Residential & Home Care SJT
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Assessing Empathy with SJTs
Following our journal publication of ‘the role of empathy in establishing rapport’ (Norfolk et al., 2007), we have developed a range of SJTs all designed to assess empathy in roles focused on providing care for others e.g. Residential & Home Care, Social Work, & Nursing.
The Residential & Home Care SJT is designed to assess Therapeutic Rapport demonstrated by individuals operating within the context of a client’s own home.
What’s Therapeutic Rapport?
We’re all familiar with ‘basic’ rapport, where two people feel relaxed in each other’s company, often through discovering shared backgrounds, interests, values or attraction. Therapeutic rapport is different. This involves one person seeking to help the other person in some way (especially as a health professional), and applies in any situation where it’s important to get the individual to relax and trust you, to feel able to speak openly enough about their concerns or problems so you can understand where they’re coming from. You can then tailor your approach appropriately. The deeper the understanding, the greater the chance of you being able to offer appropriate support and guidance. And that is the essence of therapeutic rapport.
The ‘gold standard’ here is empathic understanding, and to achieve this we need a particular set of skills and attributes, all working together:
Overview of the Residential & Home Care SJT
Our residential & home care SJT presents candidates with a series of scenarios faced during visits to 4 elderly clients. For each client, there are 4 linked scenarios (i.e. 4 ‘steps’ to a visit), and at each step, the candidate is asked to decide how best to respond to the situation presented. In total, there are 16 ‘steps’ to deal with (i.e. 4 steps with each of 4 clients).
Candidates are invited to assume they work for a home care company and are about to start their first shift of the day. Candidates have been asked to visit 4 clients during a shift, which is scheduled to run from 8:30am to 11am, and each visit is timetabled to last for 30 minutes.
The task is to read through each 'step' during the visit to a client, then rank the possible ‘actions’ listed from 1 – 4, where 1 = Most Appropriate & 4 = Least Appropriate. Each option should be ranked differently (i.e. don't rank two or more options with the same number).
Example of a Residential & Home Care SJT Question
Residential & Home Care SJT - Sample Reports
On completion of the Residential & Home Care SJT, you can download 3 reports as standard:
1. Recruitment Report, where the content is designed for an organisation and supports a recruitment decision. This report provides tests scores, behavioural interpretation, and interview questions.
2. Candidate Report, where the content is designed for a candidate(s) and provides feedback on the test performance. This report provides behavioural interpretation and suggests development goals for improving therapeutic rapport.
3. Interview Report, where the content is designed for conducting a deep-dive interview, utilising the test results. This report provides tests scores, behavioural interpretation, in depth interview questions and detail on how to analyse, interpret and score interview responses.
How to do well in your Residential & Home Care SJT
To do well in a Residential & Home Care SJT, it is good to consider the following tips:
1. Demonstrate Empathy and Compassionate Care: In residential and home care, showing empathy and providing compassionate care to the elderly is fundamental. In SJT scenarios, choose responses that display your ability to understand and empathise with the needs and feelings of elderly clients, ensuring their comfort and well-being are prioritised.
2. Highlight Skills in Communication and Patience: Effective communication and patience are key in caring for the elderly. Opt for SJT responses that illustrate your proficiency in communicating clearly and patiently with elderly clients, especially when dealing with sensitive issues or when they have difficulty in understanding or expressing their needs.
3. Display Awareness of Health and Safety Protocols: Awareness and adherence to health and safety protocols are crucial in elderly care. In the SJT, select responses that demonstrate your knowledge and application of health and safety guidelines, particularly in preventing accidents or addressing any medical or physical needs of elderly clients.
Free Tests!
Take a free test. On completion you will be able to download a detailed report based on your results. We will not ask you for any personal information to be able to view your report.
Take a free Critical Reasoning Test