Current Hiring Practices in Healthcare Presented by: Kristen Medlin, PHR Administrative Director of Human Resources Aiken Regional Medical Centers

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O Value-Based Purchasing O HCAHPS

VALUE-BASED PURCHASING (VBP) O CMS initiative that was established by the Affordable Care Act. O Rewards acute-care hospitals with incentive payments based on the quality of care they provide to people with Medicare O Funding is being shifted from the current DRG payment system to the VBP system O Began in beginning of Fiscal Year 2013, will be fully implemented by 2017

HCAHPS O Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) O Developed by CMS and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) O Standardized survey used to measure patients’ perspective of their hospital care O Voluntary collection of data began in 2006, and public reporting began in 2008.

HCAHPS O 27 item survey given to a random sample of adult patients that have at least a one-night stay in the hospital (not just patients that have Medicare) O No psychiatric or pediatric patients are included in the random sampling

Survey CategoryMeasure Description Composite Topics Nurse Communication Doctor Communication Responsiveness of Hospital Staff Pain Management Communication about Medicines Discharge Information Individual Items Cleanliness of the Hospital Quietness of Hospital Environment Global Items Overall Rating of Hospital Willingness to Recommend Hospital

Examples of HCAHPS Questions O Did the nurses treat you with courtesy and respect? O How often did nurses listen carefully to you? O How often were your room and bathroom cleaned? O How often was the area around your room quiet at night? O Before giving you any new medicine, how often did hospital staff describe possible side effects in a way you could understand?

What Does HCAHPS Have to do With Employees?

Assessment Testing O Part of the interview process O Designed to measure competencies that impact key components of the HCAHPS survey O Measures candidates in three critical areas: O Decision Making O Work Disposition O Personal Competence

Assessment Testing O Specific Characteristics: O Interactions with others, focused on words and actions O Ability to effectively listen and speak to others in work settings O Ability to build rapport, focus on patient needs, and provide accurate information to patients O Ability to deliver high quality work O Ability to develop an understanding of others’ needs and deliver service based on those needs

Benefits of Assessment Testing O Helps to predict on the job performance O Assesses areas that are difficult to evaluate in an interview and difficult to train O Increase quality of new hires O Improve employee engagement O Reduces employee turnover O Improves patient safety, patient satisfaction, and reduces errors

SAMPLE QUESTIONS O One of the other nurses didn’t show up for work and no one is arriving to replace her. The workload has not changed. What is the most appropriate way to handle this situation? 1. Continue on your own and let your manager handle the situation 2. Meet with your team members and delegate extra work throughout the group 3. Call the nurse that did not show and convince her to come to work 4. Ask nurses from another unit if they can help

O While talking to another nurse about a performance problem he is having, you think you may know the cause of his problem and how to resolve it. You ask him for his ideas but get no answer. What would you then say to this nurse? 1. “I have an idea that I think will help”. 2. “I’d like to tell you one way to solve your problem”. 3. “Let me give you an idea, and then maybe you can use it or think of a better way”. 4. “Go ahead and think some more. I’ve got an idea, but I want to see if you can come up with something”.

O A patient is very mad and yelling at you about something that isn’t your fault and is beyond your control. The best thing to do is: 1. Call you nurse manager and have them speak with the patient. 2. Tell the patient that you could help solve the problem if he stops yelling. 3. Ask the patient to explain the situation so that you can solve the problem together. 4. Tell the patient that you are sorry and explain that the problem is out of your control.

Validation: groups of employees O Nurses: all registered nurses, NPs, nurse educators O Clinical Professionals: Pharmacists, social workers, therapists, dieticians O Patient Services: representatives in admissions, collections, billing, secretaries O Support Services: Laborers, housekeepers, cashiers, maintenance, security

Validation

Use of Assessment Testing

Survey by ASHHRA O American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration O Annual survey of HR professionals that work in healthcare to find out what the industry’s current initiatives and identify other insights

Survey by ASHHRA O What are your current HR initiatives to reduce costs? O 74% - streamline HR process O 69% - improve employee retention O 36% - decrease hiring and onboarding cost

Survey by ASHHRA O What are your current HR initiatives to improve patient satisfaction? O 67% - create a service-oriented culture O 40% - improve HCAHPS scores

Survey by ASHHRA O What are your current HR initiatives to improve patient safety? O 54% - Hire for cultural fit O 59% - Improve employee satisfaction

The Growing Trend O ASHHRA survey – 17% in healthcare plan to implement behavioral assessment in 2015 O Brandon Hall Group survey – of 237 organizations surveyed, 52% already use assessment testing based on skill/knowledge, 38% use behavioral assessments

What can you do? O Encourage students to be honest when taking assessment tests. O Help students understand that trying to project a certain personality may land them the job, but they may struggle in the position or be unhappy O Have students take personality tests early in their studies O Be honest with the students O Give them sample tests so that they are comfortable with assessment test taking O Work with them on their critical thinking skills and customer service skills

Questions? O References: O Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; O First Advantage; Summary of the Customer Centered Care Assessments O DDI; O 2014 HealthcareSource & ASHHRA Healthcare HR Initiatives Survey Results & Insights O Society for Human Resource Management