Improving Your CASPer Test Scores: A Guide for RACGP AGPT Applicants

Applications for the AGPT Program are significant and involve an examination of many criteria, from experience to eligibility to the general application process itself. The Casper test, part of the RACGP’s AGPT selection criteria, is designed to evaluate your ability to make appropriate decisions and judgments in emotionally difficult or complex situations and/or interactions. The Casper test is NOT designed to evaluate your clinical knowledge, and there is certainly NO such thing as a “correct” or “perfect” response to the situations and questions on the Casper test. The Casper test IS designed to measure the soundness of your judgment when a situation is emotionally challenging, ambiguous, and even incomplete.

Acuity Insights offers Casper, which is an online situational judgement test, for applicants who want to join AGPT. This test examines areas like communication, empathy, collaboration, ethics, fairness, self-awareness, resilience, problem-solving, and motivation in relation to the role of a general practitioner. Rather than assessing abstract qualities, Casper evaluates skills that a GP uses daily when they come across an upset patient, raise an issue with a colleague, work through conflict in their team, or determine the boundaries of their knowledge.racgp

It is true that Casper is somewhat unique in that it tests more personal characteristics as opposed to traditional cognitive measures of academic intelligence, however, it is still very similar to many tests that are taken today in that it is testable and preparable. Though memorization isn’t particularly helpful, one can construct an approach and develop the skills to be able to reason and answer appropriately in a fast-paced environment.

Understand What Casper Is Testing

Casper provides short scenarios in written and video formats and requires participants to provide a short answer. The Acuity Insights description states that there are currently 11 such scenarios: 4 video responses and 7 typed responses. The scenarios relate to different areas of personal, workplace, community, and university situations and don’t involve clinical scenarios.acuityinsights

The mistake of being too clinical is a common pitfall. A simple and often ineffective response is to refer the person to a senior doctor. Understanding the underlying issue and being able to choose an appropriate response while maintaining respectful communication is a much better and more highly assessed trait by Casper.

Think of the test as asking:

• Can this person pause before judging?
• Can they see more than one perspective?
• Do they recognise safety, fairness and confidentiality concerns?
• Can they communicate clearly without becoming harsh or passive?
• Do they know when an issue should be escalated?
• Can they reflect honestly on their own role in a problem?

GP registrars of the future must exhibit these traits. GPs need the capacity to balance conflicting pressures and the time to create strong relationships with their patients to properly treat and diagnose them in a field that lacks clear boundaries and order.

As GPs build relationships, they must also balance their responsibilities. An important part of building these relationships and practicing medicine as a GP is understanding people and having a sense of judgment of others. Good registrars of the future must recognize that good clinical judgment is closely tied to good interpersonal judgment.

Know the Format Before Test Day

Acuity Insights estimates Casper at approximately 65 to 85 minutes total, including any breaks you decide to take. There are video-response and typed sections of the exam. For the video responses, there are two questions per scenario with a one-minute recorded answer for each. The typed section displays two questions with a 3.5-minute window for the response.

Time pressure makes the task different. You should be prepared to quickly structure and generate an answer while also considering the order in which you should complete the rest of the work. You need to avoid the tendency to overthink and refine your initial response at the expense of later ones.

Early Acuity Insights account creation is recommended by the RACGP. Doing so provides applicants with access to all practice assessment materials, as well as the ability to perform technical checks and file any special consideration requests as necessary.racgp

Before test day, make sure you have:

• A reliable computer, camera, microphone and internet connection.
• A quiet, private space with good lighting.
• A clear understanding of the response format.
• Practice answering under realistic time limits.
• A plan for what to do if you feel stuck on a scenario.

While having things set up and ready to go before the assessment doesn’t boost a score, being organized alleviates avoidable anxiety. Thinking about the positioning of a microphone or camera, or whether or not the internet is stable, leaves little brain power for the assessment.

Use a Decision-Making Framework to Help Structure Your Answer

When you have a very short time frame to prepare your answer, use this decision-making framework. This helps avoid your answers being open or unfocused.

The framework is:

Pause, Clarify, Consider, Act, Follow up.

Pause

Do not rush to point blame or report, nor become confrontational. Show that you can be calm and not rely on assumptions.

For example, say a colleague of yours shows an example of unprofessional behavior. It’s important to realize the context and perhaps not what you assume. However, pause doesn’t mean ignore it. What you do is pause to let yourself react constructively.

Clarify

Identify the information you need before you make a decision. Perhaps talk to the individual, or ask questions that you’re open and not accusatory.

Phrases you could use are:

• “First of all I’d want to know what exactly happened.”

• “I won’t make assumptions based on a few pieces of information.”

• “I’d talk to them and be respectful.”

• “I would check if anyone was actually at risk of any harm.”

This shows that you are fair and are willing to solve the problem and that you know that there are always two sides to a story.

Consider

Consider the stakeholders and who could potentially be harmed or affected. Ask yourself whether it concerns patient or public safety, confidentiality, fairness or boundaries of the profession.

Most Casper scenarios will present you with conflicting values. Often it is about trying to find a balance between conflicting values like being truthful and being compassionate, being loyal to your colleague and the safety of the patients or public, confidentiality, and even fairness.

The ideal answer is one that acknowledges the conflict and tension. For instance, “While I understand the importance of respecting the confidentiality of my colleague, I also realize the potential risks to the patients. In that instance, I would take necessary steps.”

Act

Decide upon the next course of action that you feel is the most appropriate. Keep it concrete to make it sound plausible. However, refrain from going over the top.

A misunderstanding might be simple enough to be handled by a brief, calm chat in private.

The Next Step

Many applicants miss the next step, which is assessing if the situation has been addressed or if more assistance is needed.

In your next step, you could write: “After the talk, I would follow up to make sure the problem was solved. If not, I would seek help.” It is possible to show responsibility without being punishing.

Be Specific in Your Responses

The biggest issue with Casper responses is lack of specificity. A statement like “I would be professional,” “I would show empathy,” or “I would report it” on its own is inadequate.

Instead, demonstrate what you mean by showing what would look like professionalism or empathy in that situation.

Instead of “I would show empathy,” use:

“I would acknowledge the person’s situation, probably stress or embarrassment, listen without interrupting and ask how they want the situation resolved.”

Instead of “I would report the situation,” use:

“If I had a reason to believe the situation involved a threat to safety or a violation of serious misconduct, I would note the facts and report the incident using the supervisor or the reporting system.”

Clear values in action demonstrate that you understand how to use the information you gain to your best advantage.

However, do not attempt to sound overly formal. There is no need for legal terminology or a discussion about policies. In fact, clarity is usually stronger than wordy or complex jargon.

Show Empathy While Keeping Accountability

It is possible to show empathy without condoning bad behavior. In fact, showing empathy in the face of accountability is the balance you need to find.

RACGP AGPT candidates will find the importance of this balance in their work. Patients, their families, and colleagues expect doctors to be compassionate, but boundaries and accountability also have to be present.

A weak, single-sided response would sound something like this:

“It’s possible that person is dealing with something difficult.”