Implementation of a new patient education programme for renal transplant recipients: IMPLEMENTATION OF A NEW PATIENT EDUCATION PROGRAMME FOR RENAL TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS

BACKGROUND: Nurses' strategies regarding patient education should be informed by the best available research evidence. Clinical nurses play an essential role in implementing new patient education programmes for renal transplant recipients. AIM: This study investigated transplant nurse job satisfaction, competence, training and perceptions of quality of care in relation to the implementation of a new, evidence-based, patient education programme. This paper reports the results from the first part of an implementation study. METHODS: Data were collected in the form of a survey from 50 clinical transplant nurses at a single national transplant centre in Norway in 2015, six months after the patient education programme was implemented. A descriptive, cross-sectional design was used. RESULTS: Seventy-two percent of the respondents reported that they had sufficient knowledge about the new programme; 54.4 % stated that the new programme resulted in renal transplant recipients being better educated. The new programme was found to be more structured, patient-centered and visible for the nurses across the wards, as compared with their previous practice. Nurses with less nursing experience were significantly more motivated about the new patient education programme, than the more experienced nurses (p = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Nurses were generally satisfied with their new patient education practice. Knowledge derived from the research evidence on patient education was found to be valuable and transferable to everyday clinical nursing practice.