The health-care industry carries the huge responsibility of delivering health services to humanity. Doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, midwives, and community workers make up the world’s health workforce.
An industry that is driven by science and ethics, getting a job in health care has its unique challenges, such as aging and pandemics. You need to continually work on your professional development and capability to respond to the times.
Your success lies in marching through preemployment requirements that will put you under numerous tests, as outlined. Get ready, and take stock of helpful tips that follow.
Skills Test
How well do you know what you do? The skills test will measure the skills needed to perform the job, from communication, to computer literacy, down to the nitty-gritty. If you are applying as a nursing assistant, you’ll be asked about basic nursing tasks.
The health-care industry is moving fast with automation, telemedicine, and the internet of things to improve the delivery of services and patient outcomes. Being tech-savvy is becoming a need to be employable and flexible to advancements in the medical field.
Personality Test
It gauges your compatibility with the position and the workplace itself. The test reveals behavioral traits or tendencies that may be predictive of your performance in the role.
Employers work with a set of attitudes that embody their culture and the demands of the job. While not always true to all, but life in health care can involve long work hours and extended shifts. The tool is one way to hire someone with a personality that is up for challenges.
Aptitude Test
Your position may involve facing patients all the time or working unsupervised in a patient’s home. How apt are you to learn new things or solve problems? The aptitude test measures this ability, identifying your strengths and weaknesses.
Indeed, soft skills, like creativity, negotiation, and emotional intelligence, are critical to thriving in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This importance is not lost on 92 percent of employers who value soft skills as much as they value hard skills or even more, according to LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends report in 2019.
Interview
Situational and behavioral questions probe deeper into soft skills, like problem-solving, compassion, and critical thinking. These questions revolve around how you will think or act when presented with a predicament. The questions are standardized so that it’s easy to compare candidates’ answers regardless of who asked them.
Problem-solving questions are particularly helpful because they can elicit more honest responses from applicants who may have memorized what they need to say. Also, the answers can demonstrate the applicants’ hard skills and soft skills.
Drug Test
Health-care settings like hospitals can require potential employees to undergo drug testing after receiving an employment offer. It’s a common belief that employees in the health-care industry have knowledge about drugs and may have access to them.
The sensitivity of the job, with patient safety a priority, also points to drug testing, although employers have to follow laws and regulations regarding the conduct of the tests.
The tests typically screen for the following:
- Cocaine
- Alcohol
- PCP
- Opiates
- Amphetamines
- THC (the psychoactive cannabinoid of marijuana)
Applicants may be asked to submit their urine, blood, hair, saliva, or sweat.
What You Can Expect to Ace Your Tests
Here are helpful tips to come prepared for the battery of tests:
- Make sure you are clean and ready. The job posting can mention drug tests. Use that as a head start to remove unwanted toxins to pass drug assessment test. Check the appropriate products for possible drug-testing methods.
- Practice your communication skills. It’s a step to not only impress your future employer but also to convey your ideas better as early as the phone interview.
- Answer aptitude tests online. You’ll get a feel of the time pressure, and it gives you insights on areas that you need to work on.
- Include coworkers in your references. Hiring managers want to know how you work with others as part of their assessment.
Needless to say, the exams can be grueling and nerve-wracking, but they’re part of qualifying for your dream job. The best course is to note what you know, brush up on important skills, and demonstrate them to your future boss.
Good luck on your employment prospects!
