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.
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
Technology combined with expert, relationship-based care
Using technology to engage with patients can be as valuable as face-to-face interaction
Creating digitally ready nurses in general practice
Digital healthcare provision in England has been driven mainly by a ‘top-down’ approach and a focus on digital infrastructure rather than front-line delivery. This has laid the foundation, but digital care delivery still has a long way to go. This article describes an action learning programme to create digitally ready nurses. The programme, which underpins action six of NHS England’s ten-point plan for general practice nursing, shows that a ‘ground-up’ approach to upskill and empower front-line clinicians is central to embedding technology-enabled care services (TECS). Following completion of the action learning sets (ALSs), 24 general practice nursing digital champions across Staffordshire have used TECS to deliver a range of benefits for their practice teams. This has informed the introduction and extension of the programme, with national funding for a further 12 regional pilot ALSs across England in 2018-19. Importantly, the active learning individualised approach provides a digitally ready workforce with the ability and support to adopt TECS in areas of clinical need. This ability is central to the next stage in the digital transformation of healthcare.
Effects of the Care Certificate on healthcare assistants’ ability to identify and...
The Care Certificate, launched in England in 2015, safeguards patients by ensuring all new healthcare assistants (HCAs) undertake a structured educational programme so that they can provide appropriate, safe and high standards of care in clinical settings. This article describes a service evaluation that aimed to identify the effects of the Care Certificate on HCAs’ confidence and ability to identify, and initiate management of, unwell patients independently.
Enhanced supervision: new ways to promote safety and well-being in patients requiring...
The number of older people with multiple co-morbidities and cognitive impairment being admitted to hospital is increasing, and behavioural disturbances, such as confusion, agitation and delirium, are becoming commonplace. The need for nursing teams to manage the patients with such disturbances has led to the proliferation of one-to-one nursing or close observation, anecdotally known as ‘specialing’. This article describes the implementation and outcomes of a new framework for providing enhanced supervision of patients in clinical wards run by the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, one of the largest acute providers of care in Wales.
Relationship between communication skills and emotional intelligence among nurses
Aim Nurses’ emotional intelligence (EI) affects many of their behavioural skills. Given the importance of communication skills, the aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between EI and the communication skills of emergency department nurses. Method 253 nurses working in five hospitals affiliated to Ardabil University of Medical Sciences took part in this cross-sectional analytical study. Participants completed Goleman’s EI Scale and a researcher-designed communication skills questionnaire. Validity and reliability of the tools were measured throughout the study. Data analysis was carried out using analysis of variance, Pearson correlation and Spearman correlation tests in SPSS v18. Findings The mean EI score was estimated to be 78.31 with the highest and lowest scores related to self-awareness (20.83) and self-management (18.19) dimensions respectively. The mean total score of communication skills was estimated to be 70.91. There was a significant relationship between total EI score and total communication skills score (r=0.775, P
An exploration of NHS clinical staff perceptions of changes to clinical products and...
The NHS in England is working to reduce variation and waste in the use of clinical products, which requires collaboration between those directly involved in procurement and clinical staff. The procurement process is becoming centralised and standardised, and the involvement of, and consultation with, clinical staff is vital to avoid compromising patient care and safety. This article reports the results of a survey of clinical staff and clinical procurement specialist nurses undertaken as part of a master’s degree. Its aim was to capture staff experiences and perceptions of changes to clinical products.