Educational Intervention Project: Enhancing Satisfaction with the Annual Performance Review Process Through Tailored Training and Evaluation Among Nurses and Midwives

Abstract

Context: Nursing performance appraisals are essential for aligning individual performance with organizational goals, promoting merit-based growth, and maintaining a motivated and competent workforce. 

Aim: To improve overall staff satisfaction with APR through targeted training and tailored evaluation practices at Al Khor Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar.

Methods: An educational intervention project at Al Khor Hospital focused on enhancing the Annual Performance Review (APR) process for nurses and midwives. All staff received training from November 2019 to January 2020, with refresher sessions in December 2020 and 2021. A semi-structured questionnaire, with 24 Likert scale and five open-ended questions, was used to assess understanding and satisfaction with the APR process among 63 participants in January 2022. To evaluate the training's effectiveness, nurse educators audited APR files from the 2018 -2020 year, covering 52 nurses and midwives.

Results: Satisfaction levels with the Annual Performance Review (APR) varied across different aspects. The highest level of satisfaction is with the APR Process, where 66% of respondents expressed satisfaction. Following this, the APR Meeting has a 64% satisfaction rate, and the APR Form has a 60% satisfaction rate. In contrast, APR Documentation shows the lowest satisfaction level, with only 44% of respondents indicating satisfaction. The APR audit results demonstrated the significant abilities of nurses and midwives to collect, identify, and document relevant evidence within each APR domain.

Conclusion: The project reveals varying satisfaction levels with different aspects of the Annual Performance Review (APR), with the highest satisfaction in the APR Process, followed by the APR Meeting and APR Form. The project successfully enhanced nurses' and midwives' awareness of maintaining evidence aligned with APR domains, raised awareness of the APR process, and improved proficiency in developing SMART goals. It highlights the need for ongoing evaluation and refinement of the APR process to address challenges and meet the evolving needs of staff.