performance nursing peer review examples

125+ Staff Nurse Nursing Performance Evaluation Examples

Are you curious about evaluating the performance of staff nurses and recognizing their exceptional skills?

Look no further! This article is a treasure trove of examples that will help you assess and acknowledge the outstanding contributions of nursing professionals.

From showcasing effective communication and patient care to demonstrating leadership and critical thinking, we’ve curated a collection of performance evaluation examples that will leave you intrigued.

Get ready to gain insights into the remarkable capabilities of staff nurses and appreciate their dedication to delivering exceptional healthcare services.

What Do You Write in A Nursing Performance Evaluation

• Clinical Competence: Evaluate the nurse’s proficiency in safe and effective patient care, including accurate assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of nursing interventions.
• Communication Skills: Assess the nurse’s ability to communicate effectively with patients, families, and healthcare team members, including active listening, clear instructions, and accurate documentation.
• Critical Thinking: Evaluate the nurse’s problem-solving, prioritization, and clinical judgment abilities, including adaptability in unexpected situations and handling emergencies.
• Collaboration and Teamwork: Consider the nurse’s ability to work collaboratively with healthcare professionals, demonstrating respect, trust, and effective communication. Evaluate their contribution to interdisciplinary team meetings and willingness to provide assistance.
• Professionalism: Assess the nurse’s adherence to ethical standards, respect for patient confidentiality, and positive and compassionate attitude towards patients and colleagues.
• Leadership and Initiative: Evaluate the nurse’s leadership skills , such as task delegation, mentoring junior staff, and taking the initiative to improve patient care processes. Consider their involvement in quality improvement initiatives and evidence-based practice projects.
• Patient Education: Assess the nurse’s skills in educating patients and families about health conditions, treatment plans, and self-care techniques, while providing understandable and culturally sensitive information.
• Time Management: Consider the nurse’s ability to manage time effectively, prioritize tasks, organize workload, and meet deadlines while balancing patient care and administrative duties.
• Professional Development: Evaluate the nurse’s commitment to ongoing professional growth, including attending educational seminars, pursuing certifications, and participating in continuing education programs. Consider their willingness to learn and apply evidence-based practices.
• Quality of Documentation: Assess the nurse’s documentation skills, including accuracy, completeness, and timeliness in recording patient assessments, interventions, and outcomes. Consider their adherence to legal and regulatory standards for documentation.

Staff Nurse Nursing Performance Evaluation Examples

-John is an honest and responsible nurse case manager.

-He excels in informing patients and their families about healthcare plans and options.

-He always makes sound clinical decisions for generic patients.

-He specializes in analyzing and submitting accurate paperwork and medical records.

-He is pretty knowledgeable about diagnostic methods, medications, and treatments.

-John is a caring nurse case manager prepared to offer patients and their families comfort and moral support.

-John is very good at determining a patient’s needs and requirements.

-He seeks to maintain a welcoming and cheerful environment for both patients and employees.

-He is a professional nurse case manager who excels in making decisions and solving problems.

-He designs an effective work plan for management and organization to ensure correct and accurate patient care.

-He is skilled at examining medical records for concerns of accuracy and providing appropriate suggestions.

-He has a solid clinical background and expertise, and he has a greater understanding of patient needs.

-He has exceptional communication skills; he handles every case in a very professional manner.

-John is very dedicated to his profession and is always ready to help others.

-He is an expert at dealing with patients and establishing positive relations between them and the department.

-He has a thorough understanding of healthcare; he is good at developing detailed care and prevention plans.

-He is adept at identifying issues and explaining therapy choices to patients.

-He was very helpful in helping me schedule visits and confirming my insurance eligibility.

-He is skilled in delivering patient and family intake assessments.

-He is a well-informed and responsible person; he is always interested in helping others.

-He is excellent at establishing client relationships and making professional decisions while providing patient care.

-John has a knack for creating and maintaining an environment that encourages free discussion.

