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A Nurses' Journal Club: Creating a positive learning environment for nurses. A forum for discussion and debate within hospitals.
Annabel Pollard
Associate Director of Nursing, Professional, Development, Peter McCallum Cancer Institute, Melbourne VIC
Tracey Taylor
Associate Nurse Manager, Peter McCallum Cancer Institute, Melbourne VIC
Abstract
Stimulating debate and interest among clinicians in regard to current practice issues in the clinical setting often runs into difficulties for a number of reasons, including: timing of sessions; unexpected or unplanned clinical situations that prevent attendance; the absence of a positive learning culture and associated expectations; lack of interest and knowledge; or lack of a recognised/formalised educational process. In addition, organisational support must be provided for structures through which clinical practice can be reviewed, discussed, debated and ultimately improved, incorporating the best available research evidence.
The Nursing Service at our hospital has utilised a Nurses' Journal Club as a means of stimulating debate and discussion about nursing practice. The Journal Club was formed in 1990 in response to the perceived needs of clinical nursing staff to keep up to date with contemporary practice issues. Over ensuing years, the club has continued to flourish with regular attendance at monthly meetings by nursing staff throughout the Institute. The Journal Club has, for the past three years received generous sponsorship for lunch (from Amgen Australia Pty Ltd). This sponsorship has enabled nursing staff to attend without missing out on lunch time refreshment and has resulted in the creation of an informal and inviting atmosphere conducive to education and learning.
A twelve-month timetable is developed each year. Topics are chosen by the speakers to represent current issues in their clinical area, support is available from the coordinator or Professional Development nurse. Nurses usually attend the session that interests them most, allowing time for colleagues to rotate from the clinical areas. Each presentation lasts approximately 20 minutes, with five minutes for discussion and debate. The presentation typically focuses on a current research issue or a professional issue and a critical synopsis is presented. In response to a lack of research-based knowledge, guidelines were developed for staff to use when critiquing articles. Healthy debate ensures practice issues remain in focus. The success of the Journal Club can be attributed to a number of factors, especially a committed coordinator, the commitment of the Director of nursing and sponsorship for the lunch; moreover, there is now the expectation among nursing staff that the Journal Club will run, so attendance has become automatic for some.
As the clinical management of patient care becomes increasingly complex and the speed of change in the clinical setting increases, it is vital that nurses are skilled at accessing information which supports their practice. The Nurses' Journal Club has continued to stimulate discussion about practice issues and to provide a supportive venue to assist nurses to maintain knowledge of current practice and to develop presentation skills. By creating a positive culture that supports learning in a non-threatening manner, we have found that the expectation to learn is becoming embedded in the culture of nursing at this organisation.
Increasingly, nurses must become involved in utilising an evidence-based approach to practice, which aims to incorporate the results of nursing research and empirical data into everyday use. However, keeping up to date with such advances can be a challenge, with much clinical data available and limited opportunities to explore and disseminate new information in the practice setting. The Nurses' Journal Club at our hospital has proved a successful approach to integrating education and practice.
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