Assessment of the performance of nurses based on the 360-degree model and fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making method (FMCDM) and selecting qualified nurses

Background. Human resources is the most prominent asset of an organization. Despite the constant effort to design optimal and effective systems for assessing employees, evidence shows that managers are not satisfied with the methods and systems to assess employees.

Objectives. Researchers wanted to assess the performance of nurses based on the 360-degree model and fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making technique (FMCDM) and selecting qualified nurses.

Methods. The present study is descriptive and conducted in 2016 in a hospital at Kashan University of Medical Sciences. This study conducted in three ‏stages. 1) Identification of criteria and sub-criteria for the performance assessment that classified into five groups (technical skills, human skills, and perceived skills; individual characteristics; and compliance with the organization's rules and regulations). 2) Weighing the criteria and sub-criteria based on the DEMATEL-ANP (DANP) method in a fuzzy environment. 3) Assessing the performance of nurses based on the 360-degree model, which includes supervisors, coworkers, self-assessment, and patients and their companions. In this stage, four groups used the VIKOR questionnaire to assess the performance.

Results. Among five criteria of assessment, "Human Skills" earned a top score, and among 21 sub-criteria, "Identify the strengths and weaknesses," "Suitable relationships with patients," and "Partnership with colleagues" earned the top score. In the 360-degree model, the supervisor's assessment score was 0.521, with the highest weight, and the self-assessment was 0.042 with the lowest weight. Finally, nurse 3 in children and infants ward earned the highest ranking.

Conclusions. The advantage of the proposed method is more realistic results than other methods because the criteria and sub-criteria are weighted, and the importance of each is determined. Hospitals can use the results of this study to assess the performance of medical groups.