We are pleased to announce the first release of new exams for the 2010 calendar year!  Please use this information to assist with using these exams during your screening process.

2010 Trauma ICU

The 2010 Trauma ICU Exam is a new exam that determines clinician competency based on a critical patient population inclusive of all pathologies familiar to the Trauma ICU setting.  The Pharmacology component has been integrated into this exam; therefore you will not need to administer a separate Pharmacology Exam.

However, you will need to administer the Dysrhythmia Version 2.0 Exam to determine competency for rhythm recognition, as the new Critical Care exams do not contain rhythm strips. Attempting to include the Dysrhythmia strips in the newer exams would have created a very lengthy exam for the applicant.

This exam has a corresponding 2010 Trauma ICU Skills Checklist.

2010 Surgical ICU

The 2010 Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) Exam determines clinician competency based on the patient population inclusive of the critical post-operative phase. The Pharmacology component has been integrated into this exam; therefore you will not need to administer a separate Pharmacology Exam.

However, you will need to administer the Dysrhythmia Version 2.0 Exam to determine competency for rhythm recognition, as the new Critical Care exams do not contain rhythm strips. Attempting to include the Dysrhythmia strips in the newer exams would have created a very lengthy exam for the applicant.

***If you want the newly validated exams included in your profiles, you must change your profiles to reflect this. ***

Your profiles can be modified by following a few simple steps. For step-by-step assistance, check out the training video – “Creating Profiles”.

For your convenience, the “Creating Profiles” training video can also be found in your NurseTesting account under the Help tab! Remember that for the protection of your account; only Admins have access to modifying profiles!

We hope this will assist you in the implementation of these new exams!

Some wonderful questions have come into our Q/A box in Get Satisfaction about exams that incorporate a year in their titles (2009 General ICU Exam A).

So, we figured everyone would benefit from a little explanation of the purpose for including the years on the newly validated exams within NurseTesting.

The numerical year that precedes the exam title for the new competency exams and corresponding skills checklist denotes the year in which the validated exam and skills checklist was created.  The newly validated competency exams are continuously monitored for reliability based on ongoing statistical analysis and the skills checklist are reviewed annually to reflect relevant practice. 

As revisions and/or updates are made to the exams, the year will also change accordingly. So, continue sending the exams based on the content denoted from the exam name and disregard the year that starts the exam name.  This is basically in-house tracking for us and will allow you to know when the last updates were on the particular exams you are sending out.

Hope this helps everyone! We look forward to assisting you with your testing needs in 2010!

Amistaff’s Clinical Team has come through right on schedule!  You now have access to the 2010 Core Mandatories from your "Send Exams" screen.

So, here is a synopsis of the 2010 Core releases:

•   2010 Core Mandatory Part I: exams that are aligned to meet all Federal Regulatory Agency Requirements such as OSHA and CDC.
•   2010 Core Mandatory Part II: correlates with each discipline to meet all Joint Commission requirements.
•   2010 Core Part III : for your convenience to meet any possible contractual or facility specific requirements.

Exams now available on the Mandatory section of the exam list:
 

2010 Core Mandatory Part I (for all disciplines) includes:

•     Body Mechanics/Ergonomics
•     Disaster Preparedness
•     Environmental Safety
•     Fire Safety
•     Hazardous Chemicals
•     HIPAA
•     Infection Control/Blood Borne Pathogens

2010 Core Mandatory Part II (Nursing) includes:

•     Age Specific
•     Cultural Diversity
•     Ethics for Healthcare
•     2010 National Patient Safety Goals (Nursing)
•     Patient Rights

2010 Core Mandatory Part II (Allied) includes:

•     Age Specific
•     Cultural Diversity
•     Ethics for Healthcare
•     2010 National Patient Safety Goals (Allied)
•     Patient Rights

2010 Core Mandatory Part II (Non-Licensed Personnel) includes:

•     Age Specific
•     Cultural Diversity
•     Ethics for Healthcare
•     20010 National Patient Safety Goals (Non-Licensed)
•     Patient Rights

2010 Core Part III includes:

•     Abuse
•     Advanced Care Planning
•     Domestic Violence
•     Pain Management
•     Patient Restraints
•     Sexual Harassment
•     Workplace Violence

*** Please note that effective 1/04/2010, the 2009 Core Mandatories along with the 2009 National Patient Safety Goals will no longer be available.***

Also, many clients have the 2009 Core Mandatories included in their Exam Profiles. If you want the 2010 Core Mandatories included in those profiles, you MUST change your profiles to reflect this. If you need assistance with changing your profiles, please refer to the Training Link under the HELP menu for a tutorial on Creating Profiles.

We hope that these changes will assist you in your continued success for 2010!

Please contact support with any questions.

As the leader in providing valid and reliable competency assessment tools for healthcare professionals, we want to provide you with a brief overview for the 2009 Neuro ICU, 2009 Neuro Progressive Care Exam and 2009 Endoscopy/GI Lab exams to assist you with their implementation.

