Hospitals and healthcare-staffing firms have one more tool to help them screen, and ultimately hire, the most qualified personnel for healthcare positions.

Amistaff Healthcare Technology Inc., a North Carolina company kown for its high-level validated-exam development, recently released the new acute-care certified nursing assistant (CNA), physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) exams – which were developed through a new validation process.

The process, which Amistaff says has never before been used when creating healthcare competency exams, enables hiring managers to be privy to exam content linked specifically to certain jobs and qualifications.

It begins with an in-depth job analysis that rates and links specific duties with a specific skill set, essentially outlining what traits or tools a qualified person should have. The analysis is supervised by experts familiar with the subject material. The experts then develop a test plan and begin writing the content for each assessment.

James Ostmann Sr., the company’s chief nursing officer, says the newly validated exams will help hiring managers select professionals who can provide the best care to patients. Amistaff plans to use this rigorous content-validation process on all future exams, he says, in order to continue providing high-caliber prescreening assessment tools for the healthcare industry.

Since 2004, Amistaff has provided standardized online exams for healthcare workers. The company, which operates NurseTesting.com, has an extensive library of exams following standards set forth by a national healthcare-standards organization.

As supervisor of implementation of the research and revision system, Ostmann says he believes that the only way to improve the quality of patient care is to aid companies in their search for, and retention of, qualified personnel.

A registered nurse holding a master’s degree in business administration, Ostmann now directs the NurseTesting content-validation and development process.

Amistaff is currently integrating electronic-signature software and medical-staffing software to their product line to help increase the efficiency of hospitals’ and healthcare-staffing firms’ human-resource processes.

For more information, visit www.amistaff.com