13 October 2009

Psychometric tests for nursing recruits

Nursing recruits are set to undergo psychometric tests at one of the UK's largest NHS trusts in an effort to assess their levels of compassion and the values they hold.

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is to become one of the first acute trusts in the country to put its future nurses through a series of personality tests designed to assess their ability to preserve the dignity and respect of patients.

Janice Sigsworth, director of nursing at Imperial, is reported in a leading nursing journal as saying the acute trust was developing psychometric testing that would be launched this year.

She went on to say the trust was also developing a letter, which will be sent out to all potential candidates, stetting out the values of the organisation.

Although these values were yet to be finalised they were likely to be pride, respect, innovation and care.

However, Peter Griffiths, director of the National Nursing Research Unit at King's College, London, said he had reservations about psychometric testing.

Instead, he thought measuring the experiences of the patient was key to getting an idea of whether nurses were compassionate.

Staff needed to be reminded of what the whole thing looks and feels like through a patient's eyes, because it is often very difficult to keep that perspective, Griffiths added.

 

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