2009 Neuro ICU

The 2009 Neuro ICU Exam is a new exam that determines clinician competency based on a critical patient population inclusive of all general disease pathologies familiar to the Neuro ICU setting.  The Pharmacology component has been integrated into this exam; therefore you will not need to administer a separate Pharmacology Exam.

However, you will need to administer the Dysrhythmia Version 2.0 Exam to determine competency for rhythm recognition, as the new Critical Care exams do not contain rhythm strips. Attempting to include the Dysrhythmia strips in the newer exams would have created a very lengthy exam for the applicant.
 
2009 Neuro Progressive Care

The 2009 Neuro Progressive Care (PCU) Exam determines clinician competency based on the sub-acute patient population inclusive of the progressive care or step-down phase. The Pharmacology component has been integrated into this exam; therefore you will not need to administer a separate Pharmacology Exam.

However, you will need to administer the Dysrhythmia Version 2.0 Exam to determine competency for rhythm recognition, as the new Progressive Care exams do not contain rhythm strips. Attempting to include the Dysrhythmia strips in the newer exams would have created a very lengthy exam for the applicant.

2009 Endoscopy/GI Lab

The 2009 Endoscopy/GI Lab Exam determines clinician competency based on a patient population inclusive of procedures commonly performed in this Endoscopy/GI Lab. The Pharmacology component has been integrated into this exam; therefore you will not need to administer a separate Pharmacology Exam.

However, you will need to administer the Dysrhythmia Version 2.0 Exam to determine competency for rhythm recognition, as the new Endoscopy/GI Lab exams do not contain rhythm strips. Attempting to include the Dysrhythmia strips in the newer exams would have created a very lengthy exam for the applicant.

We hope this helps with the implementation of the exams.  Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season!

We are pleased to announce the 2010 National Patient Safety Goals Exams are available for immediate implementation!

To continue in assisting you with your testing needs, we are releasing the 2010 NPSG exams specific for Nursing, Allied, and Non-Licensed Personnel. The following exams are now available and located in the Mandatory section of the exam list:

• 2010 NPSG (Nursing) – includes RN’s and LPN’s
• 2010 NPSG (Allied) – includes PT, OT, ORT, Radiology, Certified Medication Aides, CNA’s (licensed by state) and other Allied personnel that retain licensure.
• 2010 NPSG (Non-Licensed Personnel) – includes CNA’s (non-licensed by state), HHA’s, sitters and all other Non-Licensed Personnel.

The 2009 NPSG exams will still be available in your account until January 1, 2010.

***To use the 2010 NPSG exams via profiles, you must change your profiles to reflect this. ***

Your profiles can be modified by following a few simple steps. For step-by-step assistance, check out the training video – “Creating Profiles”.

For your convenience, the “Creating Profiles” training video can also be found in your NurseTesting account under the Help tab! Remember that for the protection of your account, only Admins have access to modifying profiles!

The 2010 NPSG will also be reflected in the new 2010 Core Mandatories that will be released this month!

We hope that these changes will assist you in your continued success for 2010!

As you probably remember, NurseTesting released newly validated exams in the beginning of September. In conjunction with the release of these new exams, the exam results page was enhanced to include the recommended Pass/Fail cutoff score – passing scores show in green while failing scores show in red.

Adjacent to the caregiver’s score you now find one of two recommended Angoff Pass/Fail cutoffs:

• Unmodified Angoff Cutoff Score – the score determined by a panel of Subject Matter Experts after performing an in-depth item analysis for each question.
• Modified Angoff Cutoff Score - the score determined from a comprehensive statistical analysis once a competency exam has reached a sufficient sample population size compensating for any potential unreliability and/or adverse impact.

The change in the results page only affected the newly validated exams, leaving the original exams untouched. The addition of a recommended passing score on new exam results pages led to inquiries as to how to determine acceptable scores on original NurseTesting exams.

In an effort to assist clients in determining whether the applicants have obtained an acceptable score, NurseTesting will now display “recommended Modified Angoff Cutoff scores” on all NurseTesting clinical exams – original and newly validated!

The determination of the Modified Angoff Cutoff score was based on both the statistical analysis of each of the original exams as well as the Healthcare Industry raw cutoff score of 80%.  In our estimation, simply requiring clinicians to achieve an 80% score could potentially cause significant adverse impact against protected groups and lead to Title VII inquiries.

For that reason, we have supplied the Modified Angoff Cutoff Scores to help reduce risk and liability our clients. The Modified Angoff method compensates for any unreliability and/or adverse/disparate impact the exams may have.  NurseTesting is committed to providing the healthcare industry with reliable and validated pre-screening assessments.

We appreciate all of our clients’ feedback that led to this improvement on the results page.  Please let us know if you have any questions regarding this enhancement and we will be happy to help!

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As the leader in providing valid and reliable competency assessment tools for healthcare professionals, we want to provide you with a brief overview for each of the 2009 ICU and 2009 Emergency Room exams to assist you with their implementation.
 

The 2009 General ICU Exam is replacing our current Critical Care Exam 0308 and Critical Care Medications exams. This exam determines clinician competency based on a critical patient population inclusive of all general disease pathologies familiar to the general ICU setting.  The Pharmacology component has been integrated into this exam, therefore you will not need to administer a separate Pharmacology Exam. 

