St joseph hospital new hire skills test

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I recently got hired at St Joseph hospital. They require a medication and ECG test. Has anyone taken these tests and is it really hard or just basic questions? What happens if you don't pass? Do they rescind their offer?

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

Welcome Emq3!

There are multiple "St Joseph hospital"s across the US..... adding a state will be helpful to get a response. Best wishes with your med test.

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Specializes in ED, ICU, Prehospital.

Which st. Joes? What unit? New grad?

These answers will determine what advice you get here. As far ss whether or not the offer is rescinded...the only one that can answer that is HR/unit educator of your hospital.

A new grad med and ekg exam is different than the bkat for a specialty unit..in my experience. i didnt have to take any of this nonsense when i first started, but the nursing schools are churning out grads that are not being taught these basic skills for some reason.

Med exams are usually calculations for new grads. Math only. How many pills. How fast the pump should be programmed for.

Ekg for new grads is usually simple enough. Asystole. Svt. Torsades. Sb and st. Junctional and more complicated rhythms are usually saved for specialty or experienced.

I have heard new hires say that they were told this is an assessment tool to find out what is needed for you to succeed. Not as a condition of employment.

That being said. They are used punitively at times.

Go over some of your nursing school math exams and go onto the acls website where you can take tests on rhythms all day long for free.

If you are experienced...then expect the bar to be higher. My ICU uses the bkat for icu as well as a 5 page med exam that includes knowledge of the medications and indications for each as well as dosages. We even have a reverse calculation to make sure your pump is actually programmed correctly. Its called a k constant.

Prepare as you would have for any exam in nursing school...this is the really real world now and doing calculations and reconizing rhythms can mean life or death.

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