Heyy guys, I hope y'all are prepping well and hopefully we can crush this BS exam 😭. I'm a Canadian premed and I'm writing CASPer the day after tmr (15th). I've spent about 6 hours a day prepping for the last 3 days, and I have three more days, but the issue is that I keep getting lowish scores on CasperPractice.org and ChatGPT/Gemini (2nd Q). On one hand I don't wanna complain b/c I've already been blessed with more than I could've expected for this year in terms of academics, but it does feel a bit weird that only CASPer can potentially hold me back after all my work. I especially seem to be struggling with situational personal questions (rather than moral dilemmas), b/c I don't know the proper route of escalation. I'd really appreciate if anyone has input on what I can improve here:
Scenario 2: (it is a personal dilemma, and here I must immediately respond rather than 'fairly weighing both sides', etc.)
Your roommate and close friend, Jordan, has been locked in their bedroom for 24 hours after failing a critical licensing exam. When you knock to check in, Jordan opens the door slightly, looks deeply distressed, and says, "I ruined my life. There's no point in being here anymore. Just leave me alone, I'm going to sleep and I don't want to see anyone." Jordan then locks the door. (BTW Jordan is ME ASL after this Thursday 💔)
Question 1:
Jordan asked to be left alone, but hinted at severe distress and potential self-harm ("no point in being here anymore"). What specific steps do you take right now?
My response (2 minutes, so I can have 1 minute for Q2):
"This is a difficult situation because although I acknowledge Jordan's rights to privacy and autonomy, there is credible threat of self-harm, which supersedes this. I will immediately phone a crisis management line or suicide prevention line, and gently and empathetically talk to Jordan. I will talk to Jordan until the team arrives, and then hand off the situation to them, as I am not a professional. However, if Jordan stops talking at any moment, I will recognize that the situation can have escalated and immediately phone campus security or the police, citing the credible risk of self-harm. Ultimately, my goal is to make Jordan feel supported and safe until professional help arrives, and intervene if the situation seems to escalate. "
I'm a slow typer so I'm tryna use a modified PPRDJ framework:
Sentance one is PPR all in one (I acknowledge both perspectives and the problem at hand, and I also wrote down my responsibility as a friend)
Sentances 2,3 and 4 are all Descision (using if/than statements)
Sentance 5 is judgement, if time permits (basically wrapping it up)
Scenario 2 (it is a personal dilemma, and it's less immediately serious, so I can chill out a bit):
You are living with your close friend and classmate, Maya. Over the past three weeks, you've noticed that Maya has stopped attending social events, leaves her room only to eat, and frequently looks overwhelmed.
Tonight, after she misses another group dinner you both planned weeks ago, you knock on her door to check in. She opens the door, visibly exhausted, and says: "I know you're worried, but I really just need to be left alone right now. Please don't ask me about it, and please don't tell our other friends or my family—I'm just tired and I'll handle it myself."
Question 1: Maya insists she wants to be left alone and asks you not to involve anyone else. How would you respond to her in this moment, and what steps would you take?
"This is a difficult situation because while I am worried about Maya, I also acknowledge that she has the rights to privacy and autonomy, and it is my responsobility to maintain this boundary. I will start by apologizing for bothering her, and letting her know that I am here if she needs anything. I will then inform our friend group that Maya is turning in early for the night - I will not informt them of what Maya said, as she explicitly told me not to. Later in the evening, I will send Maya a gentle, non-confrontational message, informing her that I am always there if she needs someone to talk to or meet. If she meets me later on, I will acknowledge how she may be feeling overwhelmed, and direct her to the correct resources - such as campus counsellor, etc. - if appropriate. If she does not want to meet, I will not pry, and allow her to process the situation as she pleases. My goal is to ensure my friend feels safe and supported, while also respecting her autonomy to make her own decisions."
Sentance one is PPR all in one (I acknowledge both perspectives and the problem at hand, and I also wrote down my responsibility as a friend)
Sentances 2,3, 4 and 5 are all Descision (using if/than statements)
Sentance 6 is judgement, if time permits (Ima be honest, I ran out of time before I wrote this, so on the real test, there probably wouldn't be a "J" part of my answer, I just wanted to get the clean answer out there before I work on trimming it)
If y'all made it this far, THANK YOU, and please help a brother out 😭💔