Evidence and Practice
How instant messaging can boost leadership training for rural nurse managers
Chairing and managing formal workplace meetings: skills for nurse leaders
Establishing an advanced care academy and its role in advanced practitioner development
Clinical
How instant messaging can boost leadership training for rural nurse managers
A study explored the use of instant messaging in continuing education for nurses and midwives
Establishing an advanced care academy and its role in advanced practitioner development
Advanced clinical practice roles help fill gaps in care provision and improve consistency
Interprofessional shared governance and relationship-based care
Implementation and lessons learned from a US project carried out over eight years
Objective structured clinical exam: how clinical nurse educators can support...
Internationally educated nurses (IENs) require robust teaching programmes to support them through the objective structured clinical exam (OSCE) process to gain registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. There should be measures in place to support these nurses from a clinical and pastoral perspective. It is also important to learn from IENs, because moving to a different country is an emotional and life-changing experience that affects nurses and their families. Preparation is central to completing the programme successfully, alongside having the resources required in terms of time and a dedicated facility for practise. This article describes the development and implementation of an OSCE preparation teaching programme to support IENs, discusses the challenges for teachers and participants, and shows how having a dedicated facility and programme lead has led to excellent results.
Nurses+QI=better hospital performance? A critical review of the literature
NHS regulators, such as NHS Improvement and the Care Quality Commission, promote staff involvement in quality improvement (QI), while national nursing leaders and the Nursing and Midwifery Council advocate nurses’ involvement in improving services. This article critically explores the evidence base for a national nursing strategy to involve nurses in QI using a literature review. A thematic analysis shows that nurse involvement in QI has several positive outcomes, which are also included in the NHS Improvement’s Single Oversight Framework for NHS Providers. The article concludes that nurse involvement in QI helps improve hospital performance.
Development of assertive communication skills in nursing preceptorship programmes
A qualitative insight from newly qualified nurses
CPD articles
Chairing and managing formal workplace meetings: skills for nurse leaders
An overview of how to lead and manage effective meetings
Teamwork in nursing: essential elements for practice
As any nurse working in the NHS knows, teamwork can be powerful. Successful teamwork can make a huge workload of unmanageable tasks manageable. However, unsuccessful teamwork can leave people struggling to cope. This article explores readers’ knowledge and skills related to teamwork and provides them with new skills and techniques to improve practice.
Action learning: staff development, implementing change, interdisciplinary working and...
Action learning (AL) is a process that supports problem-solving by applying a questioning formula to challenge issues and prompt actions. Initially developed to support organisational change, AL is now recognised as a motivating and influencing process for team development, individual goal setting, change initiatives, quality improvement and leadership development. Learning from observation and practice is central to its approach, which lends itself to healthcare settings. It is especially useful to managers seeking to implement change, enhance quality and promote teamwork in multidisciplinary settings.
Importance of reflection in revalidation
Reflection is a hallmark of professional practice and an important element of the Nursing and Midwifery Council revalidation process. Following two previous continuing professional development articles, on reflection and professional learning and on reflection and personal learning, this article will aim to explore the specific elements of reflection required for revalidation. This publication should help demystify and support registrants embarking on the process.
Applying the Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulation principles...
The Data Protection Act (DPA) of 1998 was radically updated in 2018 and since then there has been much media coverage about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Recent headlines have featured well known organisations that have been fined under the DPA 1998. This article describes the recent changes in data protection law, including the principles behind the DPA and GDPR, highlights patients’ rights and how nurses can advocate for the protection of patients’ personal data, and outlines nurses’ role in ensuring that the principles of data protection are implemented fully as part of patient care delivery.
Reflection and personal learning
Part one of this six-part continuing professional development series considered the role of nurse managers in supporting reflection for professional learning. It was aimed at enabling readers to consider critically the role of reflection in nursing and relate this to the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s professional requirements. Part two explores approaches to and benefits of reflection for self-development. The notion of self-development may seem removed from professional practice and nurse leadership but the traits that demonstrate who we are, how we learn, how we act and how we influence are related to and transferable from self to professional self. This article considers the purpose of reflecting beyond professional requirements, the influence of our experiences on who we are and what we learn, the value of protected time to think and the benefits of reflecting for personal development. The aim of this article is to consider the transferability of reflection between our professional and personal selves. After reading this article and completing the time outs, you should be able to: • Consider the role of reflection in your personal life. • Develop a considered approach to gaining knowledge through experience. • Contemplate the links between being reflective and being thoughtful.
Practice question
How can critical thinking make me a better nurse?
Critical thinking can help nurses provide excellent care and improve patient well-being