After taking all 7 tests and only failing 1, I was frustrated but also relieved. The end result could have been much worse!
A Clinical Specialist from the Agency called and reviewed the test that I had failed with me. She gave me pointers on how to reason through the question and what the test was looking for. Although I did not always agree with her answers, I retook the test using her guidelines and did pass it.
I was then told by my QM Specialist that she had forgotten to assign 3 other tests to me. On hearing this, I had a meltdown. A flat out, crying like a baby meltdown. I confess, I have debilitating test anxiety and I hit my max at 7 tests! After taking a day off from all things Travel Nursing, I reluctantly took those last 3 tests and warned my QM to think twice about assigning more (j/k I politely asked her to not assign anymore).
My overall thoughts about the Pre-Employment Tests now that I have completed this stage of the “On-Boarding” process.
- The clinical tests (3) were the ones I spent most of my time studying for. These included basic nursing knowledge and practice, knowledge about my specialty, and EKG interpretation. These were timed and only allowed 1 minute per question on average. They were very fast paced tests and studying before testing was a MUST for me! I do believe I did well only because I prepared well!
- The personality and interpersonal competence tests (2) were the trouble makers for me. They list these tests as situational and behavioral assessments. I do not feel I could have studied for these and done better. The answers truly do change depending on the person testing.
- The core mandatory tests (3) that were assigned to me late were not bad. These three tests covered issues like how to handle signs of abuse, workplace violence or harassment, effective communication depending on patient population, advance directives, osha regulations, and so on. By the time I took these, my patience for testing was over and I jumped in head first. They did provide a 100 page PDF that I could have studied, but you didn’t hear it from me- I opened the study guide in another tab and did word search while testing to locate the answers. This was not always effective but worked well enough to get me through. Be warned though, these tests are also timed 1 minute per question and you don’t have a lot of time to search for answers. I used the search ONLY if I did not know the answer at all!
- The color vision test (1) was just that: a color vision test. The test was just like what we saw in nursing text books with the different color dots that create shapes or numbers. Timed but easy for those of us who are not color blind!
- The skills assessment test (1) was not a test at all but rather a rate yourself on how well you know, or how comfortable you are with this procedure or nursing intervention specific to your specialty. There is nothing I can do but be honest in answering these questions. It is scored but I am not really sure what the score means.
Final thoughts: The intimidation factor of these test is worse than the tests themselves. I would recommend studying any topic that intimidates you using the content outlines provided. In the future, I will be avoiding any contract facility that will require me to go through this testing again!
Phase 2 is complete! Onto Phase 3: Start working!
