Month: November 2021

On my life stress inventory test I scored a 112 which means that I currently have a relatively low number of changes in my life which indicates a low susceptibility to a stress-induced health breakdown. ¹ On the Coping & Stress Management Skills Test, I scored a 58, which indicates that I use problem-focused coping. According to Problem-Focused Coping by Science Direct “Problem-focused coping refers to efforts to alter the stressful situation itself. For instance, the stress and anxiety of an upcoming test can be minimized by studying for the test, thus eliminating the stress-inducing power of the test.” ² However, this type of behavior tends to be when the stressor is controllable but ineffective in situations that can’t be changed or controlled. Lastly, my type A Personality Test results score was 46 which means I am impatient and irritable. These results say that my interactions with others are generally warm and tolerable but can sometimes be impatient and hostile. ¹ 

“Problem-focused coping refers to efforts to alter the stressful situation itself. “

I learned that I need to work on managing my stress and learn how to control the things that upset me, especially at work when dealing with hostile patients. Patients often start yelling and can become abusive and this causes me to have hypertension and tachycardia. According to the CDC “Four of the 10 most costly health conditions for US employers—angina pectoris (chest pain), high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart attack—are related to heart disease and stroke.” ³ To mitigate these health conditions, programs such as the Workplace Health Promotion Program and Workplace Health Model have been implemented to support employee health.  

References:

1. Psychology Today. 2021. Retrieved from: Type A Personality Test (psychologytoday.com). 
2. Franklin M. Zaromb, … Richard D. Roberts. Reference Module in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Psychology, Science Direct. 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/problem-focused-coping
3. CDC. Workplace Health Promotion. How CDC Supports a Healthy, Competitive Workforce. 2020. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/factsheets/workplace-health.htm#:~:text=Four%20of%20the%2010%20most%20costly%20health%20conditions,health%20risk%2C%20ranking%20above%20physical%20inactivity%20and%20obesity.

Several years ago I was working in the banking industry and became dissatisfied with my work. I spoke to my direct manager about this, but because I had not been in this position for a minimum of a year, I was not able to apply for other internal positions. I felt trapped in a job that I was unhappy with so I started to look for employment elsewhere. I recall I applied for a Caregiver position at Providence. The job description was vague, so I didn’t necessarily know what the work would entail. I was invited to participate in a phone interview where I learned more about the position, pay and benefits. A question that was asked was how comfortable I felt having to clean up after elder folks. This included bathing, cleaning them, and changing their undergarments that may have feces. The starting pay for this position was around $12.38. I was stunned to find about how significantly low the job paid for the work required. Accepting this position would mean I would be taking a pay cut of about $5-$6. My current job was fairly simple, it was a desk job where I had to perform collection-like work for past due accounts. This was a drastic change from the type of work I was doing. I didn’t feel that the type of work required was satisfied by the pay they were offering. I declined to move any further in the job application process because I did not want to lose the pay that I had earned through raises and promotions with my employer at that time. The compensation was significantly lower than what I was already getting paid, so I know that I would not have been satisfied here either.

I chose to take the Race Implicit Association Test which indicated that I have a slight preference for European Americans over African Americans. I was surprised by the results because I don’t feel more or less affection towards any race. This tests measures associations between concepts and finds that people respond quicker to items that share the same button that are more closely related to their mind. I am clearly participating in implicit bias because my mind is making connotations based on certain words presented on the test that are based on inaccurate information or stereotypes. This is concerning because according to the Kirwan Institute For the Study of Race and Ethnicity I could be making decisions that impact others due to my perceptions. ¹ Implicit bias could impact the reliability or validity of a selection process because I could choose to hire someone with a European American background because I associate the word good more closely to them than with someone with an African American background. This mentality creates a barrier to any African American applying for employment because they are automatically disadvantaged and less preferred due to implicit bias.

Individuals can only work to correct for sources of bias that they are aware exist

According to the National Center for States court, the first step to prevent implicit bias is to know that they exist. “Individuals can only work to correct for sources of bias that they are aware exist.” ² However, this isn’t enough to correct implicit bias, one must also seek training on implicit bias and participate in group exercises for experiential learning techniques. Another great way to counter implicit bias is to articulate your reasoning process, this can be done by writing your opinion so that others can understand your decision and thought process.

References

1. Implicit Bias Module Series. Kirwan Institute For the Study of Race and Ethincity. The Ohio State University. 2018. Retrieved from: https://kirwaninstitute.osu.edu/implicit-bias-training
2. National Center for State Courts. Helping Courts Address Implicit Bias. Strategies to Reduce the Influence of Implicit Bias. 2012. Retrieved from: http://horsley.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/IB_Strategies_033012.pdf

When I first started working at Kaiser Permanente as a Patient Access Specialist I was sent to attend a one day orientation to learn about the organization and it’s culture. Additionally, I had to go through a six week training. The training was conducted in a class setting and there were a total of 15 new hires attending. At the end of each lecture we completed a quiz on what we learned that day. Following the six weeks of training there was a final exam to test our learning and ability to perform the job. To pass we had to earn a score of 90% or higher, or you would be terminated for not passing since this meant you wouldn’t be able to perform the job. This was intimidating as there was no re-test option available. Concluding the exam, everyone passed well above the 90% goal. We all felt that we were highly prepared since the class was engaging and we did plenty of hands on work on a training environment system. We were able to practice the tasks we were learning immediately, so this helped solidify our learning. We also did on the job training where we could observe another representative working and ask questions.

On the contrary, now as a seasoned employee I no longer receive this type of hands on training, hence why sometimes errors occur. My training and updates are given by email and an occasional video. Many times after watching a training video I am not able to practice the task immediately because it won’t be implemented for several more weeks. This causes me to forget what I’ve learned and makes for ineffective training.