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Weekly Q&A: Peer review processes

HCPro's Weekly Update on the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®*, December 20, 2005

This week, a reader asks how peer review can be incorporated into nursing practice. Read the response below from our advisor, Katherine Riley, MSN, RN, CNA,BC, assistant vice president, operations, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington.

Q: How can peer review be incorporated into nursing practice?

A: Peer review can take on many forms within a nursing department. A peer evaluation at the time of a nurse's annual evaluation is one way to incorporate peer review into practice. The peer evaluation process can be developed over time, to allow staff nurses to become more familiar and comfortable with soliciting feedback from coworkers. A specific tool might be designed for this purpose. Developed by staff, the tool would measure those criteria that staff find the most important when working with their peers. These criteria might include items such as "on time for shift," "willingly contributes to the work of the unit," and "communicates appropriate information at time of shift report." Over time, as staff become more comfortable with participating in the evaluation of their peers, this tool can be revised to include more focused areas of feedback.

Another means of peer review is the quality monitoring of practice. Staff nurses should participate in the review process for selected quality monitors. Through this process, nurses review the clinical care and documentation of their peers. These reviews can identify educational needs of staff related to specific findings from the audits. By establishing the expectation that all staff participate in the quality monitoring process, and by rotating the quality monitors among the staff, peer review is a shared process.

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