Exemplary professional practice through nurse peer review.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Practice
• Patient Safety
• Quality Improvement

Background:

• Significant adverse events in healthcare necessitate robust evaluation methods.
• Traditional review processes may not fully capture practice-related issues.
• Professional accountability is key to enhancing healthcare quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development and execution of a nurse peer review program.
• To evaluate nursing practice associated with significant adverse events.
• To identify systemic changes resulting from the peer review process.

Main Methods:

• Descriptive analyses of 23 peer-reviewed cases over a 4-year period.
• Involved 41 registered nurses (RNs) and 2 advanced practice nurses from 14 specialties.
• Thematic analysis to categorize common event types.

Main Results:

• Four common event categories identified: assessment/monitoring, team communication, skin integrity, and vascular access.
• The program led to systemic changes in nursing practice.
• Demonstrated the impact of professional nurse accountability.

Conclusions:

• Nurse peer review is an effective method for evaluating practice and driving quality improvement.
• Professional nurse accountability positively impacts patient care quality.
• This program can serve as a model for other healthcare settings.