-John is an experienced nurse manager who excels in reviewing medical test data.

-He is dedicated to his work and is constantly willing to participate in management decisions.

-John has excellent and effective interpersonal communication and writing skills.

-He has excellent and effective interpersonal interaction and writing skills.

-He consistently produces high-quality work for the department.

-He serves as a source of inspiration and direction to other members.

-He is pretty informed and produces high-quality documents.

-He is capable of problem-solving and makes decisions on his own.

-He is very good at developing effective working relations and cooperating with other team members.

-He is a humble individual who is always willing to assist people.

– John consistently provides high-quality and cost-effective initiatives with his strong managerial skills.

-He is a great teammate who takes responsibility.

-He performs every task sincerely and handles every situation very professionally.

-John is a dedicated nurse case manager who has never let the management down.

-He never fails to amaze us with his hard work and dedication.

-He is a fantastic person and a key member of our team.

-He is a very supportive co-worker; he always appreciates others’ work.

-When it comes to helping others, he is a great leader who always stands by the team.

-His guidance was quite beneficial to me; he has a solution for every situation.

-He always delivers quality work and puts his true efforts into everyday tasks.

-His work and communication skills have left us quite impressed.

-He has a distinct approach to completing tasks and sustaining standards.

-He is very confident and never hesitates to express his thoughts and opinions.

-He always saw hardship as an opportunity to grow and learn.

-He is an excellent nurse manager who understands how to allocate tasks.

-He is one of the most amazing people I have ever met; he consistently brings happiness to the workplace.

-He has done an excellent job in the past year; he is a very deserving individual.

-He is a true inspiration to everyone in the management.

-He is always up for the task of overcoming challenges and completing duties on schedule.

-He is a strong leader who consistently encourages others to offer their best effort.

-He is always willing to take responsibility and offer assistance.

-He was able to understand the patient’s needs and always provided good suggestions.

-He is good at managing time and flexible to work in any shift.

-He has a talent for identifying challenges and effectively resolving them.

-He consistently educates his patients to help them manage their condition on their own.

-He is a trustworthy and responsible nurse case manager who assists management in developing equitable guidelines.

-He specializes in offering daily health education and establishing positive relationships with them.

-He has a deep understanding of policies and develops effective working plans for organizations.

-He excels in establishing effective communication between patients and their doctors.

-He consistently makes sure that his patients understand their treatment programs and medication routines.

-He is highly responsible and conscious in every decision.

-He is good at taking responsibility and pursuing through on problems.

-He is a dedicated worker who creates initiatives to enhance processes and systems.

-He works with each patient to help them manage their medical conditions or clinical manifestations on their own.

-John is a skilled nurse case manager who works with management to design and implement improvement strategies.

-His weekly wellness seminars are really helpful for the patients and their family members.

-He has excellent communication skills and is always willing to assist his patients with medical needs.

-He is a true caretaker who is concerned about people’s quality of life.

-He is skilled at identifying the proper degree of treatment and patients’ medical necessity.

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IntelyCare for Healthcare Facilities > Resources > Nurse Management > How to Write a Good Review for a Nurse: 5 Tips

How to Write a Good Review for a Nurse: 5 Tips

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For a variety of reasons, writing a performance appraisal for nurses can be a nerve-wracking experience for managers and staff members alike. While nurses may fear their work is being examined under a microscope, managers often feel overwhelmed by the pressure of writing thoughtful evaluations for their entire team. But giving feedback doesn’t have to be a painful experience.

We’ll discuss five easy tips to write a good review for a nurse and provide nurse performance review examples that will help to motivate and inspire your staff. By following these best practices, you can craft insightful reviews that will engage and invigorate your team.

The Performance Evaluation Process

Performance appraisals, normally completed annually, are intended to be fair evaluations of the professional conduct of your nursing staff, but perceptions of the process can vary . That’s why it’s important that reviews compare nurses’ performance with behaviors and standards that are clearly established and communicated. In addition to its role in building a strong company culture , a robust review process improves motivation , job satisfaction, and morale.

