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Weekly Q&A: Peer review expectations

HCPro's Weekly Update on the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®*, January 17, 2006

This week,a reader asks for clarification regarding the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program® expectations for peer review. Read the response below from our advisor, Elise Gropper, PhD, APRN, CPHQ, CNAA,BC, president of Gropper & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm in Coral Springs, FL.

Q: I am working on implementing a peer review program at my hospital. I'd like clarification on two references to peer review in the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program® Application Manual (2005). The first is in Force 4, source of evidence one, which discusses performance appraisals. This seems to clearly be about a co-worker's evaluation of clinical performance and interpersonal interactions. The second reference in Force 9, source of evidence seven, asks how the peer review process is used for professional growth. I am not clear whether this also refers to the co-worker's evaluation of performance, or whether the program is looking for the more formalized process, also called peer review, pertaining to chart review and standard-of-care analysis. They both would lend themselves to professional growth.

A: Peer review is the evaluation of the professional performance of individual nurses, including identification of opportunities to improve care, by individuals with the appropriate subject-matter expertise to perform this evaluation. You are correct in your assumptions. Organizations are often in various stages of development related to peer review. A more formal expectation may be required from your State Board of Nursing, such as the requirement posed by the state of Texas. Unless your State Board of Nursing has specific expectations, your organization has flexibility in your approach to peer review. The expectation is that nurses at all levels of the organization benefit from the professional growth experience provided by peer review.

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