Evaluating clinical performance in nursing

Evaluation of clinical performance requires that the nurse educator observes behaviour in a specific, goal‐directed manner and reports these observations clearly and unambiguously, although it is conceded that beyond basic technical skills there is little consensus as to what constitutes a good professional nurse. The author questions the purposes and process of evaluation. The thesis of this paper is that the concept of evaluation must be broadened to include other clinical performances which include human skills as well as technical skills.