Your facility may have a form specifically tailored to the various roles and job descriptions within your organization. Most forms include a standardized rating system (e.g., not successful, needs improvement, successful, or exceptional) to evaluate performance. As part of the process, nurses may complete a self-evaluation using the same criteria. Common evaluation categories for nurses include:

• Clinical competence
• Communication
• Professionalism
• Patient education
• Time management
• Professional development
• Documentation

However, not all aspects of professional performance can be quantified by a standardized score. For many managers and nurses, the most valuable part of the review lies within the “comments” section. Comments give the evaluator (and self-evaluator) the chance to write specific examples to describe the individual’s performance and accomplishments.

Tips to Help You Write a Good Review for a Nurse

Good comments for nurses showcase their strengths, in addition to highlighting areas for improvement. The review process is an essential part of professional development and serves a larger goal of supporting organizational safety and quality of care . Evaluations also become part of the staff member’s official employment record and often influence pay raises, promotions, and even major recognition such as the DAISY Award , which is why it’s important to be deliberate and thoughtful with your feedback.

Here are five ways to write a good review for a nurse, with accompanying nurse feedback examples.

1. Personalize Reviews

Personalized feedback acknowledges the special talents and strengths each nurse brings to the team. The best inspiration often comes from observing the person in action on the unit. You may consider including what their peers and patients say about their strengths. Incorporating examples to illustrate the qualities that make them stand out shows that you value your staff members as unique individuals.

• Amita is particularly skilled in prioritizing her workload to meet the dynamic and complex needs of our patients.
• Preeti shows exceptional attention to detail through the precision and accuracy of her documentation.
• Madylin is passionate about providing outstanding patient care. Her patients describe her as “wonderful” and “kind.”

2. Be Specific

Unfortunately, “good job” isn’t helpful feedback. Even though the intent is positive, a vague statement doesn’t tell the nurse exactly what they did well. Your team wants to know how they achieved a goal, not just if they did. Specific reviews focus on observable actions and provide concrete examples of job performance. Unclear appraisals, on the other hand, increase employee dissatisfaction and stress and decrease productivity.

It’s also an excellent opportunity to include safety and quality data that is tracked at the level of individual nurses. For example, if your unit collects data on nurse hand hygiene compliance, include it in the review — but only if the results are positive. To build a team with a thriving culture of safety , human errors shouldn’t face punitive actions as addressing those issues is more effectively done through educational follow-up.

• Maria ensures patients’ cleanliness and comfort by assisting them with activities of daily living, including bathing, feeding, and dressing.
• Last week Sam volunteered to take a last-minute new admission during a shift change.
• Last quarter, Marco’s average call response time of 5 minutes was the lowest on the unit, making him the team’s top performer.

3. Acknowledge Growth Over Time

Although it’s tempting to focus on recent events, be sure to pay attention to the staff member’s professional development over time. To retain high-performing staff , it’s important to recognize their performance within the larger context of their nursing career. By acknowledging overall growth and progress, you show genuine investment in their journey as healthcare professionals.

• From new graduate to expert nurse, Maria continues to commit to professional growth by participating in unit education programs.
• Over the past few years, Hmong has progressively taken an active leadership role by training new staff.
• Since joining our team, Phil has become an expert at developing positive relationships with patients and their support systems.

4. Showcase “Additional Duties as Assigned”

Many nurses on your team exceed minimum expectations by going above and beyond basic job duties. If they’ve gone the extra mile to prepare the unit for a regulatory visit or volunteered to organize a donation drive, include these examples of over-achievement. Recognize the efforts staff make to contribute to the team in ways that surpass their job description.

• Wen volunteered to form a unit-based journal club to improve professional practice.
• Jesse started a peer recognition program to boost morale and teamwork in the unit.
• Viktoria went above expectations by setting up a system to keep the supply closet organized.

