:imbar I am a recent casualty of PBDS. This is an insane way of getting rid of good nurses with valuable experience! Why weren't we in formed that this part of orientation was "do or die"? They said it's not supposed to be used as a means to get rid of any one, but after I failed the initial test, I became scrutinized. The nurses that were my preceptors were no help at all. I was told that if I chose to take the re-test and failed, that I would be "black-balled" as a nurse.
I used my nursing books for reference as well as my Internship notebook as tools to fill out the scenarios and was told it wasn't good enough. When I filled those out, I wrote on front and back and literally wrote a book on the darned thing.
I've had nothing but good things said about me during my whole medical career.
And now, suddenly it's implied that I'm "not up to their standards". So, I find myself in the job market again and I'm sure PBDS will raise it's ugly head. At least this time, I'm more prepared for it.
Specializes in OB, Telephone Triage, Chart Review/Code.
I had to take the test with this last employer. They said it was an assessment tool. My test involved L&D which I haven't done in 10 years. They said my preceptors would be using the results in my orientation. IT WAS NEVER USED! What a waste of time and money....
Do not believe your employer when they casually mention the PBDS and how it is only a mere assessment!
Not to sound hypocritical, but in my current hospital's case, it was true, it was only an assessment tool and no one was let go or punished for not passing it.
But when I lived in Dallas, my old hospital presented it the same way, like it was no big deal, and one agency nurse who had done Med/Surg for years was told that she didn't make the cut and was not allowed to return to work. The clinic/outpatient nurses were also required to take it and hadn't done inpatient med/surg in years and some never did any after nursing school but were required to pass it.
To answer previous questions, the 3 times I've taken it at different hospitals, yes, it was all med/surg. There are specialty versions of it but usually you take those once you've been working in your specialty area for a while.
I was taught that nurses NEVER make a medical diagnosis. We make nursing diagnosis. We may anticipate certain labs will be ordered, certain dietary restrictions will be ordered, activity levels may need to be adjusted, xray and scans will be ordered BUT, as nurses, we are in no way expected to make a definate decision as to what these tests and orders will be. That is called the practice of medicine and it is specifically a physician who needs to make these decisions. SO, how can you be penalized for not making a medical diagnosis? Not knowing all of the labs and other tests needed to be ordered?
Heaven help me if I ever have to take one of these tests.
I too am concerned regarding the PBDS. I will have to take it probably next week at my hospital. It concerns me, because honestly I have never taken a test that I was not allowed to prepare for nor have any information regarding the format nor any information about anything! It is frustrating and I fear a waste of a hospital's money in re-education. Why not just let us know what it is all about so we can be prepared? As a brand new nurse, I am positive that my skills are lacking. That is why I am doing an externship program to learn some of this stuff first. I also plan to study and learn the format of my boards, just like I have every other test in the program.
I'm taking this PBDS tomorrow. Thank-you for all your input on this matter. It's nice we can all share information with each other, but I can tell you this I'M SCARED. Wish me luck. Dano3
I too was a victim of the pbds nightmare. I had to take it twice at my current job. Every experienced nurse that I took it with had to retake it. all the new grads passed.
however they did not pay me for the 2 days in orientation. the hospital refused to pay. now i ask if the pbds is a part of orientation and if it is i do not go there. only 52 hospitals nation wide use this test. i am still traveling and will cont. to do so until i can't. you just need to ask the nurse manager wherever you are interviewing if this is part of the orientation process or not. so don't let it get you down. keep traveling.
They did not pay you for the 2 day orientation. Write a letter to the labor board and post an official complaint. I believe this is illegal anywhere in the US. Write that letter today.
I've taken the BKAT, passed with no problem, same with the CCRN. Travelers who have never heard of the PBDS need to be aware that if you don't pass, you will not keep your contract. I had never heard of this test before and was told that I would do fine with my experience and educational background. Take some time to review old nursing school material and learn classic signs/symptoms of common issues (cva, mi, chf, pe, etc). I agree that there needs to be a way to judge competency of a traveling nurse BUT why should a nurse travel thousands of miles to work for a hospital and then be turned away because of ONE test. Shouldn't the nurses working with you and the nurse manager be the judge of who is employeed on that unit? Why are the paper pushing administration people the ones deciding this; they probably haven't been at the bedside in years and probably wouldn't pass the test themselves!
I Accepted My First Travel Assignment With Intelistaf And Started Orientation Yesterday. First Thing We Did Was Take The Pbds Test After A Brief Review Of The Technical Aspects Of The Test. I Took The Test With 2 New Grads And 2 Other Rn's With Experience. I Was Never Told By Intelistaf Nor The Hospital Where My Assignment Was That This Was A Pass/fail Thing For Me Only, Not The Other Nurses Taking The Test. All That Was Communicated To Me Was That It Was To Benchmark A Nurses Skill Level That Need To Be Concentrated On In Orientation. To My Complete Surprise, I Received A Call From Intelistaf During My Break At 10:00 Am Letting Me Know That My Assignment Was Cancelled Because I Did Not Pass The Pbds! I Was Never More Humiliated In My Entire Life! If I Had Know That This Test Would Determine Whether I Continued Working At This Facility, I Feel That I Would Have Had A Completely Different Mindset Going In. I Am So Hurt And Angry Over This. I Feel Like I Have Been Deceived By Both Intelistaf And This Hospital But I Put Most Of The Blame On Intelistaf For Their Complete Lack Of Communication. I Feel That I Should Be Able To Retake This Test At Intelistaf's Expense. What Do Others Think Of This And What Other Suggestions Does Anyone Else Have?
PBDS has been around for 25 years. Used by about half of all magnet hospitals & hospitals all over the nation.
It is different from any of the other 'tests' that have mentioned by previous posters. It has NO 'forced choice' questions (true/false, multiple choice, matching, etc). All responses are completely free text, right from the nurse's brain. Responses are then rated by a human being. In our case, we have raters who underwent a year of training by PBDS in order to become competent in the qualitative analysis methods that have to be used. Anyhow - results are intended to be used to customize orientation. It helps us avoid wasting time on things that the nurse doesn't need. Our preceptors have been trained to apply 'socratic' techniques that promote critical thinking instead of the old 'show me how" orientation process.
We have data - tons of it - that shows PBDS makes a huge difference in overall nursing comptency & patient outcomes. It is an established part of our overall Risk Management / Clinical Quality program.
Using PBDS for travelers can be problematic, depending on how the travel company has arranged it. They know up front whether a hospital uses PBDS or not, and they need to convey accurate information to the travel nurse so they are not taken by surprise. Travel nurses are expected to hit the ground running, without any additional development at the expense of the client hospital.
There are no 'study guides' for PBDS. The most important part of hte assessment consists of 10 short videos (3 to 5 minutes). You will watch the video and respond to:
Identify the patient problem - just one, don't list everything that could possibly be wrong. Stick with the most obvious one. The videos aren't tricky. Include info about why you think this is the problem.
Explain how you are going to manage the problem - specific interventions. They don't have to be in order, but be sure to insert some words that indicate how you are going to prioritize them
Explain why you are choosing the interventions... what is your thought process?
Remember that your responses will be read by a human being. Make sure you include everything - the raters do not have crystal balls to infer what you meant. So, for example - rather than write - "notify MD", you need to write "notify MD of elevated BP & increasing drowsiness" . You don't have to write a book, just don't omit details that indicate what you are thinking.
Travel nurses will be assessed using the PBDS baseline for the unit in which you are supposed to work. If you do not have sufficient experience in that area, it will definitely show up in the assessment.
Relax, the vast majority of our travel nurses sail through PBDS without any problems. You don't have to be an expert. Just show that you can react appropriately to keep the patient safe.
I Accepted My First Travel Assignment With Intelistaf And Started Orientation Yesterday. First Thing We Did Was Take The Pbds Test After A Brief Review Of The Technical Aspects Of The Test. I Took The Test With 2 New Grads And 2 Other Rn's With Experience. I Was Never Told By Intelistaf Nor The Hospital Where My Assignment Was That This Was A Pass/fail Thing For Me Only, Not The Other Nurses Taking The Test. All That Was Communicated To Me Was That It Was To Benchmark A Nurses Skill Level That Need To Be Concentrated On In Orientation. To My Complete Surprise, I Received A Call From Intelistaf During My Break At 10:00 Am Letting Me Know That My Assignment Was Cancelled Because I Did Not Pass The Pbds! I Was Never More Humiliated In My Entire Life! If I Had Know That This Test Would Determine Whether I Continued Working At This Facility, I Feel That I Would Have Had A Completely Different Mindset Going In. I Am So Hurt And Angry Over This. I Feel Like I Have Been Deceived By Both Intelistaf And This Hospital But I Put Most Of The Blame On Intelistaf For Their Complete Lack Of Communication. I Feel That I Should Be Able To Retake This Test At Intelistaf's Expense. What Do Others Think Of This And What Other Suggestions Does Anyone Else Have?
webbiedebbie
631 Posts
I had to take the test with this last employer. They said it was an assessment tool. My test involved L&D which I haven't done in 10 years. They said my preceptors would be using the results in my orientation. IT WAS NEVER USED! What a waste of time and money....