Why these 9?
Acuity Insights — the company that builds CASPer — based the 9 competencies on years of validation work with healthcare and professional schools. They predict outcomes that GPA and standardised tests don't: professionalism complaints, residency-evaluation outcomes, and clinical performance under stress.
The competencies are intentionally behavioural, not knowledge-based. You can't study them like facts. You demonstrate them — through what you say you'd do, and how you reason about doing it.
1. Collaboration
How well you work with others — peers, seniors, juniors, patients' families. The marker looks for: invitation of others' input, willingness to share credit, ability to navigate disagreements without escalation.
Strong response signal: "I'd ask the nursing team for their perspective before deciding." Weak signal: "I'd make the call myself and explain it later."
2. Communication
Clarity, structure, register. Can you explain a complex situation to a non-expert? Can you adjust tone for a child vs. an elderly patient vs. a colleague?
Strong signal: structuring your answer (situation → approach → expected outcome); using plain language; acknowledging emotional context. Weak signal: jargon, monologue, missing the audience.
3. Empathy
Recognising what others feel without it derailing the action you need to take. Pure sympathy without action is not empathy in CASPer's frame — it's passivity.
Strong signal: "I'd acknowledge how frightening this must be for them, then walk through what happens next so they have a sense of control." Weak signal: "I'd feel really bad for them."
4. Equity
How well you account for power differences — between you and a patient, between a senior and a junior, across cultural or socioeconomic divides. The marker looks for awareness of structural factors, not just individual ones.
Strong signal: "Their hesitation might come from a history of mistrust with healthcare systems — I'd give them space and ask what would make them comfortable." Weak signal: "I'd explain the decision and move on."
5. Ethics
Recognising ethical conflict, naming the values in tension, and reasoning through to a defensible action. Don't just choose a "right" side — show you saw the trade-off.
Strong signal: "There's a tension between respecting confidentiality and protecting the patient's safety — I'd weigh these by considering imminence of harm." Weak signal: "Confidentiality is most important."
6. Motivation
Why you're doing this — and whether your reasons are sustainable. Markers look for grounded, realistic motivation rather than pure idealism or pure pragmatism.
Strong signal: a specific experience that shaped you + a realistic understanding of the job. Weak signal: "I've always wanted to help people."
7. Problem-solving
Structured thinking — even when the right answer isn't available. Markers want to see: identify the problem, generate options, weigh trade-offs, choose, anticipate complications.
Strong signal: "If A doesn't work, then B; if neither, escalate to..." Weak signal: a single solution presented as obvious.
8. Professionalism
How you carry yourself — punctuality, follow-through, ownership of mistakes, appropriate boundaries with patients and colleagues, and self-awareness about the limits of your role.
Strong signal: taking ownership without deflection; knowing when to escalate vs. when to act. Weak signal: blaming circumstances or others; acting outside scope.
9. Resilience
How you handle setbacks, criticism, ambiguity, and prolonged stress. Not stoicism — but the ability to keep functioning, learn from the experience, and not collapse or lash out.
Strong signal: "I'd take a step back, debrief with someone I trust, and identify what I'd do differently." Weak signal: "I'd power through" or "I'd just be devastated."
How to train against the 9 competencies
The fastest way to improve is to tag each practice answer with the 1-3 competencies it primarily tested, then read your answer back asking: "Did I demonstrate this competency or just mention it?"
Most applicants improve fastest on Communication, Problem-solving and Resilience — these benefit most from structured practice. Empathy and Equity are harder to fake; they show in the reasoning, not the vocabulary.
AI scoring (like the system caspertestcoach.com uses) marks you against these 9 competencies directly — same framework as the official test. Free practice with feedback against all 9 competencies →
Practice with AI-powered scoring on all 9 competencies.
Free practice scenarios, instant feedback against the same competencies the official CASPer test uses, and a structured 4-week prep plan.
Start practising free →Frequently asked questions
How many CASPer competencies are there?
9 — collaboration, communication, empathy, equity, ethics, motivation, problem-solving, professionalism, and resilience.
Does every CASPer question test all 9 competencies?
No. Each scenario typically tests 2-4 competencies. Across the full test, all 9 are sampled multiple times to give a balanced score.
What's the most important CASPer competency?
There isn't one — your final score weights all 9. But Ethics, Empathy and Professionalism appear in nearly every scenario, so improving them lifts your score the fastest.