Failed a Nurse Battery Exam

Quit Floating Me, BSN, RN · Jul 26, 2013

https://allnurses.com/nursing-career-advice/nurse-career-battery-332451.html

There is a thread about the same topic. Even nurses with many years of experience have failed. I have yet to be exposed to a test like that... But I will be very careful with my answers if I ever have to take one! :wideyed: Sorry to hear about your situation and I do wish you the best of luck in your career path.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Jul 26, 2013

Am I right in assuming that this was one of those assessments that is intended to measure personality characteristics? If so, they are probably using a standardized tool that has sufficient reliability & validity - otherwise, they are opening themselves up to liability from discrimination claims.

I think the problem is - these assessment instruments are not intended to be any sort of a Pass/Fail - they are meant to indicate where you fall on a continuum. The major issue is how organizations are tying a particular "score" to a job characteristic. So - an applicant who sores 80% on the "compassion index" is OK, but one who scores 79% is not acceptable? how did they establish the cut scores?

Another issue - people lie. Seriously, there's research on this. The higher the stakes, the more likely people are to lie. Especially on measures of 'honesty'. And trying to decide whether you get hired - that's pretty high stakes.

Finally, using any sort of standardized measure to decide who to hire will eventually decrease the overall diversity of a work group. This is usually not a good thing because it dampens creativity and increases tendency toward group-think.

WOOT! 26 hours of I & O psych coursework in my doctoral program..... nothing is ever wasted, right?

ToothFairy(5) · Jul 26, 2013

I agree with HouTx but would add, then you get the nurse who overthinks the answers and screws up the test that way.LOL I know I am guilty of that when it comes to tests. I have taken one in the past and think they really need to be done away with for the same reasons listed by HouTx.

LVN2RNMom, ASN, BSN, LVN · Jul 26, 2013

I've had to take a battery test for every major employer that I have applied to & I chalk it up to being a nurse. What I mean is as a nurse, things are constantly changing so we must always stay educated. I don't mind test taking cause it keeps me on top of my game & I have yet to fail or do poorly on one of these tests. I actually just took a long test for a HH position, that was worse then the hospitals I've applied at. What I do when I take a test is, I do remediation on each question. You always see 2 that are completely incorrect & I cross those off immediately then I review the remaining 2. In the past I'd take a test so fast & way too confident then I'd fail, so this method works best for me. Don't be too hard on yourself & find a test taking solution that suits you best.

KJM-RN, BSN · Jul 26, 2013

I'm really sorry about your experience. I'm a recently graduated/licensed RN trying to land an interview and job. I desperately need a job as well.

What is a battery exam? I've never heard of this. I have taken a basic competency exam before being asked for an interview, if you passed you got an interview, if not you were sent home. This was for a PCA position while I was in nursing school. Not sure if a battery exam is similar.

Good luck in your job search!

CodeteamB · Jul 27, 2013

What in flaming blazes is a battery test? I swear, the thought of my employer trying to pull the kind of garbage I see mentioned on this site is enough to give me palpitations.

OP, that sucks... Maybe it is a blessing in disguise? I find in life that if someone wants me to jump through some ridiculous hoop in order to join with them I am often better off steering clear!

Keseratops · Jul 27, 2013

Thank you for the encouragement. It was very discouraging. The thing is... I do excellent on tests. My NLN was in the top 1%, and I was among the top percentile in every exam in nursing school. And... I have life experience, as well as a background in Psych and Soc... Anyone that knows me could tell you where I fall on a "compassion index," and I'm sorry but a test is not going to measure personality characteristics as such. And yes, people lie. Furthermore, even our standard IQ test is not necessarily reliable or valid in measuring intelligence, since there are multiple forms of intelligence.

And... there are many different types of battery tests, which tells me that companies are creating more and more of them to weed out perfectly competent nurses. But, oh well, I guess I am an old school face-to-face person that would rather show you how I work, rather then answer a multiple choice question about it. Unfortunately that is the reality for new grads today!

nursepls · Jun 24, 2015

I've passed the nurse career battery twice. The second time I took it, it was called "driving nurse attributes."

I did a ton of research before taking either, and I used these methods to help me pass:

-The majority of your answers should be 1s or 5s. ("Extremely ineffective vs extremely effective") If you want to select "somewhat effective," just go all the way and click "extremely." If you are really, truly unsure, you can click somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, but you should have very few answers like that.

-For any scenario questions, always request feedback from the person you delegate to. Never "tell" someone to do something, "ask" them. Check in on them later, and offer feedback on their performance.

-Know chain of command and scope of practice!!! If the question asks you whether you would involve your nurse manager, is it in her job description to help you?? If its a patient's unusual drug interaction, that's more of a floor nurse responsibility, so don't push it onto your manager or colleague. But if it's a patient complaint, managers are supposed to deal with these things, so you should involve them! There were a lot of questions about asking a coworker for help vs. having them do it for you. PAY ATTENTION TO WORDING. One of the hardest questions I saw was "your patient is taking a new medication you are unfamiliar with and exhibits an unusual symptom. Please rate the effectiveness of the following interventions. -> Solicit the input of a more experienced colleague (eg nurse manager, expert drug representative) to solve your problem for you" Unfortunately, I don't remember the exact wording, but it was tricky!! On one hand, patient safety is at stake... on the other, I'm not trying to look like the type of employee who pushes their work onto others. I ended up answering "very ineffective" because the manager's job does not include troubleshooting patient symptoms.