5. Give Constructive Feedback

For many managers, this is the most challenging part of a performance appraisal. Every time you write a good review for a nurse, it should recognize strengths and offer constructive feedback on areas for improvement. Being transparent about growth opportunities builds trust and shows staff you care about their professional development.

Frame feedback using positive, supportive wording and celebrate the progress they’ve made toward addressing prior issues. Show that you’re invested in their success by providing resources and strategies to help. And, yes, even the top performers on your team want to know how they can improve.

• Omari continues progressing toward his goal to improve time management by using strategies to make med passes more efficient.
• As a new nurse, Bea is adopting floor procedures and continues to learn about our less commonly used policies.
• Since his last review, Drew made significant progress in adhering to safety protocols and now notifies staff of all abnormal vital signs.

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Nursing peer review: Principles and practice

To attain Magnet ® recognition, an organization must have systematic peer-review practices.

To attain Magnet ® recognition, an organization must establish formalized, systematic peer-review nursing practices to evaluate nursing care and nursing-care providers, as evident in the Exemplary Professional Practice Component of the Magnet model. According to the American Nurses Credentialing Center, “The peer review process stimulates professionalism through increased accountability and promotes self-regulation of the practice.”

More than 20 years have passed since the American Nurses Association (ANA) published Peer Review Guidelines in 1988. This article defines and describes a set of principled peer-review guidelines for nurses based on ANA standards.

Peer review: A tool for career growth

Effective peer reviews in 3 easy steps

Defining peer review

The primary purpose of peer review is to help ensure the quality of nursing care through safe deliverance of standards of care and newly discovered evidence-based practices. The first definition of nursing peer review proposed by ANA in 1988 still applies today: “Peer review in nursing is the process by which practicing registered nurses systematically access, monitor, and make judgments about the quality of nursing care provided by peers as measured against professional standards of practice….Peer review implies that the nursing care delivered by a group of nurses or an individual nurse is evaluated by individuals of the same rank or standing according to established standards of practice.”

Both Peer Review Guidelines and the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses (2001) focus on maintaining standards of nursing practice and upgrading nursing care in three contemporary focus areas for peer review—quality and safety, role actualization, and practice advancement.

Peer-review practice principles

Using the six peer-review practice principles below (which are based on the ANA Guidelines) helps ensure a consistent, evidence-based approach to peer review.

A peer is someone of the same rank.

Peer review is practice-focused., feedback is timely, routine, and a continuous expectation., peer review fosters a continuous learning culture of patient safety and best practice., feedback is not anonymous., feedback incorporates the nurse’s developmental stage., principle #1:.

Establishing clear boundaries and definitions for peer groups is essential for creating effective peer-review processes. Managers aren’t peers with direct-care nurses, even though managers have practiced as direct-care nurses. Peer groups include direct-care nurse to direct-care nurse, advanced practice nurse (APN) to APN, educator to educator, manager to manager, director to director, and nursing administrator to nursing administrator.

Principle #2:

Peer review provides a mechanism to ensure that new nursing standards of care are addressed. Effective peer review incorporates evidence-based nursing practice and quality and safety standards, with a focus on outcomes.

Principle #3:

To continually ensure quality outcomes, peer review must be timely, continuous, and a routine expectation. To achieve continuous quality outcomes, organizations must create structures and processes that support dynamic feedback loops at all levels, starting at the point of care. Nurses also need new peer-review processes that move beyond traditional static processes (such as audits) to continuous and “just-in-time” models.

Principle #4:

Peer review done in the framework of a learning organization and a just culture helps nurses feel safe. A continuous learning culture shifts the focus from individual learning to organizational learning and fosters a common commitment to achieving and sustaining desired quality and safety outcomes. Direct-care nurses in a continuous learning culture frequently question the effectiveness of nursing practice. As a result, more timely modifications can be made to advance and update practice, along with the unlearning of ineffective or unsafe processes. Timely and continuous peer review provides the means for an effective systems-centered approach to error reduction.

