Let's Talk CASPer | Ask Dr. Gray Ep. 163

[@blaby4ever]

If a 7-hour exam ain't enough to measure a pre-med student's degree of sense and capabilities for medical school and doctoring then I guarantee you nothing will. This CASPer exam and the new "PREview" exam make shooting for an MD degree (and soon DO) more of a status symbol for being an academic Olympian than an actual certification of medical knowledge. The American medical education system is getting out of hand with these tests and Pre-meds are eating it all up. Then we wonder why we're having a shortage of doctors in this country and why many health institutions are importing physicians from other countries which do not require the type of mental gymnastics that the states require to simply become a medical student let alone a physician.

[@Algorox]

Couldn't agree more. High GPA, MCAT, ECs, primary application, secondary application, personal statement, reference letters, MMI, and now this!? Jesus.

[@lynnterrific]

I agree with the MMI critique. I had an MMI interview this cycle and started off crafting my responses like the "experts" would recommend but it just didn't feel natural and with the added stress, my articulation was definitely suffering. So the next stations, completely tossed out expert recommendations and gave genuine responses. Only thing I kept in mind was to consider more than one side. Needless to say, without all of those frameworks and structures In mind, I was able to be myself and the interview went so well! Start med school at that school in summer!

[@amelial3396]

casper is so hard for people with adhd 😭😭 in real life im usually good with ethical scenarios but the test doesnt reflect my true abilities when its timed and soooo long

[@thejavilan7992]

CASPer is an appalling assessment. In Canada, McMaster University uses it as 33% for admission to their medical school. Therefore, it is expected to score incredibly high ~ 80-85% and over. At these high percentiles and in situations where it is weighted so heavily, the structure of the test and also "not having to prep" falls apart. The test relies too highly on typing speed. This comes from someone who scored high. The test doesn't test anything but speed (typing and thinking of politically correct answers). Awful test. Keep in mind, this is more of an issue in Canada where it is weighted so highly. Imagine a school in USA says "this year our criteria is going to weigh LORs as 33% for admission". LORs are great and should be used, but using them that much is a horrendous idea.

[@E24-t6g]

How did you know you scored high if you don't get score reports from CASPer?

[@thejavilan7992]

@@E24-t6g last cycle we got quartile scores back

[@Algorox]

@@E24-t6g You get quartile scores.

[@JamesJoyce12]

In Canada we need to have amorphous tests to cherry-pick the "right" kind of applicants who aren't super-bright - McMaster is one of the worst sorts of med schools for choosing a class based on non-empirical measures

[@sullit1]

This is a wonderful interview, thanks for just providing an insightful and COMMON SENSE perspective to such a strange test Dr. Gray.

[@mialalien]

I did really bad on Casper, 1st quartile. I’m also autistic but I actually have good interpersonal and situational judgement skills in real life. I got a 5/9 on the Preview exam, so I was surprised I didn’t score similarly or at least average. I’m definitely not a sociopath. So I guess I want to know how valid Casper is for neurodivergent individuals. Is this fair to someone who thinks differently but not in a bad way?

[@ElmotypeSwag]

I was wondering how this test affected people with autism… glad to hear the PREview wasn’t too bad for you.

[@ShinySephiroth1]

Just took Casper and it felt super easy. I can see how it would be an issue if you've "only" been a pre-med and don't have substantial non-academic experiences, though.

[@zeroneg]

Shadowing...I have so far shadowed Surgical Pathology and Physical Therapy (REALLY wanted to understand what my patients will experience and the clinical therapies they will receive.

[@zeroneg]

That said, I really wan to find a good D.O. clinician to shadow and more specialties to get exposure to.

[@arcraus]

Great advice as always! Thank you :)

[@nusaman]

Kind of have to disagree on this one. The example of the drug addict coming to the clinic to try to score some oxy is usually pretty obvious when the scenario is laid out and yet the Casper rubric probably requires you to be non-judgemental, inquire further before concluding that the patient is only after the drugs etc…. If one only uses their “every day” senses to answer Casper, they will probably be right in real life, but score low on Casper. The Casper does require some level of questioning well beyond what a very ethical “normal” person would do in real life.

[@dubscheckum8246]

@shotaben10 I would bet 10 grand that these test makers had never been in a street fight

[@matthewdugan2575]

Will all medical schools you apply to see your Casper score (regardless of whether they require it), or only those which you choose to send the score to when purchasing the test?

[@vanhoot2234]

I do think its important to practise on the CASPer to practise two things specifically. Typing speed, and not worrying about grammar that you usually worry about when typing. Everything else I agree with. You do not need a framework. You should practise though.

[@avaj6137]

Thank you Dr.Gray for this info. Can you please link the other CASper video that you refer to?