Innovations in performance assessment: a criterion based performance assessment for advanced practice nurses using a synergistic theoretical nursing framework.

PURPOSE: Health care organizations that employ advanced practice nurses are challenged to evaluate practice at this advanced level. Current evaluation methods tend to inter-mingle basic nursing competencies with competencies found in medical practice and organizational objectives that are typically derived from human resources departments. This article describes the development of a criterion-based job performance assessment for advanced nursing practice using a framework rooted in a nursing theory.
METHOD: A needs analysis; review of the literature, adaptation of nursing's Synergy Model, and input from various stakeholders guided the development of a generic job description. This job description progressed into a criterion-based performance assessment. Construct validity was tested using a questionnaire administered to a convenience sample of 9 practicing advanced practice nurses, 2 nurse executives, 1 PhD nurse educator, and 1 physician.
CONCLUSION: Autonomy, job satisfaction, and quality improvement for advanced practice nurses are fostered by a review process that defines roles and competencies specific to advanced nursing practice. Peer review, a concept contributing to this process is explored as a means to monitor and improve practice.