Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A Review of a Holistic Assessment System for Hiring Effective Nursing Staff
(SUBMITTED FOR REVIEW)
JIM HIGGINS Ed.D.1
JAMES KUTHY, Ph.D.2
FELICIA SADLER, BSN RN CPHQ2
RON GONZALEZ, MSN3
DANIEL BIDDLE, Ph.D.4
1
Industrial and Organizational Psychologist, California Department of Justice and Independent Testing Consultant
compensated to conduct independent evaluation, 2 Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. , 3 Prophecy Healthcare, Inc., 4
Industrial and Organizational Psychologist and President of Biddle Consulting Group, Inc.
Note: The comprehensive development report (BCG, 2012) can be obtained from contacting the fourth author:
dbiddle@biddle.com.
1
The Sutter Center for Health Professions (SCHP) in Sacramento, California. SCHP is a partnership between the
Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region and the Los Rios Community College District, which offers an accredited,
associates’ degree nursing program. The facility was chosen because of the state‐of‐the‐art medical equipment in a
hospital‐style setting.
2
AMOS Version 19, published by SPSS (IBM) was used for this part of the study.
Abbott, P.A. (2012). The effectiveness and clinical usability of a handheld information appliance.
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Scottsdale, AZ: Infinity Publishing.
Caligtan, C.A., Carroll, D.L., Hurley, A.C., Gersch‐Zaremski, R., and Dykes, P.C. (2012). Bedside
Information Technology to support patient‐centered care. International Journal of
Informatics (2012) (January 26, 2012).
Cascio, W., Boudreau, J. Investing in People: Financial Impact of Human Resource Initiatives
(2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Press: 2010.
Chan, D. & Schmitt, N. (1997). Video‐based versus paper‐and‐pencil method of assessment in
situational judgment tests: Subgroup differences in test performance and face validity
perceptions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 143–159.
Christian, M. S., Edwards, B. E., & Bradley, J. C. (2010). Situational judgment tests: Constructs
assessed and a meta‐analysis of their criterion‐related validities. Personnel Psychology, 63,
83–117.
Hall, L.M. and Donner, G.J. (1997); The changing role of nurse managers: a literature review.
Canadian Journal of Nursing Administration. 10(2); 14‐39.
Motowidlo, S. J. & Beier, M. E. (2010). Differentiating specific job knowledge from implicit trait
policies in procedural knowledge measured by a situational judgment test. Journal of
Applied Psychology, 95, 321‐333.
Principals for Validation and use of Personnel Procedures, 4th Ed. (2003). Society for Industrial
and Organizational Psychology, 520 Ordway Avenue, Bowling Green OH 43402.
Prophecy®: Test Development and Validation Report (2012). By Biddle Consulting Group, Inc.
Available by contacting Dr. Daniel Biddle, President of Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. at
DBiddle@Biddle.com.
Sackett, P.R., Lievens, F., Berry, C.M., Landers, R.N. (2007). A cautionary note on the effects of
range restriction on predictor intercorrelations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 538–544.
Taylor, H., Russell, J. The relationship of validity coefficients to the practical effectiveness of
tests in selection: Discussion and tables. Journal of Applied Psychology, 23, 565‐578, 1939.
Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (1978); 43 FR 38295 (August 25, 1978).
Tables
Table 1. Key Competencies Selected for Situational Judgment Assessment Design and the Job
Performance Rating Survey (JPRS)
Honest & Conscientious Problem Solving
Verbal Communication Patient Care (calm & competent)
Administering Medications Report Transitioning
Assertiveness Continuous Observation
Change Adaptation Developing Patient Relationships
Conflict Resolution Patient Care Plan Management
Accountability Patient Customer Service
Critical Thinking New Technique Application
Multitasking Delegating/Managing Patient Care
Following Clinician Instructions
Table 2. Top Six Ranked Performance Dimensions Predicted by Each Assessment1
Written Test Situational Assessment Personality Scale
Administering Patient Care (Calm &
Accountability
Medications Competent)
Developing Patient
Problem Solving Honest & Conscientious
Relationships
Report Transitioning Verbal Communication Conflict Resolution
Critical Thinking Patient Customer Service New Technique Application
Delegating/Managing Patient
Multitasking Patient Care Plan Management
Care
Assertiveness Conflict Resolution Change Adaptation
1. The values in this table are based on the total amount of criteria variance predicted (explained) by the set of
three assessments (summed), not the total variance available.
Table 3. Observed and Estimated Correlations for Clinical Assessments at both Hospitals (all
tests combined).
Saint Francis Medical Frederick Memorial
Combined(1)
Center Hospital
Source: U.S. Department of Labor (2000), Testing and Assessment: An Employer’s Guide to Good Practices (p. 3‐
10)
Table 5. Forecasted Nurse Hiring Outcomes Based on Using the Combined Assessments.
Forecasted Nurse Hiring Outcomes Based on Using Prophecy Assessments
Combined Selection Base Rate (% of test takers who would likely receive
Test T‐Score Ratio “Average+” job performance ratings)
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
<67.2 100% 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0
67.2 90% 11.1 22.2 33.2 44.1 54.8 65.3 75.5 85.1 93.8
71.6 80% 12.4 24.7 36.7 48.3 59.5 70.1 79.8 88.6 95.8
74.8 70% 14.1 27.6 40.6 52.8 64.1 74.4 83.6 91.3 97.1
77.5 60% 16.1 31.1 44.5 57.5 68.7 78.6 86.8 93.4 98.0
80.0 50% 18.7 35.2 49.8 62.5 73.4 82.5 89.8 95.2 98.7
82.5 40% 22.0 40.1 55.3 67.8 78.1 86.2 92.4 96.6 99.2
85.2 30% 26.5 46.2 61.7 73.7 82.9 89.7 94.7 97.8 100
88.4 20% 33.1 54.3 69.4 80.2 87.9 93.3 96.7 98.8 100
92.8 10% 44.3 66.1 79.4 87.9 93.3 96.6 98.5 100 100
1
T‐scores were set with a Mean of 80 and Standard Deviation of 10.