Principle #5:

Positive nurse relationships emerge from focused, skillful dialogue. According to the ANA Code of Ethics, the nurse has a duty to use respectful communication with an open exchange of views to preserve practice integrity and safety. Anonymous feedback lacks empirical support in promoting professional growth and patient safety.

Principle #6:

Decades of nursing research show that nursing practice develops along a novice-to-expert continuum. Participating in peer review can promote professional growth when the nurse’s developmental level is considered.

Putting peer review into action

Targeting peer-review activities at the point of care encourages staff to take an active role in monitoring and improving unit-based quality and safety outcomes. Using a shared governance framework with staff-nurse leadership promotes ownership and accountability for outcomes within the peer group and can yield creative solutions to long-standing issues. The following example illustrates the design and implementation of a point-of-care peer-review process to address a familiar quality challenge, using the principles described above.

Pressure-ulcer prevention

In many hospitals, the organizational nursing quality council analyzes trends and reports organizational and unit-based quality and safety nursing outcome performance measures every quarter. When improvement is needed on a unit-specific outcome, the unit-based nursing quality council (UBNQC) reviews, communicates, and takes action.

On one medical-surgical unit, the UBNQC noted that the unit’s pressure-ulcer prevalence had risen above national benchmarks. After examining the current pressure-ulcer prevention nursing care protocol and related education and competency assessment verification, the UBNQC concluded the protocol was up-to-date and related staff education and competency assessment had been completed. But a subsequent chart audit by the UBNQC found inconsistencies in documentation on the protocol intervention record, which is based on the Braden scale. Council members found that the relationship between the Braden scale score and determination of a patient’s pressure-ulcer risk wasn’t always clear; thus, the protocol wasn’t always individualized to the patient. Also, some nurses were still using nonapproved interventions, such as donut rings and massage.

So the UBNQC designed a peer-review process to monitor use of the protocol and patient-specific interventions. Before implementation, staff education was provided on the protocol, related nursing-care expectations, and the peer-review process. Expectations included a face-to-face handoff at the bedside; use of the pressure-ulcer prevention monitoring sheet; and correction of care deficiencies, alterations from the protocol, or unimplemented interventions found during handoff. The peer-review process was designed to occur daily for 30 days. The tool was returned to the UBNQC for peer review—not to the manager, supervisor, clinical nurse specialist, or educator.

Weekly reviews of data sheets by a UBNQC representative helped identify emerging issues that might need closer surveillance or intervention before the monitoring period ends. All council members reviewed results from the monitoring period at their monthly meeting to identify trends and issues that needed additional attention and to decide if shift-to-shift monitoring should continue. Overall effectiveness of this focused peer review was reflected in periodic reports from the wound-care team rounds and quarterly pressure-ulcer prevalence data.

This unit-based peer-review practice incorporated established peer-review principles in these ways:

• A peer is someone of the same rank . Direct-care nurses created and monitored the process using shared governance processes—a real-time peer-to-peer practice review.
• Peer review is practice-focused . Criteria focused on national evidence-based nursing standards.
• Feedback is timely, routine, and a continuous expectation . All direct-care nurses were expected to participate in assuring adherence to the pressure-ulcer prevention protocol during each scheduled handoff. Nurses were jointly responsible for identifying and correcting deviations from the protocol and completing the monitoring sheet during face-to-face interactions.
• Peer review fosters a continuous learning culture of patient safety and best practice . This project involved collaboration between two nursing councils, focusing on evidence-based practice and quality data in creating a monitoring process and tool and subsequent education on the protocol. Frequent discussions of the protocol during handoffs provided opportunities for continuous learning and engagement on pressure-ulcer prevention.
• Feedback is not anonymous. Peer-to-peer feedback was done face-to-face at the time of handoffs and gave nurses a chance to give and receive feedback.
• Feedback incorporates the nurse’s developmental stage . Face-to-face handoffs gave less experienced nurses the chance to interact with and be mentored by experienced nurses and gain knowledge and insight into pressure-ulcer prevention.

