360-Degree evaluation: Towards a comprehensive, integrated assessment of performance on clinical placement in nursing degrees: A descriptive observational study

• Published in: Nurse education today 2020-12, Vol.95, p.104594-104594, Article 104594
• Main Authors: González-Gil, M.T., Parro-Moreno, A.I., Oter-Quintana, C., González-Blázquez, C., Martínez-Marcos, M., Casillas-Santana, M., Arlandis-Casanova, A., Canalejas-Pérez, C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Clinical assessment; Clinical competence; Clinical nursing; Clinical placements; Clinical skills; Competency assessment; Competency based learning; Data; Educational Benefits; Experiential learning; Focus Groups; Health care; Nursing; Nursing education; Nursing Students; Observational studies; Professional practice; Programme evaluation; Student performance appraisal; Students; Teaching; Teaching Methods
• ISSN: 0260-6917; 1532-2793
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nedt.2020.104594

The assessment of the acquisition of clinical competencies is a critical issue for nursing students. 360-degree evaluations are a widespread practice in professional competency assessment and can be applied to the learning/teaching process of future nurses. To determine the effectiveness of the implementation of a 360-degree evaluation proposal for assessing the competencies acquired by third-year nursing students during their clinical placements. A mixed-methods design was used with a primary component (a cross-sectional descriptive observational design) and a parallel qualitative component. Sixty-seven third-year nursing students from a public university in Madrid, Spain, who were undertaking their clinical placements during seven weeks in medical/surgical units in hospital settings. This study was conducted between September 2017 and May 2018. Quantitative data were obtained using assessment tools specifically developed for this 360-degree evaluation proposal. Qualitative information was collected from two focus groups, one with students and one with teaching staff. A descriptive analysis of the quantitative data was conducted. Qualitative data were studied using a thematic analysis. The mean scores for each of the items in the 360-degree evaluation were high, with the highest grades being observed in the evaluations made by peers and patients (a mean of 9.1 out of 10.0). On average, the 360-degree evaluation method yielded grades 0.067 percentage points higher than did the previous evaluation method (p ≤ 0.001). Students and teaching staff encountered difficulties in the evaluations made by users/families and other members of the healthcare team (nursing assistants and physicians), although they rated the overall proposal as being very powerful in terms of educational value. The 360-degree evaluation method is an innovative, motivating, and integrating approach to the acquisition of competencies with a focus on excellence. •360 Degree Evaluation sets up an integral an integrative students´ traineeship monitoring.•Further than an evaluation proposal, 360 Degree Evaluation constitutes a learning framework itself.•Health team evaluation promotes team-working and collaborative leadership skills.•Peers evaluation encourages students to gain responsibility of their own learning process.•Patient participation in student's evaluation sets the focus on patient centred care philosophy.