360-Degree Evaluation of Nursing Students' Performance

Background: Evaluation is a critical stage in nursing education and is an integral part of the learning process. The clinical performance evaluation of nursing students is essential to ensure that they, as future nurses, are capable of delivering competent and safe nursing care. Evaluation methods that rely on a single source cannot provide a comprehensive view of the student's performance. Objectives: This study aimed to provide a 360-degree evaluation of the clinical performance of nursing students. Methods: This analytical-observational study was conducted cross-sectionally during the first semester of 2023 - 2024. The study included all 8th-semester nursing students at Jahrom University of Medical Sciences through census sampling (30 students). Throughout the semester, the students completed rotational clerkships in internal surgical and critical care wards. The data collection tool was a checklist used to evaluate the clinical performance of nursing students, which was completed by the students themselves, their peers, clinical instructors, and head nurses. Additionally, the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) test score, administered at the end of the semester, was used as another evaluation source. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 software, with descriptive and analytical statistics such as repeated measures ANOVA applied. Results: Of the 30 participants, 17 (53.3%) were female, and 13 (46.7%) were male, with a mean age of 24.21 ± 12.1 years. The highest mean scores were from self-assessment (95.03 ± 6) and peer evaluation (95 ± 7.01), both at an excellent level, while the lowest mean scores were from clinical instructors (77 ± 5) and head nurses (78 ± 6), at a good level. There was no statistically significant difference between the mean scores of self-assessment and peer evaluation (P = 0.851). Similarly, no significant difference was found between the mean scores of clinical instructors and head nurses (P = 0.816). However, a statistically significant difference was observed between students' self-assessment and other evaluation sources such as clinical instructors, head nurses, and the OSCE (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Given the discrepancy between students' self-assessments and evaluations from other sources, the use of a 360-degree evaluation method can provide a more realistic assessment and increase student satisfaction.