4 reasons why our day course may be right for you
Your Higher Training application
Your CASC score has never been more important. As it currently stands, your CASC score counts for 50% of your Higher Training application!
There are certain parts of your application that you can’t control (like you can’t really help whether or not you’ve got a PhD by the time you come to apply), but your CASC is definitely an area that you can prepare for. And your preparation is well rewarded. Whilst no one can or should ‘predict’ the mark scheme for the CASC, there are often glaring oversights that can occur based on individual candidates’ CASC technique - we really hone in on these areas during the course.
2. Feedback throughout the day
Whilst we love a good mock exam too, in our own CASC preparation, we struggled with one main issue - the feedback often comes at the end of the session, and can often leave you feeling confused about what to work on, particularly when you receive positive and negative feedback both about the same point.
You can often be left thinking - was it me? was it the station? or was it the examiner?
With this in mind, we set up our course to not only provide feedback, but to do so in a way that enables you to practice (or more accurately put ‘titrate’) your CASC technique in the safe and contained environment of the course. Often, the changes you need to make to your technique are subtle, and working on feedback can involve a process of ‘overshooting’ and ‘undershooting’ these skills until you get to a place where you feel comfortable. We’re here to support you in that process.
3. Clinical skills under pressure
The CASC is an interesting affair. It’s almost like you’ve been thrown into a nightmare on-call shift where you’re covering for all the subspecialties, need to review 16 patients, and screen/manage them enough to be a safe and competent doctor, who any consultant would be happy to have as their new ST4.
Under this pressure, things happen that we might not expect - some of us will take long silent pauses, some of us will ramble, others could possibly even come across as appearing confrontational. And some of us will miss obvious psychopathology, like forgetting to think about organic causes in an elderly patient with memory problems. We are not all terrible people. This is all very normal.
In our day course, we don’t just focus on what you missed, we focus on where and why your communication or clinical skills weren’t heading the way you wanted them to in a station - and ultimately, this might help you to catch the problem before it spirals.
4. The 7 minute time limit
Whether you’re a CT3 psychiatry trainee, or an experienced international consultant psychiatrist, there’s no kidding that completing a psychiatric assessment or management station in 7 minutes is a challenge. It is its own art form, and different candidates struggle with the time limit for different reasons, unique to their own technique. We specifically look at your ability to manage the time limit, and suggest areas that can help you with overcoming this great obstacle!
For more information about our Premium Day course, or other courses that we offer, check out cascinhand.com/courses.