screening applicants for telephonic triage

wincha · Jan 18, 2006

Hi, I am a new supervisor in a call center and would like to know if anyone out there can assist me. I am having trouble deciding who would be a good fit for telephonic triage. Is anyone using a screening process for applicants?
Do you have a test for them to determine their knowledge base and abilities. I look for RNs w either ED, CCU, ICU that have at least 5 yrs of experience. I look at computer skills, verbal skills. I think I have a good candidate and then when I get them in training, I see they are not. Most of the time things work out, but my medical director wants to see some type of screening process, in writing, developed. Any assistance would be appreciated.
Thanks.
cab6e3

I'm curious what call center? I just applied for a telephone triage job and filled out an on line test. What types of patients do you triage for?

They had some very dumb questions about computer use, my teenage son was laughing at the questions. Good luck! I have worked in telephone triage for 10 years. Every time I turn around we are changing something with our system and we constantly need to be updated. Most of our nurses fit we do also have an average of around 20 years of experience per RN.

Traveler · Jan 26, 2006

I think home health experience is great experience for RN's going into telephone triage. Most RN's working in hh have to take lots of call and it involves good triaging over the phone.

cab6e3 · Jan 26, 2006

Traveler,

thanks!

CrunchRN, ADN, RN · Jan 26, 2006

Former office nurses do a great job with triage because that is about 70% of what they do. I think a lot of hospital nurses would become bored and frustrated easily because it is so different from what they are used to. It sounds good when they want out of acute care, but the reality is different from what they expect. Not that they can't do it, but it can be a difficult adjustment.

Fonenurse · Jan 27, 2006

HI cab6e3. I work for a major employer of telephone triage nurses in the UK. We run an assessment day to screen our nurses. It is a big investment of time, but pays off because we get the right candidates and don't waste a lot of time and money on training people who leave very quickly.

Initially we screen their CV and applications and invite candidates who meet the criteria. Once they arrive at the assessment centre we test their IT skills by running them through a mock triage situation, asking them to complete a mock template so that we can assess their documentation skills and also their critical thinking skills too. We have one person assessing the call and one role playing the patient.

We know what disposition we would like to gain from a set scenario so we can see if the applicant has the knowledge and triage skills we are looking for. We also interview them and ask further questions about the candidate.

We also give them a presentation about what it is like to work for us - this way they are under no illusion.

Please PM me if you want to talk about this further - will be delighted to help if I can.

Rigby · Feb 5, 2006

I think I have a good candidate and then when I get them in training, I see they are not.

Exactly what are you seeing that you don't like?

peachesRN · Feb 5, 2006

I think I have a good candidate and then when I get them in training, I see they are not.
Exactly what are you seeing that you don't like?

Good question. I'm an RN in So. Cal via Ct. Most of my career has been in LTC, but I have done admission screenings when I worked in Detox a few years back. The Telephone Triage Companies that I have contacted bearly acknowledge my inquiry. On the other hand, my best buddy in Texas spent most of her career in psych and doesn't even have an e-mail, got hired on. She says that she just follows a script. Am I missing something:confused: ?

Fonenurse · Feb 6, 2006

She says that she just follows a script. Am I missing something:confused: ?

Telephone triage is often about so much more than just following a script - mainly because patients cannot be scripted - they are human beings who usually deviate from set scripts with their problems and health issues. We like to employ people with a broad range of experience and critical thinking skills - have you looked at your CV to see if it can be tweaked to get better results?

peachesRN · Feb 6, 2006

We like to employ people with a broad range of experience and critical thinking skills

I am so sorry. I have failed to make my question clear. I have been applying to these Telephone Triage Co's to get hired on... without a nibble. Given that my girlfriend nor I have any ER, critical care, or public health nursing experience, what makes the employer feel that her resume has this "broad range...critical thinking" that they are looking for and mine doesn't? I am even willing to relocate if living in Cali makes the difference. What is it that you see in the resumes that doesn't always pan out?

Thanks for your insight!

Fonenurse · Feb 16, 2006

We like our staff to have worked in at least two areas - medical, ER, Onc, OBGYN, paeds, psych... the more diverse their experience the better.

As far as critical thinking goes - we assess this at the assessment centre, sorry didn't make myself clear in my post.

As far as the CV goes - I would suggest you get someone to look at it who knows you, but not too well. It could be that it is the way your CV is written, rather than your experience that is stopping you getting any acknowledgement - I applied several times before I got hired by the company I now work for - and it was 'tweaking' my CV that did the trick.

If they are advertising, it is worth writing your CV to fit their specs - it will make it easier for them to see what you have to offer.

Hope this helps.

cab6e3 · Feb 16, 2006

Thanks to all who have replied.

cab6e3