The nursing profession and patient safety and healthcare provider influenza immunization: The puzzling stance of the American Nursing Association

[...]quite the opposite has happened; the ANA has declined to endorse mandatory influenza immunization policies, except in the narrow event that there would be no penalty for non-compliance - a political straw man that effectively negates the whole concept of a mandatory policy. Multiple studies, including those conducted by our team, demonstrate that nurses have high rates of misinformation and misperceptions about influenza vaccine safety and effectiveness despite delivery of comprehensive multifaceted educational programs [10,11]. [...]in-depth interviews of nurses refusing influenza vaccine readily reveal their misperceptions and the notable finding that they do not read the primary literature; rather, these misperceptions are beliefs formed absent the data [10].\n To fail to endorse such attributes rejects the basic tenets of the profession and the notion of a culture of patient safety, and will erode trust among the public toward the nursing profession.