This is a communication scenario — one of the nine core aspects assessed in CASPer. Communication questions explore how you express concerns, navigate difficult conversations, and ensure that important things get said without causing unnecessary harm to relationships or professional environments.
Scenarios like this are used because the ability to speak up constructively is one of the most valued — and most difficult — professional skills. Dismissive or derogatory comments about the people you serve undermine trust, damage culture, and in many settings can cause real harm. Programs want to know that you are someone who notices these things and responds thoughtfully, not someone who looks the other way.
This scenario isn't about whether you confront your colleague. It's about how you think through the situation — who is affected, what the right approach is, and how you balance a good working relationship with the responsibility to speak up.
You are volunteering at a community clinic. While in the break room, you overhear a colleague making dismissive and mocking comments about a patient's lifestyle choices to another member of staff. The patient is not present and did not hear the comments.
You have a good working relationship with this colleague and have always found them professional in other contexts. This is the first time you have witnessed behaviour like this from them.
Before you read the analysis below, try it yourself. In the real test you get 60 seconds to read and reflect, then 3 minutes 30 seconds to answer both questions. Read the scenario above, give yourself a moment to think, then start the timer and write your responses. Come back and see how your thinking compares.
What would you do in this situation?
🟦 SituationalDescribe a time when you had to give difficult feedback to someone you had a good relationship with. What did you learn from that experience?
🟩 ReflectiveThis scenario pairs a situational question with a reflective question — a common combination in CASPer. Each requires a different approach.
Question 1 is situational — it asks what you would do. The focus is on action and decision-making. A strong answer acknowledges the perspectives of everyone involved before explaining what steps you would take and why your approach matters.
Question 2 is reflective — it asks you to draw on a personal experience. The focus is on insight and growth. A strong reflective answer describes what happened, how you felt, what you learned, and how that experience has shaped how you think or act now. You don't need a dramatic story — genuine reflection matters more than impressive events.
This scenario is harder than it looks because there are two tempting but weak paths: doing nothing (it's not your business, the patient didn't hear) or confronting the colleague directly in the moment (which feels decisive but often makes things worse).
Strong responses find the middle ground — acknowledging that what was said was wrong, but approaching the colleague privately and constructively. The reasoning behind that choice matters as much as the choice itself. Why privately? Why now rather than later? What are you hoping to achieve? These are the questions a strong response answers.
The reflective question is also where many students lose marks. They describe an event in detail but don't extract any meaningful learning from it. The event itself is less important than what it taught you — and how clearly you can articulate that.
There is no word count requirement in CASPer. Quality of thinking matters more than word count.
Very short responses tend to fall flat because they don't give the reader enough to work with. Equally, padding a response with repetition doesn't help. The most practical approach is to aim for responses that fully address what the question is asking. For a reflective question, that means covering what happened, what you felt, what you learned, and how it changed you — concisely but completely.
Communication scenarios assess how you express concerns clearly, handle difficult conversations, and ensure others feel heard. Strong responses raise an issue constructively without being confrontational, and consider the impact of both words and silence.
There is no single right answer. What matters is whether you have considered the situation carefully — the impact on everyone involved, the relationship dynamics, and what approach is most likely to lead to a constructive outcome. Doing nothing is rarely the strongest response, but how you act matters as much as whether you act.
For reflective questions, describe a real or realistic experience, explain what happened and how you felt, identify what you learned from it, and show how it has changed or informed how you approach similar situations. The focus is on genuine insight and growth, not on having a perfect story.
For each scenario you get 60 seconds to read and reflect, followed by 3 minutes and 30 seconds to answer both questions. Practicing under timed conditions helps you learn how to split your time effectively between the two questions.
The nine core aspects assessed in CASPer are: Collaboration, Communication, Empathy, Fairness, Ethics, Motivation, Problem-Solving, Resilience, and Self-Awareness. Each scenario is linked to one or more of these aspects.
Try typed and video practice with feedback — built on the Response Method framework.
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