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How to Write Your Yearly Self-Evaluation
Featured Author:
Terri Polick
Terri is a registered nurse and the proprietor of Nurse Ratched’s Place, a blog about psychiatric nursing. She is also a regular guest the popular podcast production, Insights in Nursing with Jamie Davis. Terri has been a nurse for over 30 years and is currently working as psychiatric bedside nurse. You can also follow Terri (AKA Motherjonesrn) on Twitter.
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Terri Polick | NursingLink
Do you think that you are a born leader? Show your boss that, too. Use strong descriptive sentences packed with specific facts that back up your statement: “I work as unit charge nurse three days a week and when the other charge nurse calls in sick. The other charge nurse called in sick four times during the last year.”
Highlight your committee work. Don’t just tell your boss that you worked at a hospital bake sale last year. Instead, say, “The fundraising committee made $300 during the last bake sale when I served as chair of the committee.” Keep a folder of your awards, certifications, and achievements during the year. Documented facts will impact your raise significantly.
Be Positive
Another way to polish your self-evaluation is to use words that describe your unique qualities. Just because you can do your job well doesn’t necessarily set you up for a big raise; your coworkers are also competent at performing tasks. So when you say that you are “energetic, resourceful, and self-reliant," follow up with a specific example showcasing these skills. Terms like “amicable, congenial, and enthusiastic" have a positive connotation and are good to use in your self-evaluation as well.
Use active, positive verbs when you describe how you perform your duties. Don’t state that you just take good care of patients. Say, “I advocate for my patients by helping them organize their questions before they see their doctor. I use my critical thinking skills by (insert example), thereby improving patient care.”
Proofread!
Last but not least, proofread your evaluation before you give it to your boss. Set your self-evaluation aside for a few days when you’re done writing it, and then go back and proofread it again, you’ll pick up more typos that way! It wouldn’t hurt to ask a friend to follow up with a red ink pen because it’s often hard to catch your own mistakes.
Good luck with your evaluation process. And remember, every nurse is worth a million bucks!
