Improving Influenza Vaccination Rates Through Nursing Journal Clubs

The objective of this CNL Internship Project is to improve patient compliance with the flu vaccine for the 2015 fiscal year. Currently the project is set at a teaching hospital in Northern California on the Abdominal Transplant Unit. Participants include six staff nurses who care for End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), End Stage Liver Disease (ESLD) and abdominal transplant patients. To address the barriers to vaccination, specifically patients’ fear of adverse effects, nursing journal clubs (NJC) were implemented on the unit to educate nurses about the current research on flu vaccination for this patient population. As the facilitator, the CNL encouraged discussion on clinical research and reviewed steps to critically appraise journal articles. Results showed an increase in nurses’ knowledge of the most current research on flu vaccination, an increase in their ability to critique clinical research, an increase in understanding of the rationale for implementing evidence-based practice (EBP), and an increase in the nurses’ confidence in implementing EBP at the bedside. In conclusion, nursing journal clubs are an effective teaching method to educate, empower, and encourage nurses to implement EBP and improve patient outcomes