When it comes time to see a doctor, finding someone who is both knowledgeable and personable can be difficult task. The Université de Montréal wants to fix that.
As of September 2017, students enrolling in the institutions medical school will have to complete a 90 minute, 12 scenario online exam that will test their professionalism, empathy, integrity, ethics, communication, collaboration, openness to criticism, stress management and priorities.
The U de M will be the first school in Quebec to take advantage of the French version of the CASPer (Computer-based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics) called the TECT. The school joins other medical and nursing programs including the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University, University of Ottawa, New York Medical College and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School already using the test.
The test will help admissions officers find the candidates who have the heart to go along with the brains.
Some example questions include: Describe a time when you had to deal with conflict and how you coped with it? How might you handle a similar situation differently should it arise again?
The CASPer can be taken from any computer, with a webcam so long as it has a reliable internet connection. To ensure there are no cheaters the student must show their webcam an official student I.D. with their name and photo. The camera will capture an image which will then be used to verify the correct person took the test. Other checks, without the test takers knowledge will be performed over the 90 minutes, just to make sure no one attempts a switch after the I.D. check.