CASPer Exam CASPer: Situational Judgment 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: You are a medical student on rotation and you overhear a senior resident making a dismissive comment about a patient's weight to a colleague. The patient is nearby and may have heard. What is your best course of action?
- Confront the resident loudly in front of others to make clear the behavior is unacceptable
- Ignore the comment since you are just a student and it is not your place to intervene
- Privately speak with the resident afterward and also check on the patient to ensure they are okay (Correct answer)
- Report the resident to hospital administration immediately without speaking to them first
Correct answer: Privately speak with the resident afterward and also check on the patient to ensure they are okay
Addressing the resident privately preserves professionalism while also attending to the patient's emotional wellbeing.
Question 2: A close friend confides that they have been submitting work assignments using AI-generated content in violation of their program's academic integrity policy. They ask you not to tell anyone. How do you respond?
- Agree to keep the secret because loyalty to friends comes first
- Report your friend to the program director immediately without discussing it further
- Express your concern honestly, explain the risks they face, and encourage them to self-report (Correct answer)
- Help your friend disguise the AI content so it won't be detected in the future
Correct answer: Express your concern honestly, explain the risks they face, and encourage them to self-report
Honest dialogue that encourages self-reporting respects both the friendship and the ethical obligation to uphold integrity standards.
Question 3: During a group project, one team member consistently misses deadlines, causing others to redo their portions. The group must submit tomorrow. What should you do?
- Submit the project without that member's name since they did not contribute
- Have a direct but respectful conversation with the member to understand barriers and redistribute tasks if needed (Correct answer)
- Do all of their work yourself and say nothing to avoid conflict
- Email the professor now to complain about the team member's performance
Correct answer: Have a direct but respectful conversation with the member to understand barriers and redistribute tasks if needed
Direct communication may uncover obstacles and allows fair redistribution of work before the deadline.
Question 4: You are volunteering at a community clinic and notice that a staff member is consistently rude to patients who speak limited English. What is the most appropriate response?
- Say nothing because you are only a volunteer and have no authority
- Confront the staff member in front of patients to show solidarity
- Speak privately with the staff member about your observations and, if it continues, raise the issue with your supervisor (Correct answer)
- Start documenting incidents secretly and report them all at once after your volunteer term ends
Correct answer: Speak privately with the staff member about your observations and, if it continues, raise the issue with your supervisor
A private, respectful conversation gives the staff member a chance to change, and escalating if needed ensures patient protection.
Question 5: You discover that a classmate has been sharing another student's personal health information with the rest of the cohort after learning it in confidence. What do you do?
- Join the conversation since the information is already out
- Tell the affected student immediately so they are aware of the breach
- Warn the classmate privately that sharing private health information is a serious breach of trust and confidentiality (Correct answer)
- Post anonymously on a class forum to call out confidentiality violations in general
Correct answer: Warn the classmate privately that sharing private health information is a serious breach of trust and confidentiality
Addressing the person responsible directly stops further harm and reinforces the norm of confidentiality without escalating unnecessarily.
Question 6: You are assigned to work with a patient whose beliefs conflict strongly with a medical treatment you believe is in their best interest. The patient has decision-making capacity. How do you proceed?
- Override the patient's wishes because you know what is medically best
- Withdraw from the case entirely to avoid the ethical conflict
- Respect the patient's autonomy, ensure they have full information, document the discussion, and explore culturally sensitive alternatives if available (Correct answer)
- Consult the patient's family to persuade the patient to accept treatment
Correct answer: Respect the patient's autonomy, ensure they have full information, document the discussion, and explore culturally sensitive alternatives if available
A competent patient's right to self-determination must be respected while ensuring they are fully informed of consequences.
Question 7: You are in an interview and the panel asks you to describe a time you failed. You cannot think of a meaningful failure. What is your best approach?
- Claim you have never experienced a significant failure to appear competent
- Describe a minor setback, reflect genuinely on what you learned, and explain how it changed your approach (Correct answer)
- Make up a dramatic failure story that sounds impressive
- Redirect the question and instead discuss a major success
Correct answer: Describe a minor setback, reflect genuinely on what you learned, and explain how it changed your approach
Honest reflection on a genuine, even modest, setback demonstrates self-awareness and a growth mindset valued by evaluators.
CASPer Exam CASPer: Situational Judgment 2
You are a medical student on rotation and you overhear a senior resident making a dismissive comment about a patient's weight to a colleague.
The patient is nearby and may have heard.
What is your best course of action?