However, you will need to administer the Dysrhythmia Version 2.0 Exam to determine competency for rhythm recognition, as the new Critical Care exams do not contain rhythm strips. Attempting to include the Dysrhythmia strips in the newer exams would have created a very lengthy exam for the applicant.
 

The 2009 CCU (Coronary Care Unit) Exam is designed to determine clinician competency in the Coronary Care Unit. The Pharmacology component has been integrated into this exam, therefore you will not need to administer a separate Pharmacology Exam.

However, you will need to administer the Dysrhythmia Version 2.0 Exam to determine competency for rhythm recognition, as the new Critical Care exams do not contain rhythm strips. Attempting to include the Dysrhythmia strips in the newer exams would have created a very lengthy exam for the applicant.

The 2009 CVICU (Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit) Exam determines clinician competency based on a critical patient population inclusive of the immediate post-op phase. The Pharmacology component has been integrated into this exam, therefore you will not need to administer a separate Pharmacology Exam.

However, you will need to administer the Dysrhythmia Version 2.0 Exam to determine competency for rhythm recognition, as the new Critical Care exams do not contain rhythm strips. Attempting to include the Dysrhythmia strips in the newer exams would have created a very lengthy exam for the applicant.
 

The 2009 ER (Emergency Room) Exam contains all of the components that are unique to the ER setting and will determine competency accordingly. The Pharmacology component has been integrated into this exam, therefore you will not need to administer a separate Pharmacology Exam.

However, you will need to administer the Dysrhythmia Version 2.0 Exam to determine competency for rhythm recognition, as the new ER exams do not contain rhythm strips. Attempting to include the Dysrhythmia strips in the newer exams would have created a very lengthy exam for the applicant.

Since there is Critical Care Pharmacology Competency integration into each of these exams, we have removed the Critical Care and ER Medications Exams from the exam library. Many clients have the old Critical Care, ER, Critical Care Medications, and ER Medications exams included in Exam Profiles. If you want the newly validated exams included in those profiles, you must change your profiles to reflect this. ***
 

Your profiles can be modified by following a few simple steps. For step-by-step assistance, check out the training video – “Creating Profiles”.

For your convenience, the “Creating Profiles” training video can also be found in your NurseTesting account under the Help tab! Remember that for the protection of your account; only Admins have access to modifying profiles!

As far as additional specialized ICU Exams, we are not through yet so stay tuned to Nursetesting for more great assessments coming in October!

To further assist you, here are a few links regarding the use of the content outlines and scoring that will also be accessible with these exams:
 

Remediation of Clinicians for future NurseTesting Assessments

New Assessment Data Allows Employeers to Make Informed Scoring Decisions

We are proud to announce that effective 09/23/2009 the next set of newly validated exams will be released in NurseTesting:

• Emergency Room (ER )
• Coronary Care Unit (CCU)
• Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU)
• General Intensive Care Unit (General ICU)

Our clinical team developed a rigorous new process for creating validated content for all future NurseTesting assessments!

New clinical assessments now have two comparable forms that can be used independently and administered for testing – Get ready for Form A & Form B!

The intricate details describing the in-depth job analysis performed by subject matter experts, to the creation of parallel forms using Angoff Cutoff Scores, can be found in our blog post Development Process for New Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and CNA Acute Care Assessments.

*** Many clients have the old ER and General ICU exams included in Exam Profiles. If you want the newly validated exams included in those profiles, you must change your profiles to reflect this. ***

Your profiles can be modified by following a few simple steps. For step-by-step assistance, check out the training video – “Creating Profiles”.

For your convenience, the “Creating Profiles” training video can also be found in your NurseTesting account under the Help tab! Remember that for the protection of your account, only Admins have access to modifying profiles!

The importance of verifying the “validated content” of your testing provider shows once again as the Fort Smith Gerber Plant will pay $900,000 for hiring discrimination.

When selecting a testing provider, make sure that the company monitors their content for adverse impact and possesses the evidence of validity to support the use of their assessments.

Otherwise, you may find your organization in a similar situation as the one being lived by the Fort Smith Gerber Plant. As noted in the article by the Arkansas Business Staff:

During a compliance evaluation of the (Fort Smith Gerber Plant), investigators found the hiring disparity was in part caused by inconsistent selection procedures for entry-level positions. Additionally, the office found that Gerber used pre-employment tests that negatively impacted minority applicants and determined that there was insufficient evidence of validity to support Gerber’s use of the test.

Gerber has discontinued its use of the test in the hiring process for entry-level positions…Gerber will not only pay 1,912 minority and female applicants $900,000 in back pay and interest, but will provide 61 entry-level positions, 11 of whom have already been hired.

Do your company a favor by completing your homework. Whether considering a new testing provider, or checking up on the one you’ve been using for years, you can never be too cautious.

If the testing provider has the evidence of validity to back up the use of their assessments, they will not only be happy to share it with you, they will also applaud you for your due diligence.

NurseTesting.com highlights their validation process for all assessment content on their website and commends clients for verifying the rigorous monitoring process upheld by the company.