Nursing students' perspectives on peer assessment in basic nursing procedures: A qualitative study

Background

Traditionally, the assessment of student nursing skills relies heavily on lecturer evaluations. However, lecturers, as the primary evaluators, may be influenced by their individual subjective preferences, experience, and knowledge background. This limitation needs thorough consideration to improve students' assessment skills and ensure that assessment tasks are more objective and accurate. Peer assessment appears to take it into account. Currently, improving the quality of peer assessment in Basic Nursing skills remains a challenge for educators.

Aim

To assess the effectiveness of peer assessment as applied to the basic nursing skills examination process and suggestions for improvement, to understand nursing students' perceptions of it, and to explore the feasibility of peer assessment as an alternative to single faculty assessment as perceived by nursing students.

Design

Qualitative research.

Settings

Conducted in a clinical skills simulation laboratory at a university in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China.

Participants

23 Second-year nursing students applying peer assessment to Basic Nursing course exams.

Methods

Used face-to-face, semi-structured interviews, and thematic analysis to analyze data.

Results

Three major themes and nine subthemes were identified: (1) Positive sentiments towards peer evaluation (e.g., enhancing the learning capacity, increasing emotional intelligence, and improving the objectivity and fairness of nursing skills assessment); (2) Challenges encountered in the peer evaluation process (e.g., inconsistent scoring criteria, exacerbate anxiety, and triggering team conflict); (3) Suggestions for improving peer evaluation (e.g., applying the design of peer assessment exam content, incorporation of lecturer evaluation, and refinement and materialization of marking criteria).

Conclusions

In this study, while the positive impact is evident, the challenges faced by nursing students and future recommendations for peer assessment application are critical. This study provides valuable insights into the potential of peer assessment to enhance nursing education and provides recommendations for optimizing peer assessment strategies for meaningful integration into Nursing Education practice.