Accepted Type
Oral
Code
OF1-3-3
Acceptance Declaration
Accept
Additional Information
I declare I have no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this program.
Was this work accepted for CCME 2020?
yes
Category
General Call (Workshop, Oral Presentation, Poster Presentation)
Type
Oral
Sub Type
Education Innovation
Will the presenter be a:
Student
Affiliation
Considered for Poster
yes
Title
Bridging the Gap: Improving CASPer Test Confidence and Competency for Underrepresented Minorities in Medicine through Interactive Peer-assisted Learning
Length of Presentation
Background/Purpose
The Computer-based Assessment for Sampling Personal characteristics (CASPer) is a situational judgement test (SJT) that is adopted by medical schools to assess for interpersonal and professional characteristics of applicants. Unlike conventional SJTs whereby test takers select their preferred response to an ethical dilemma from a series of choices, applicants writing the CASPer compose their own responses, thereby providing a window into the applicant's rationale for ethical decision-making. Underrepresented minority medical school applicants usually lack access to a network of individuals and/or resources that offer guidance and prepare them for the various application requirements of medical school.
Summary of the Innovation
Under the support of University of Toronto's Community of Support program, medical students at the University of Ottawa designed and taught a free online CASPer coaching program for underrepresented medical school applicants across Canada. The program consisted of 35 learners and three medical student tutors. Important attributes of the 4-week program included free access to a medical ethics book, insight sharing from three distinct tutors, feedback provision to in-class and homework responses, and facilitation of a mock CASPer test. Through extensive peer-to-peer mentorship, we aimed to reduce anxiety, improve confidence, and increase competency among minority students in our CASPer coaching program.
Conclusion
Results from our pre and post-program survey showed significant student improvement in familiarity with the test, increased competence, confidence and preparedness, as well as reduced anxiety (p<0.05). Through peer-to-peer teaching and access to medical student mentors, our program recognizes and addresses socioeconomic barriers that several minority applicants face when applying to medical school.
Keyword 1
CASPer
Keyword 2
Mentorship
Keyword 3
Diversity
Level of Training
Undergraduate
Abstract Themes
Admissions
Additional Theme (First choice)
Leadership
Additional Theme (Second Choice)
Undergraduate
Additional Theme (Third Choice)
Authors
Presenter
Lolade Shipeolu
Johanne Matthieu
Farhan Mahmood
Term 1
Yes
Term 2
Yes
Term 3
Yes
Term 4
Yes
Term 5
Yes