Peer review promotes the highest standards

ANA’s Code of Ethics recognizes that effective peer review is indispensable for holding nursing practice to the highest standards. Peer review helps address the boundaries of duty and loyalty for all nurses, including “the responsibility to preserve integrity and safety, to maintain competence, and to continue personal and professional growth.”

Selected references

American Nurses Association (ANA). Peer Review Guidelines. Kansas City, MO: ANA; 1988.

American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). The Magnet Model Components and Sources of Evidence . Silver Spring, MD: ANCC; 2009.

Bergstrom N, Braden BJ, Kemp M, Champagne M, Ruby E. Reliability and validity of the Braden Scale: a multi-site study. Nurs Res . 1998;47(5):261-269.

Catania K, Huang C, James P, Madison M, Moran M, Orh M. PUPPI: the pressure ulcer prevention protocol. AJN . 2007;107(4):44-52.

George V, Haag-Heitman B. Nursing peer review: the manager’s role. J Nurs Manag . 2011 Mar;19(2):254-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2834.2011.01225.x.

Grady D. Study finds no progress in safety at hospitals. New York Times . November 24, 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/25/health/research/25patient.html . Accessed August 4, 2011.

Haag-Heitman B, George V. Guide for Establishing Shared Governance: A Starter’s Toolkit . Silver Spring, MD: American Nurses Credentialing Center; 2010.

Haag-Heitman B, George V. Peer Review in Nursing: Principles for Successful Practice . Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett; 2011.

Institute of Medicine. The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health . Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2010.

Landrigan C, Parry G, Bones C, Hackbarth A, Goldman D, Sharek P. Temporal trends in rates of patient harm resulting from medical care. N Engl J Med . 2010;363(22):2124-2134.

Rothschild JM. Hurley AC, Landrigan CP, et al. Recovery from medical errors: the critical care nursing safety net. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf . 2006;32(2);63-72.

****Visit www.AmericanNurseToday.com/Archives.aspx for a table delineating the six contemporary peer-review principles.***

Barb Haag-Heitman is an independent healthcare consultant and president of Barb Haag-Heitman and Associates Healthcare Consulting in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. Vicki George is president and chief executive officer of VMG Consulting in Plainfield, New Hampshire.

3 Comments .

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Nursing Peer Review: Definition and Example

Nursing gained prominence throughout the 1800s and early 1900s as increases in the population created new medical challenges and world wars heightened the need for nursing care. In 1926, the American Nurses Association (ANA) created a formal code of ethics for nurses, and from there, a more defined view of the nursing profession and how to achieve quality nursing took shape.

In 1958, nursing leader Ida Jean Orlando defined the nursing process , paving the way for the publication of the ANA Peer Review Guidelines in 1988. These landmark moments represent an advancement in the profession toward organized, systematic improvement of nursing care and patient outcomes.

Since the early 1990s, nursing peer review has been a consistent, important part of that advancement. It supports professional growth and collaboration and emphasizes learning and practice — just like the online nursing programs of today.

What’s Nursing Peer Review?

Nursing peer review is a structured practice that enables nurses of the same rank to provide feedback to one another about patient care based on standards of care. Face-to-face sessions encourage collaboration and mentorship; written feedback enables a nurse leader to compile the information and identify patterns in patient care that may need to change. In this way, nursing peer review is a collaborative effort among nurses to improve patient care while also helping them learn from one another. It’s not a formal evaluation process that ties feedback to decisions about a person’s role or compensation.

How Does Nursing Peer Review Work?

Nursing peer review encompasses six principles, according to the Peer Review Guidelines:

A peer is a professional of the same rank.

The process must be focused on the practice of nursing (not on an individual’s characteristics).

The practice is continuous, and feedback is timely.

The practice emphasizes a culture of learning.

