Evaluating quality nursing care through peer review and reflection; the findings of a qualitative study.

The purpose of this study was to examine the everyday methods by which nurses evaluate quality care. The method was qualitative; specifically, a grounded theory approach was used. The sample comprised 18 registered nurses from a large hospital in the south of England. Data was collected through tape recorded interviews and the constant comparative method used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that although nurses used objective methods such as evaluating planned care as part of the nursing process, they also used more subjective methods such as peer review and intuition. The study seeks to explain the value of these less formal methods of evaluation and recognises how difficult they may be to substantiate in light of the recent health care reforms. It is suggested that the use of a more formalised process of peer review using reflection as its foundation would enable nurses to satisfy managerial concerns for a measurable outcome to quality.