Comparing the impact of 360-degree evaluation and conventional methods on the performance evaluation of Iranian...

Performance evaluation stands as a vital process for health delivery organizations as a lack of regular assessments can be likened to a malady afflicting the entity. The current study compared the use of two methods of evaluation, a 360-degree and a conventional method among Iranian nurses.

Based on the 360-degree performance evaluation approach, the current study involved two distinct participants, the evaluators and the evaluatees, evaluating the effectiveness of nurses using the 360-degree model, which encompasses input from Head Nurses, colleagues, and self-assessment, as well as feedback from patients and their family members. In total, 22 cardiac care units were selected by census sampling method. According to the total number of nurses in each ward, the nurses of each ward who were eligible were randomly selected. Ultimately, 137 nurses were assessed based on the two methods of performance evaluation, 360-degree and conventional methods simultaneously. All the data were analyzed using SPSS version 27.

Approximately 61% (n = 84) of participants were under the age of 30. The majority of the participants were female (93.4%). The average score of all dimensions was found to be lower when assessed by the head nurse compared to the evaluations from 360 questionnaires. Notably, the most significant disparities between head nurse and 360-degree ratings were identified in individual characteristics (0.2) and humanity skills (0.1). Despite the adequate level of agreement demonstrated by the Interclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) for total score (0.77), humanity skills (0.84), perceptual skills (0.75), and compliance with hospital rules and regulations (0.8), there was only a moderate level of agreement for total score and perceptual skills.

Based on the results of the present study, the groups have different viewpoints regarding the evaluation of nurses and this evaluation method may provide useful information about nurses' performance from different aspects. Hence, healthcare policy makers can benefit this method of performance evaluation to improve the clinical performance.