Multi-rater Evaluation in the Clinical Evaluation of Nursing Students:Instructor's Experiences and Viewpoints

In clinical nursing education, evaluation is mostly the instructors` responsibility. This process causes challenges for both instructors and students. It seems that, a way to confront these challenges is to use multi-rater evaluation. The aim of this study is to investigate the experiences and viewpoints of nursing instructors of multi-rater evaluation in the clinical evaluation of nursing students. This is a qualitative, descriptive study. Study samples were 14 nursing faculty members from nursing schools of Medical Sciences Universities in Tehran. They were selected by purposive sampling to the point of data saturation. Data was gathered through semistructured interviews. Data was analyzed by latent qualitative content analysis. First, each interview was read several times and the meaning units were found. Then, coding was done. Codes were categorized based on their similarities and themes, and created the categories. Data analysis showed 3 themes including instructors centralization, challenges, and ability. The results of the current study showed most participants believed that the instructors have the most important role in student evaluation. Among other people, clinical nurses and students were also mentioned; the participants argued about some challenges these groups face and discussed their ability to participate in the evaluation. It is obvious that multirater evaluation, in the clinical evaluation of nursing students, has positive aspects, but implementing this method needs planning and preparation.