life is always paramount
- Patient autonomy, because competent patients have the right to refuse treatment (Correct answer)
- Non-maleficence, because inaction causes harm
- Justice, because resources should not be wasted
Correct answer: Patient autonomy, because competent patients have the right to refuse treatment
Competent adults have the legal and ethical right to refuse any medical treatment, even life-saving interventions.
Question 3: CASPer raters evaluate responses based on which primary framework?
- The MCAT scoring rubric for critical analysis
- A standardized behavioral scale assessing personal and professional characteristics (Correct answer)
- The USMLE ethics guidelines
- Institutional-specific values of each program
Correct answer: A standardized behavioral scale assessing personal and professional characteristics
CASPer uses trained raters who apply a standardized rubric focused on behaviors, judgment, and personal characteristics.
Question 4: You discover that a close friend plagiarized a significant portion of their admissions essay. They are applying to the same program as you. What do you do?
- Report them to the admissions office immediately
- Do nothing because it is not your responsibility
- Talk to the friend directly about the seriousness of the action and its consequences (Correct answer)
- Share the information only if you get into the program first
Correct answer: Talk to the friend directly about the seriousness of the action and its consequences
Addressing the friend directly is the most ethical first step and gives them a chance to correct their behavior before serious consequences occur.
Question 5: When responding to CASPer open-ended questions, which strategy is most effective?
- Provide a theoretically perfect moral answer without personal reflection
- Structure responses with a clear position, rationale, and acknowledgment of complexity (Correct answer)
- Keep answers as brief as possible to avoid scrutiny
- Focus on rules and regulations rather than personal values
Correct answer: Structure responses with a clear position, rationale, and acknowledgment of complexity
Raters value responses that show nuanced thinking, a clear stance, and awareness of competing considerations.
Question 6: A team member from a different cultural background consistently communicates in a style you find difficult to interpret. What is the best approach?
- Ask them to adapt entirely to your communication style
- Reflect on potential cultural differences and seek to understand their communication patterns (Correct answer)
- Avoid assigning them tasks that require close collaboration
- Report the communication difficulty to a supervisor
Correct answer: Reflect on potential cultural differences and seek to understand their communication patterns
Cultural humility and proactive understanding improve team function and demonstrate professional interpersonal skills.
Question 7: You are completing a CASPer section and realize the typing timer has 30 seconds left but your response is incomplete. What is the best approach?
- Type as fast as possible to cram in every thought
- Finish your most important point clearly and submit a coherent partial response (Correct answer)
- Leave the answer blank to avoid submitting incoherent text
- Copy a generic response template you memorized
Correct answer: Finish your most important point clearly and submit a coherent partial response
A focused, coherent partial answer demonstrates better judgment and communication skill than rushed or generic text.
CASPer Exam CASPer: 3
In a CASPer video scenario, a customer is verbally aggressive toward a store employee in front of you.
What is your best course of action?