What is the PBDS?

[stellar]

I am going to be new to travel shortly and I just came across a reference to the "PBDS" as a requirement to an assignment, which had to be passed before housing could be provided. What exactly is this and how often does it need to be taken or required? I took my CCRN in January after 2 weeks of studying (and 25 years as an ICU nurse) and passed without much ado, is this in the same league? Amanda you said you had a study guide, could you also email it to me?

[Beaches]

PBDS is "Performance Based Development System" distributed by a company to hospitals to assess nurses critical thinking/interpersonal skills when faced with particular patient/time management/team work, etc. scenarios. Either the company or the hospital staff will "grade" the answers to determine if the nurse responds to a situation appropriately and can justify their actions with rationales appropriate to nursing. Most of the scenarios depict patients that have sudden changes in status. This is not a multiple choice test, but long-hand or computer based responses of: diagnoses, interventions, anticipation of MD orders and rationales for performance of all of the above

[AmandaWIRN]

The PBDS was originally intended not to be a pass/fail test, but to gauge a nurse's strengths & weaknesses, and find out which areas they need more orientation in. Unfortunately, it has mostly become a way for hospitals to "weed out" travelers. They say its not pass/fail, but if you don't do well enough, they cancel your contract- sounds like pass/fail to me! I took it for my very first assignment in FL and passed, but I will never again take an assignment anywhere that requires it.

If you send me a PM with your e-mail address, I will send you a copy of the study guide for the med/surg version (I work ER, and this is the version I had to take). I do NOT have ICU, NICU, or L&D study guides, just the med/surg.

Basically, you are shown video vignettes of various patient situations, and you have to list a medical diagnosis, what interventions you would do for the patient, the rationale for those interventions, things you would report to the physician, and what orders you would expect to receive.

What hospital will you be working at?

[battynurse]

My last assignment I had to do the PBDS and they said it wasn't a "fail" but we still had to do it. While from one stand point I can see the idea behind it from another stand point it's asking me to make a diagnosis and come up with interventions (such as meds, tests to be done etc) and while to some extent yes I am aware of some of this based on what I've seen in caring for other patients, I am not a doctor. It just seemed strange to me. I've also had to do the online testing stuff that isn't too bad. Just checks your basic level of knowledge and critical thinking.

[stellar]

I've read a few posts about the test now, and travel nurses are consistently sent packing if they fail...Personally, I have decided that I will not take an assignment that requires it. I just won't take the chance. If they set it up at my base at a secure location, like Sylvan Learning Center or something and the agency paid for it, and I knew if I passed/failed it ahead of time, fine, but I am not willing to travel to an uncertain assignment. If everyone boycotted it, they would eventually have to give it up.

[AmandaWIRN]

I've read a few posts about the test now, and travel nurses are consistently sent packing if they fail...Personally, I have decided that I will not take an assignment that requires it. I just won't take the chance. If they set it up at my base at a secure location, like Sylvan Learning Center or something and the agency paid for it, and I knew if I passed/failed it ahead of time, fine, but I am not willing to travel to an uncertain assignment. If everyone boycotted it, they would eventually have to give it up.

I completely agree. There's just too much riding on it when you've up and moved 1000's of miles away from home... I will never take it again, and I think all travelers should refuse to even consider assignments that require it.

[HeyFraydo]

Last year I had to take the dreaded PBDS test.

I'm a Psych Nurse so it was all Psych content.

Watch a short video situation and then answer some questions in your own words.

Was not to difficult and passed just fine. The facility requires it of their perm staff annually but they get multiple tries at it.

BUT Travelers get one try and IF they don't pass they lose the contract hmmmmm What a double standard!

I believe the test should be multiple choice to be more standardized and fair. Written answers are open to wide interpretations.....

AND the test was created as an orientation tool Not a Pass/Fail Screening tool.

There is a website that is keeping an ongoing list of Hospitals that require it.

PanTravelers - Home

If you see a Hospital that requires it but not on the list Please notify them so it can be updated.

This Pass/Fail BS comes out the Mentality of "Travel Nurses Need to Hit The Ground Running".

Yes they need to be experienced and most are.

Alot of the Orientations that I have gone through as a Traveler is stuff you get Ad Nauseum like Universal Precautions and such.

What we need is your Unit Specific SOP as well as Hospital SOP.

Like the stuff you need to know that isn't neccessarily written in the Policy Manual. Who to call...Who not to call

It amazes how many places I go that think everbody does it the same way but it's not so....

CJ www.TravelNurseToolbox.com

[Beaches]

IMHO the art of nursing was based on science, not guessing games. Nor did I chose to be an MD. Nursing in a hospital most often requires team work, sure we know when a patient is going bad but you have a whole host of people willing to help out and offer opinions, help and options. I was told today if I took the PBDS and didn't include my diagnosis, initial actions, what I told the Doctor, what I expected the doctor to order, and how I followed up with monitoring what and when in all the above and more - I could expect to fail. Note you can't put obtain VS, you have to type out BP, R, P, pa02, temp, reevalute every 5 minutes and prn. Then you have to retype advised MD of BP, R, P, pa02,temp. There goes one minute. Try typing all interventions in a 5 minute time frame and you too can have a passing grade. Kudos to the people who have passed, I admire you. You have to be really organized and fast. You also have to leave the last scenario behind and move on.
PBDS was rather like a huge secret - not really a whole lot of information out there about it and what to really to expect. If I were ever to take it again, and that's a big IF, I would practice writing interventions for the major emergencies being brief and concise regarding those interventions.