title: Problems of clinical nurse performance appraisal system: a qualitative study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study is to explore problems of clinical nurse performance appraisal system.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study employed a descriptive qualitative approach. The participants were purposively selected from clinical nurses working across all of the hospital units in a large metropolitan teaching hospital in Tehran, Iran in 2012. Data were collected using five focus group interviews, which were audio taped. The number of participants in each group ranged from 7 to 10. The semi-structured interviews were guided by a set of nondirective questions, and continued until the data reached saturation. Data were analyzed using framework analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four major themes regarding the problems of clinical nurse performance appraisal system emerged from the analysis of textual data. These themes were contextual problems, problems related to performance appraisal structure, problems related to performance appraisal process and those related to performance appraisal results.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings of this study reveal that the nurse performance appraisal system confronts with various problems. Some of these problems are related to organizational context while the others concerned structure, process and results of the performance appraisal system. In order to achieve high quality of patient care as the final goal of performance appraisal, changing and revision of this system is necessary.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Nasrin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nikpeyma
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: jilasaeedi@sbmu.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Zhila
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Abed Saeedi
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Eznollah
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Azargashb
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Paramedicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alavi Majd
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004650:Employee Performance Appraisal / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009720:Nurse Clinicians / Q000592:standards*; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D036301:Qualitative Research
keywords: employee performance appraisal; nurses; qualitative research