personality tests???

bluesboyj · Jul 24, 1999

I would contact an attorney since to didn't consent to a personality test

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If Ya' Don't Love The Blues, Ya' Got A Hole In Your Soul

MollyJ · Jul 25, 1999

Do you really WANT to work for these people???

The question is, What was the test (supposed to be) testing??? Your loyalty, professionalism, honesty? Is it a standardized, reliable test? (If it's not, it may be no more interesting than the survey tests you see in Ladies magazines: "Test your sexiness...") If you are a member of your state nursing association, give them a call and see what they have to say.

Seems like an adversarial way to start a work relationship with a new employee...

sparrow · Jul 26, 1999

I have never heard of such a thing! No wonder they are so hard up for nurses. There isn't anyone on two legs who doesn't have some personality defect or quirk (some of the worst can be the "shrinks"). What is going on in that building, that they need such "psycologially perfect" nurses? I agree with the other responses: get a lawyer, maybe talk to the labor board, and do you really want to work there (PS, may be they are all crazy and you aren't and that's why you weren't hired!!!)

wildcat · Jul 27, 1999

Personality tests are as common as reference checks. While I was an undergrad working on my BSN I took a course in Behavioral Research(as part of my BA in Psychology). First off you did not "fail" the test. The test merely assesed your personality type. The test you took was probably a water down version of the Myers-Briggs test. Don't get down on yourself if they did not hire you. They could have just used your results as an excuse not to hire you. But who knows. As for the legality of the test, it is legal. You had the choice to refuse the "survey" at the time it was administered. To answer your question about the repetiveness of the "survey," questions are asked multiple times for validation. If you are inconsistent the test results will reflect it and in fact asseses another trait. If you would like to know your personality type there are many online tests, for example http://www.outofservice.com/you / or http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hollow/9561/index.html

Your personality type can change over time and day to day for arguments sake. But, you can take a test off one of thes e sites to find out what type of person you are. I can even help you interprit your results if you email them to me.

Mystic32 · Jul 28, 1999

Yes I have taken one of these tests, they are becoming common with relation to Peds. work. But I think you should seek counsel reguarding its use as a preemployment tool,I do not think its legal.

Mystic

wildcat · Jul 28, 1999

IT IS VERY LEGAL. On the "survey" you took I'm sure your signature was required and that your signature verified that you took the "survey" of your own free will.

MollyJ · Jul 31, 1999

I, too, have heard of employers using MMPI's, or Myers-Briggs Inventories as pre-employment tools and I could see some method to the madness for these types of tests, but (as in my original post), I still wonder what this test is supposed to be testing and if it is a reliable tool. If they are using some opinion questionnaire to "weed out" their employment pool, that is still weird to me. Were they asking what your response to workplace violence ("I would vs would not report or charge a surgeon that threw a bloody scalpel at me") OR using answers about attitudes toward drugs to INFER that you had a problem with substances? (I would not assume that the questions were like either of my examples, but I think the reader gets the drift.) What is the point of the test???

The work place is interesting these days and with the cost of recruitment and hiring, you can understand why employers want to "get it right the first time," but I would still be curious as to WHAT they were trying to test. If you had told me 20 years ago that nurses would be subjected to drug tests, I would have been stunned. Is drug testing an insult to professionals or participating in a procedure that reinforces your professional fitness? Now that's another question...

wildcat · Aug 1, 1999

Molly, your questions are very valid. The purpose of asking the questions whether they are opinion or third person references, etc. is to assertain the subjects personality type and tendencies. For example, seven different qustions on a test might asses the subjects attention to details or integrity, etc. The ultimate purpose of the personality profile that results from the test is then matched against traits, characteristics, values, etc. which an employer desires in a particular employment position. With the topic at hand ICU's, the hospital is looking for RN's who are attentive to detail, sensitive to slight changes in a patients condition, highly organized and the list goes on. The point is that a personality test asseses a set of desired characteristics and the hospital then compaires them against what they desire in a RN. In short, when personality tests are designed and given correctly they help to get the best RN's in the best position for the particular RN. On to your question of validity and accuracy. I would say the vast majority (98% or better) of personality assesment tests that are produced by reputible firms or universities are accurate measures of what they are designed to measure. Unfortunatly, some times these tests are given incorrectly and may skew the results. I would have to say that in few (3%) cases that a test is given so improperly that it would give inaccurate results. Now on a personal note. I am offically stating my position of personality testing. These test can serve as a useful aide to an interviewer. As with any other aspect of life you should not put all your eggs in one basket. Interviewing is the same way to me. An interviewer should use a personality test to help themself make an educated decision on hiring an RN. A personality test should not be the sole tool used in assesing a potential RN's sutibility as no one test (except drug tests) should hire or not hire an RN. That is my story and I'm sticking to it.

bluesboyj · Aug 1, 1999

I disagree that personality tests can determine if someone will make a good ICU nurse. Nurses store things that are important from report and assessment not from being able to regurgitate some bit of info from a question on a personality test. Tests are not an end-all for determining how a person will perform at a certain job. If tests are so wonderful, medical students just getting by would be dropped, yet they wind up getting called "Dr."

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If Ya' Don't Love The Blues, Ya' Got A Hole In Your Soul

wildcat · Aug 2, 1999

Bluesboyj.

I'm not sure if you are directing your comments toward me or the topic in general. Either way it's fine by me. However, I do want to make sure my position is known. Personality test are not and should not be the only assesment done to determine who is and who is not hired. Personality tests are good at providing validation for hiring an employee and distingusing what a potential employee will most likely be like. For example, if you were hiring an ICU RN and you had two canidates you had a good feeling about and you need something help you decide which one to hire. A personality test might indicate which canidate is best inclined for the job. Again, personality tests are just one piece of a total evaluation which organizations should use in order to hire the best possible employee.

HoJo · Aug 21, 1999

I once took a test similar to this one when I worked for a hardware store (Builder's Square). I do not think that this test should be considered legal. It is too much regulation, in that they ask too many personal questions. The test was computerized and they did not even show me the results. Also all that I did for the test was tell them what I know they wanted to hear, if you catch my drift. Basically it's pointless. I would love to hear from a supervisor or administrator who requires these tests at their hospital.

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Class of 1999!!!