Nurses are paired to deliver face-to-face and written feedback.

The nurse’s level of experience is considered.

These principles establish nursing peer review as what it’s meant to be — a collaborative effort to improve care and outcomes — rather than a formal, top-down evaluation process.

A successful nursing peer review relies on:

Organized leaders introducing and rolling out the process in a way that matches their leadership style

An easy-to-follow structure that busy nurses can complete at natural breaks in their shifts

Smart pairings of novice and seasoned nurses to encourage knowledge transfer

Well-documented and widely accessible standards of care for the nursing unit, such as the Code of Ethics for Nurses

A relevant and purposeful focus area or theme for the review

Technology or other supports that make it easy for nurses to write the review

With these principles and methods established, nurses can conduct a round of nursing peer review to tackle a particular care challenge. They can learn from one another, help leaders identify patterns, and ultimately advance patient outcomes. Findings can also help nurses delegate more effectively to nursing assistants and care technicians on their teams.

Where Do Focus Areas for Nursing Peer Review Come From?

While nursing peer review is a continuous practice that helps nursing units improve together, the targeted need for a round of review may come from a particular source, such as:

Data from a routine report compiled by hospital administrators

Patterns unearthed by an external consulting firm

Information from a government audit on certain benchmarks

Insights from nurses about common uncertainties

Goals set by hospital or department leaders

A nurse leader might take a data point from any of the sources and decide to explore related issues further through nursing peer review.

Nursing Peer Review Example: IV Usage

Consider a scenario in which an external consulting firm finds instances in which medications arrive late. They discovered that in these instances, the method of delivery for the medication was IV therapy — that is, fluids administered through an IV. The finding spurs the need for a round of nursing peer review that focuses on the following:

What issues the IVs themselves may be causing

The gaps in knowledge or skills among nurses when working with IVs that may be causing issues

Which, if any, of the nurses in the group don’t encounter this problem and can share their methods with others

In application, the round of peer review would look something like this:

Two nurses meet briefly during shift handoffs and discuss challenges, successes, questions, and solutions they’ve found while delivering medications via IVs

Both nurses document the others’ methods, their addressed misconceptions, and any improved outcomes over the course of a few days, as they continue to meet.

Both nurses write up their review of their peers’ methods and submit it to a nursing leader, who can analyze trends and identify what may be causing the issue.

The nurse leader can share findings, change equipment if needed, and call for training to ensure that the issue is ultimately resolved.

In this example of nursing peer review, the practice is used to help a nursing unit execute a targeted exploration of an important issue that surfaced in the data collected by a particular source. It can support nurses’ professional development and collaboration while continuously improving patient care. When the emphasis is on structured practice, meaningful feedback, relationship building, and learning, peer review in nursing can be a valuable tool to further a nursing unit’s effectiveness and growth.

Thrive in the Nursing Field With The University of Tulsa’s Online Nursing Programs

The important practice of nursing peer review relies on the clinical and interpersonal skills of great nurses who take their collaboration and growth mindset from the classroom to the nursing floor. Depending on where you are in your nursing journey, numerous educational pathways are available to help you reach your goals. That’s why TU, which has been educating prospective nurses since 1978, established online nursing programs to help you get where you want to go.

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Recommended Readings

6 Tips for New Nurses

Nurse Leader vs. Nurse Manager: Differences and How to Advance

Chief Nursing Informatics Officer Career Overview

American Nurse Journal, “Nursing Peer Review: Principles and Practice”

American Nurses Association, “Peer Review Tip: Distinguishing the Difference Between Peer Review, Peer Evaluation, and Peer Feedback”

American Nurses Association, Teamwork in Nursing: Team-Building Strategies for Better Patient Care

American Nurses Association, View the Code of Ethics for Nurses

Indeed, “What Is Peer-to-Peer Learning? (And How to Use It at Work) ”

Massachusetts General Hospital, MGH Nursing Peer Review (NPR) Process – Staff Nurse

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