Arg - automated program forbids me patient contact

[peacebeef]

so i just completed one of those online job assessment things from a link sent to my mailbox, and this is what i got:

[color=#7d7d3c]thank you for completing xxx's patient experience profile. candidates must receive a passing score in order to continue in the selection process. at this time, you will not move forward in the selection process for positions that have patient contact. you will be eligible to re-take this assessment in 6 months. until then, you may apply for a position that does not require patient contact.

thank you!

um, what the heck? i answered honestly, instead of picking what the computer might be geared to think of as best. the only question that i thought made me look genuinely bad was one regarding showing my emotions under stress. quite frankly i have the opposite of a poker face - i show everything! as i get more comfortable in a job, though, i generally show very few signs of stress, even when work gets tough. and i'm confident i can learn to handle tough jobs & be prepared for anything, given a small amount of time and supportive training.

basically, i can't think of any reason why any human reference would not recommend me, but i didn't pimp myself out as "outstanding," merely "above average" - maybe that was a reason?

also, yes i've been late to work once in the past year - never to clinical.

basically, whatever i answered that is so terrible to patients is true - it's not going to change in six months. my character traits are what they are. so apparently i should never be allowed to see patients?

i'm just really really frustrated that whatever this program is, it doesn't reward honesty in answering, and doesn't give anyone a second chance - for six months! every question i wanted to have a little box to explain my answer (as one would in an interview). no chance for that now.

am i really that terrible of a person that i shouldn't be a nurse? patient contact is what i live for! and i think my honesty is one of my best traits, with coworkers or with patients! i'm just so crushed and angry that i can't reapply for jobs with this hospital for six months, all because of a stupid computer meme that i treated like a human who might be willing to listen to my answers, instead of a computer that's looking for a perfect candidate with no human flaws.

well, that's b.s. - and if this hospital only wants to hire liars, fakes and imaginary people, i guess i shouldn't reapply.

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

Basically, whatever I answered that is so terrible to patients is true - it's not going to change in six months. My character traits are what they are. So apparently I should never be allowed to see patients?

I'm just really really frustrated that whatever this program is, it doesn't reward honesty in answering, and doesn't give anyone a second chance - for six months! Every question I wanted to have a little box to explain my answer (as one would in an interview). No chance for that now.

Your character traits are your character traits....which is probably why they only allow you one shot every 6 months to take the test.

With those sorts of exams there is a fine line to tread between not pretending to be a superhero and being completely honest to the point of underselling yourself in a major way (because I think they probably factor in overselling on those sorts of things).

It's frustrating, but use it as a learning experience. Does your school have a career office where you can talk through some of your responses to see if you're waving some major red flags?

[1lpn2rn]

hi, i had the same problem. Are you from Chicago?

[peacebeef]

hi, i had the same problem. Are you from Chicago?

Hi, yes I am. I bet you know what big hospital conglomerate I'm talking about.

[peacebeef]

It's frustrating, but use it as a learning experience. Does your school have a career office where you can talk through some of your responses to see if you're waving some major red flags?

Unfortunately I can't see the test anymore. I didn't make myself look like a superhero, but I thought I answered fairly while minimizing my flaws. Which are real, because I'm a) a new grad (so I probably need 6 months-2 years to get super comfortable with a given skill set) and b) I'm a real human being. I also happen to think I'm a nice person, an awesome employee and a good nursing student, and I think all my references would all agree. My school's career office is great, but I can't imagine how they can help me without going through and handpicking the answers with me while I take the test, since I can't see it again. For six months.

I gotta say, the test didn't ask anything about how I'd rank my honesty or integrity. I guess that's not part of an ideal patient experience?

[peacebeef]

hi, i had the same problem. Are you from Chicago?

Also, HUGS if you're feeling the same frustration I am!

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

Unfortunately I can't see the test anymore. I didn't make myself look like a superhero, but I thought I answered fairly while minimizing my flaws. Which are real, because I'm a) a new grad (so I probably need 6 months-2 years to get super comfortable with a given skill set) and b) I'm a real human being. I also happen to think I'm a nice person, an awesome employee and a good nursing student, and I think all my references would all agree. My school's career office is great, but I can't imagine how they can help me without going through and handpicking the answers with me while I take the test, since I can't see it again. For six months.

I gotta say, the test didn't ask anything about how I'd rank my honesty or integrity. I guess that's not part of an ideal patient experience?

I know you can't see your test, but they probably are familiar with similar types of questionnaires so I think you could probably still benefit from thinking it over with them. Even though you don't have the test, you probably remember some of the questions or types of questions and speaking with them might job your memory more.

I used to work for a temp agency and was in charge of setting people up with the testing system, and even though those tests didn't ask directly about honesty or integrity, a "perfect" score was considered highly, highly suspect because no one is perfect. So they probably look at things like that when assessing integrity or honesty.

I'm wondering if there was a question in there that you read differently than the test creators intended, and your honest but flattering response to a benign question to you was a damaging response to them. That's why I recommend talking to your career center, even though you don't have the test. They probably know about those sorts of questions.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

I certainly don't want to make light of this issue - but just wanted to contribute some information from the OI Psychology literature (those are the folks who create the types of screens the OP ran into).

Research has shown - If there is one thing that we all lie about - it's our own honesty. Of all the instruments designed to determine 'personality' types, the ones that people are least likely to answer honestly are those questions designed to measure how honest they are. Unfortunately, if people provide authentically honest responses they show up as outliers who are very different from the 'norm'. This is a pretty well known phenomenon, so very few organizations use them any more.

In this case, I would guess that this organization is trying to ensure that their applicants have some set of 'ideal' characteristics that they feel patient care providers should have. This is a load of bunk also. It is simply impossible to obtain accurate information from only one source... especially a simplistic online questionnaire. Sheesh.

Advice to the OP and any others who are faced with this tripe - answer the questions the way you think that the company wants them answered. This will get your foot in the door. But you may want to think twice about working for an organization that is misguided enough to set up this process in the first place. If this is intended to improve 'customer satisfaction' they should remember that clinical quality is more important than pillow fluffing.