Registered nurse peer feedback is the hallmark of a nurse’s professional practice. According to the American Nurse Association, it is the nurse’s professional obligation to maintain competence and contribute to their own personal and professional growth.
“Peer feedback is practice focused, fosters continuous learning as it relates to patient safety and best practices, and is done by all levels of registered nurses,” said Janet Sohal, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, Regional Director, Kaiser Permanente Nurse Scholars Academy & Magnet.
In 2024, Kaiser Permanente Northern California implemented an electronic platform known as KP Mentoring, that allows the nurse to send and receive feedback from their peers. Nurses can incorporate the feedback they’ve received as they complete their self-appraisal and develop a professional goal for the year at the time of their annual review.
Mimi Denila, BSN, RN, a staff nurse II at the Vallejo Medical Center says, “Peer feedback tools have been helpful by holding each other accountable and ensuring patient safety.”
The peer feedback process is not new, in fact, nurses provide feedback continually to each other, including during patient hand offs, when assisting with a procedure, planning the care for the patient, when working on quality initiatives, and during formal or informal teaching activities.
“As we move forward in 2025, we will continue to encourage our nurses to send and receive peer feedback,” added Sohal. “Feedback is a gift for their professional growth and development and fuels the essence of excellence in nursing for our patients and families that we serve.”