Clinical
Our clinical nursing articles aim to inform and educate nurse practitioners and students. This is achieved through the publication of peer-reviewed, evidence-based, relevant and topical articles.
Reducing pressure injuries in children caused by peripheral intravenous cannulae
Education, tubular bandaging and skin inspections could reduce incidence of pressure injuries
Development of a band 5 nurse coordinators’ competency pathway in a children’s hospital
How a children’s hospital developed a competency-based document and training day
Confidentiality breaches in hospital: the experiences of young people and parents
This study demonstrates the challenges of preserving confidentiality in children’s wards
Care after death in children’s hospices
Recommendations for moving and handling, and for managing physiological deterioration
Mitigating the effects of COVID on the work of a children’s clinical research facility
Learn how one children’s clinical research facility adapted to change during the pandemic
Type 1 disordered eating in children and young people with diabetes
Enhance your knowledge of recognising and managing type 1 disordered eating
Nurses’ experiences of managing vulnerability when working with seriously ill children
An exploration of the experiences of children’s nurses who work with seriously ill children
CPD in children’s nursing: identifying needs and delivering quality assured activities
Importance of measuring effect and quality of continuing professional development activities
Applying communication skills in the provision of family-centred care
A reflective account on how communication concepts and techniques can be applied to practice
Abdominal X-rays in children: indications, procedure and interpretation
Enhance your knowledge of the procedure for abdominal X-rays in children and interpretation
Managing fever in children: developing guidelines that turn evidence into practice
Why you should read this article • To learn how guidelines use evidence to make practice recommendations • To understand the elements of quantitative research that can be used to inform clinical decision-making • To develop an approach to appraising evidence or research that you may read in the future The importance of evidence-based practice has been emphasised in nursing in recent years. However, the process by which research evidence is turned into clinical recommendations is not always clear. This is important because understanding and communicating the rationale for clinical decisions is a vital part of the role of the children’s nurse. This article discusses the methods by which nurses can turn evidence into practice using a framework devised by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) Working Group. The article uses the treatment of fever in children as an example of how nurses can apply the GRADE framework to ensure that their practice is evidence-based.
Enhancing knowledge of mental health issues among children’s nursing students:...
Why you should read this article: • To understand the experiences of children and young people with mental health issues, particularly those in general children’s wards • To identify areas for improvement in children’s nurses’ knowledge about the care of children and young people with mental health issues • To consider strategies for supporting children’s nursing students with caring for children and young people with mental health issues Background Over the past 20 years, the number of children and young people with mental health issues has increased. During their clinical placements, children’s nursing students often encounter such service users, as well as mothers with mental health issues such as postnatal depression. Many of these students have reported feeling inadequately prepared to meet the needs of these service users. Aim To evaluate a service user-led workshop to improve the knowledge and confidence of children’s nursing students in caring for children and young people with mental health issues. Method One university in the south of England ran an interactive workshop as part of a final-year module for BSc and MSc children’s nursing students. The workshop was facilitated by service users who had experienced mental health issues. Questionnaires were administered before and after the workshop to collect data from students who attended, then quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data were conducted. Findings This study found that children’s nursing students gained knowledge and confidence in caring for children and young people with mental health issues after attending the workshop. Four themes were identified from the pre-questionnaire data: fear and anxiety; boundaries; mixed experiences; and learning on the job. The themes of boundaries and learning on the job were identified again in the post-questionnaire data, as well as the additional themes of ‘being with, rather than doing’ and ‘further knowledge’. Conclusion Service user involvement is an essential aspect of nurse education due to its positive and motivating effects on students. Future research could explore the optimal type of service user input required at different stages of nurse education, to ensure that it enhances the development of students’ knowledge and confidence.