Well-funded prevention is indeed better than cure

Professionalising the humour out of nursing students

Inflammatory bowel disease nurse specialists: sailing into a perfect storm?

When talking to IBD nurse specialist colleagues about their roles and how they developed, the primary objective of many such services, based on a business plan, was to reduce demand on consultant...

The importance of infection control in tackling the antimicrobial resistance crisis

The UK's 20-year vision for antimicrobial resistance (Department of Health and Social care (DHSC) 2019a) identifies that improved antimicrobial stewardship programmes are an essential component of the...

Administering a suppository: types, considerations and procedure

There are various types of suppositories used for constipation. Nurses must be aware of any potential harm associated with their practice and reduce this whenever possible (Nursing and Midwifery...

Current thinking on caring for patients with a wound: a practical approach

A wound is defined as any injury or damage to the integrity of the skin (Dealey, 2012). This damage can be a consequence of traumatic injury by mechanical, physical and/or chemical impact, either...

The importance of obtaining a sputum sample and how it can aid diagnosis and treatment

The collection of sputum is one of the most common tests within respiratory medicine (Hickin et al, 2015). Sputum is (coughed up and spat out) salivary matter mixed with mucus or pus from the...

Use of the Omaha System to identify musculoskeletal problems in intensive care unit nurses: a case study

The Omaha System is a nursing classification system that has helped to make nursing interventions more visible, using nursing terminology, and supporting the collaboration of nurses working in...

Stigma towards non-suicidal self-harm: evaluating a brief educational intervention

This study had two main aims. First, it intended to ascertain whether a short, one-off educational intervention into self-harm could reduce stigma and negative attitudes towards people who self-harm...

Electronic records, confidentiality and data security: the nurse's responsibility

Registered nurses have a professional duty to maintain a patient's confidence and to maintain data security by collecting, treating and storing all data appropriately (Nursing and Midwifery Council...

Will extra training improve care of service users with learning disabilities or autism?

Throughout history, the way society has treated people with learning disabilities and autism has not always been equitable (Open University, 2019). Throughout most of the 19th century people did not...

Trends in NHS complaint handling: the toxic cocktail still exists

Clwyd and Hart (2013), in their independent review, discussed evidence given to them by the PHSO, which characterised well the central problems facing the NHS in the way it handles complaints. The...