NHS test

Well, today was the day I went for the Numeracy, Literacy and a kind of "boundaries" test ready for the Support worker role I've accepted. I still cannot get over how amazing the red brick reception building is that sits in the centre of the secure hospital grounds; it fascinates and frightens me in one. This building used to house psychiatric patients when they were hidden from the world, this building will hold some truely disturbing memories within it's walls, and this building is the only thing on the grounds that shows the history of the unit. It has since evolved into a rehabilitation unit for adult learning disabilities, new clinical buildings replaced the old decrepid ones, and plenty of serene, calming greenery appeared.

The receptionist welcomed me with a smile and showed me through to the testing room, examiner already poised and ready to go. I sat down at the free desk and the examiner placed down three different test sheets, which made me gulp, I had only been expecting the numeracy and literacy tests. I also only had forty five minutes for all three. I think I may have let out a little whimper, though if I would have been questioned on it I would have denied all knowledge (all those years watching The X-Files totally paid off). I started with the numeracy test, which was incredibly basic after my last job (calculating drug dosages and fluid therapy rates) so felt particularly confident going into the literacy test,which reminded me a little bit of the quizzes you get in the newspaper. I then checked the time as it ticked by faster than I had hoped it would, with twenty minutes to spare I undertook the "boundaries" test paper, there was a picture at the top of the first page which showed a client hugging a support worker. The main questions were; what should you be prepared for when dealing with an aggressive client base, and what do you think of the hug in the picture? I'm not giving my answer as I could probably be identified by this. However, to aid those going for a job such as this, when dealing with an aggressive client it's best to keep in mind de-escalation techniques, control and restraint training, and tayloring your behaviour to theirs. As far as the hugging goes - that's personal opinion more than anything, but place emphasis on boundaries, if it's morally and ethically right to encourage this behaviour, and how it may change the roles (support worker and client base). I passed the numeracy and literacy tests with flying colours, and the boundaries test apparantly is to check I fully understand what is expected from me as a support worker. This was a pass too. It was an intriguing insight for myself as well as my future employers, with a twenty minute deadline you don't have a huge amount of time to mentally plan your answers, you just go with the flow.

I was free after filling in an enhanced CRB check, free to do as I liked. So, what did I do with my whole day off?......I watched Star Trek Enterprise, more specifically, the "In a Mirror, Darkly" the parallel universe episodes. I started out watching Enterprise because of a love of sci-fi, now I watch it because of a love of this Star Trek series and a huge girly crush on Dominic Keating.....particularly in the role of Major/Lt.Reed. Yes he is old enough to be my dad - but seriously girls, watch it and you'll understand....I'm still trying to work out if it's the jumpsuit, the fight scenes or just his accent! And for the guys - check out this specific episode if you have a thing about Vulcans or just Commander T-Pol (Jolene Blalock) in particular as the uniforms for the female roles and a bit revealing. Yes - I'm a trekkie, I'm a nerdling, I'm a geek, but hell, it makes me happy.