title: Innovations in performance assessment: a criterion based performance assessment for advanced practice nurses using a synergistic theoretical nursing framework.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Health care organizations that employ advanced practice nurses are challenged to evaluate practice at this advanced level. Current evaluation methods tend to inter-mingle basic nursing competencies with competencies found in medical practice and organizational objectives that are typically derived from human resources departments. This article describes the development of a criterion-based job performance assessment for advanced nursing practice using a framework rooted in a nursing theory.
  
  
  METHODS
  A needs analysis; review of the literature, adaptation of nursing's Synergy Model, and input from various stakeholders guided the development of a generic job description. This job description progressed into a criterion-based performance assessment. Construct validity was tested using a questionnaire administered to a convenience sample of 9 practicing advanced practice nurses, 2 nurse executives, 1 PhD nurse educator, and 1 physician.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Autonomy, job satisfaction, and quality improvement for advanced practice nurses are fostered by a review process that defines roles and competencies specific to advanced nursing practice. Peer review, a concept contributing to this process is explored as a means to monitor and improve practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ 07103, USA. scarparj@umdnj.edu
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Scarpa
authors.forename: Patricia E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Connelly
mesh_terms: D057179:Advanced Practice Nursing / Q000592:standards*; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D004650:Employee Performance Appraisal / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D016294:Models, Nursing; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009515:New Jersey; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D018024:Peer Review, Health Care / Q000379:methods; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D016730:Program Development; D058996:Quality Improvement; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis