The Day Before the CASC

Your mood and anxiety may fluctuate in the weeks preparing for the CASC, but the day before the CASC is so important because it is likely to set up how you’re feeling on the day of your CASC.

1)    Focus on core material

This isn’t the time for obsessing over really small minutiae about the eponymous syndrome you worried might be a station in your CASC. Going over the wider material is best done 2 days or more before your CASC day. Your day before the CASC should be focussed on ensuring that you have a good clinical skills in all the key areas, as outlined by the CASC blueprint.

2)    Plan a similar routine for the day before and your exam day

There is no better way for your body clock to naturally be ready for your CASC day than to repeat exactly what it had just done the day before. Though your location may be different, try to wake up, shower, get dressed, and have breakfast almost exactly as you plan to do on the CASC day. Then your actual exam day should feel more like you’re just going through the motions.

3)    Use a balance of practicing stations and writing station plans

Whilst it might be tempting to practice as many stations as is physically possible the day before your CASC, it can also be tiring for many of us. You can always combine this practice with writing station plans.

You might use a station blurb and practice making the notes you would write in the “90 second” or “4 minute” preparation time, as well as jotting down different ways that a station may progress, considering what types of skills you may need to demonstrate.

And once you’ve maximised all the things you can control to boost your performance ahead of the exam day, you can rest assured that you will be giving your absolute best to this exam.