Using a 360° Feedback Evaluation to Enhance Interprofessional Collaboration

The enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) created limitless opportunities for change and leadership in the U.S. healthcare system.1 Nurse leaders are responsible and accountable for improving patient safety, increasing patient satisfaction, and decreasing cost while simultaneously creating a supportive, healthy work environment for their nursing staff. With the ever-changing healthcare landscape, nurse leaders must be able to create a common vision among teams and facilitate safe and improved patient outcomes across the continuum of care. Leadership is a crucial factor in nurse and patient outcomes and ultimately in the success of healthcare organizations.2 Furthermore, transformational leadership competencies of nurse leaders are essential for managing change processes effectively and delivering high-quality care within healthcare organizations.3 An effective and efficient way to assess and develop transformational leadership competencies is to use 360° feedback. Transformational leaders look for pathways to foster and enhance communication within their teams and the organization. Although providing feedback is important, it is also necessary for leaders to receive feedback from their teams regarding their performance as leaders. By receiving feedback, especially 360° feedback, leaders can better address the needs of their subordinates. Transformational leaders focus on the “greater good” of the organization by using interprofessional feedback because it allows a pathway for higher team performance.