The process must be robyst and comments substantiated

摘要

Nurses are in a good position to be part of the process of assessing doctors. The GMC plans are for nurses to rate doctors on a sliding scale from 'very good' to 'poor' for their clinical skills, trustworthiness, record-keeping and commitment to patients.If nurses are required to complete a questionnaire to rate a clinician's performance, this has to be worded correctly and be consistent. I am not in favour of a questionnaire that cannot identify problems, and the sliding scale suggested seems too simplistic to encompass the complexities of a person's performance.Nurses doing the assessing need to be competent, and able to justify their answers. The process has to be robust so that this does not become a witch-hunt. Clinicians could be dismissed unfairly or reprimanded on the basis of a questionnaire that cannot be substantiated.