-When they ask you to rate your personal qualities, rate all positive qualities the best and negative qualities the least. Humility has no place in this test. When they ask you about past patient experiences click "extensive experience/multiple times a week" for most of them (within reason)--if you are a new nurse, attribute the experience to your clinicals.

Other questions I remember....

An elderly patient complains that their doctor rushed through his visit with her and didn't properly answer her questions. Rate the following interventions on their effectiveness.

1. Tell the patient the unit is short staffed at the moment and someone will be with her shortly. [very ineffective]

2. Listen to her complaints and ask questions for further information. [very effective]

3. Call another doctor from the same group to come and answer the patient's questions. [very ineffective]

4. Trust the physician's clinical judgement (and something to the effect of expanding on what the physician said.. I don't remember exactly) [very ineffective]

5. Call the physician to notify him the patient has more questions. [very effective]

etc

You are in a rush to help your patient in need and notice someone spilled their beverage. Rate the efficacy of the following interventions.

1. Call housekeeping to clean up the spill. [very ineffective]

2. Ask a nearby CNA to clean up the spill for you. [very effective]

3. Continue to your patient and clean up the spill later. [very ineffective]

4. Put a spill pad over the spill and continue to your patient. [very effective]

etc

I've heard from a few people that this test tends to be a little ageist. If you are an older nurse, you might consider getting a younger family member or friend to give you their input on the test. I also highly recommend reading the DDI pamphlet https://www.ddiworld.com/ddiworld/media/facts/nursecareerbattery_tag_ddi.pdf?ext=.pdf

It was a very difficult test!!!!!!!!

Ana112193 · Jun 16, 2016

Hi,

Im taking this driving nurse attribute (dna) assesment before my interview and i'm really worried about it.

Could you give me any advice on how to pass it? Please help me (

im a new grad and im so desperate for a job. This is the first hospital who has shown interest in me . I really need a job ( and I dont want to screw it .

please please help (

Ana112193 · Jun 16, 2016

I've passed the nurse career battery twice. The second time I took it, it was called "driving nurse attributes."
I did a ton of research before taking either, and I used these methods to help me pass:
-The majority of your answers should be 1s or 5s. ("Extremely ineffective vs extremely effective") If you want to select "somewhat effective," just go all the way and click "extremely." If you are really, truly unsure, you can click somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, but you should have very few answers like that.
-For any scenario questions, always request feedback from the person you delegate to. Never "tell" someone to do something, "ask" them. Check in on them later, and offer feedback on their performance.
-Know chain of command and scope of practice!!! If the question asks you whether you would involve your nurse manager, is it in her job description to help you?? If its a patient's unusual drug interaction, that's more of a floor nurse responsibility, so don't push it onto your manager or colleague. But if it's a patient complaint, managers are supposed to deal with these things, so you should involve them! There were a lot of questions about asking a coworker for help vs. having them do it for you. PAY ATTENTION TO WORDING. One of the hardest questions I saw was "your patient is taking a new medication you are unfamiliar with and exhibits an unusual symptom. Please rate the effectiveness of the following interventions. -> Solicit the input of a more experienced colleague (eg nurse manager, expert drug representative) to solve your problem for you" Unfortunately, I don't remember the exact wording, but it was tricky!! On one hand, patient safety is at stake... on the other, I'm not trying to look like the type of employee who pushes their work onto others. I ended up answering "very ineffective" because the manager's job does not include troubleshooting patient symptoms.
-When they ask you to rate your personal qualities, rate all positive qualities the best and negative qualities the least. Humility has no place in this test. When they ask you about past patient experiences click "extensive experience/multiple times a week" for most of them (within reason)--if you are a new nurse, attribute the experience to your clinicals.
Other questions I remember....
An elderly patient complains that their doctor rushed through his visit with her and didn't properly answer her questions. Rate the following interventions on their effectiveness.
1. Tell the patient the unit is short staffed at the moment and someone will be with her shortly. [very ineffective]
2. Listen to her complaints and ask questions for further information. [very effective]
3. Call another doctor from the same group to come and answer the patient's questions. [very ineffective]
4. Trust the physician's clinical judgement (and something to the effect of expanding on what the physician said.. I don't remember exactly) [very ineffective]
5. Call the physician to notify him the patient has more questions. [very effective]
etc
You are in a rush to help your patient in need and notice someone spilled their beverage. Rate the efficacy of the following interventions.
1. Call housekeeping to clean up the spill. [very ineffective]
2. Ask a nearby CNA to clean up the spill for you. [very effective]
3. Continue to your patient and clean up the spill later. [very ineffective]
4. Put a spill pad over the spill and continue to your patient. [very effective]
etc
I've heard from a few people that this test tends to be a little ageist. If you are an older nurse, you might consider getting a younger family member or friend to give you their input on the test. I also highly recommend reading the DDI pamphlet https://www.ddiworld.com/ddiworld/media/facts/nursecareerbattery_tag_ddi.pdf?ext=.pdf
It was a very difficult test!!!!!!!!

Hi,

Im taking this driving nurse attribute (dna) assesment before my interview and i'm really worried about it.

Could you give me any advice on how to pass it? Please help me (

im a new grad and im so desperate for a job. This is the first hospital who has shown interest in me . I really need a job ( and I dont want to screw it . Please please help me