Podcasts for nurses: five of the best to keep you learning while you listen
Podcasts are a great way to join conversations on issues that affect nurses and nursing
In the past couple of years, a clutch of nurse-relevant podcasts have sprung up for UK listeners.
Here, Nursing Standard has selected five podcasts to entertain and support you, and get you thinking about some of the most pressing issues facing nurses. And since there’s no room for modesty here, first up is…
This regular podcast series focuses on a diverse range of topics affecting nurses, nursing students and healthcare in the UK, including journeys into patient care along with practical advice and guest interviews.
Presented by Nursing Standard editor Flavia Munn and senior nurse editor Richard Hatchett, episodes are released twice monthly.
Diverse talking points for nurses
From looking after well-being during COVID-19 to clinical topics such as enteral tube feeding, or what genomics mean for nurses, the podcast team strives to ensure there is something of interest for every nurse.
A recent episode features the author and cancer nurse Janie Brown discussing how, as a nurse, to be a good communicator.
The podcast has received the thumbs up from listeners with 4.5/5 star ratings on Apple Podcast reviews since it began in late 2019. ‘I thoroughly enjoy listening to these podcasts,’ says one reviewer.
In 2020, it was shortlisted for a Podcast of the Year award by the Medical Journalists’ Association with the judging panel describing it as ‘perfectly targeted for the audience’.
Browse Nursing Standard’s full podcast collection
If you’re fascinated by the history of nursing, the RCN Library and Archive has launched this podcast series with you in mind.
Each episode takes inspiration from RCN Library and Archive exhibitions, exploring topics such as women’s health, myths about nursing, and learning disability nursing.
The first episode, released in February 2021, takes a timely look at the history of infectious diseases and what we can learn from responses to HIV and Ebola when tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.
Guests, including RCN lead for infection prevention and control Rose Gallagher and artist Mary Beth Heffernan discuss pandemic response, nursing on the front line of HIV, and creative ways to humanise healthcare during a crisis.
RCN Library and Archive services joint head Cathryn Peppard says: ‘This podcast series allows us to reflect on some of the issues our exhibitions have looked at in the past, bringing them to those who may not have had the opportunity to visit in person.
‘Each episode will also introduce listeners to new voices and perspectives, showing how many lessons from the history of nursing can be applied to new challenges.’
Listen to the Past Caring podcast
Retaining the Passion – Journeys Through Nursing
Hosted by newly-qualified nurses Craig Davidson and Clare Manley, this podcast started last summer, and aims to support other newly-qualified nurses.
‘We will bring other newly-qualified nurses in from all four fields from different stages – maybe people who have just completed their preceptorship, final-year students who are just about to start – and hear their stories and experiences,’ says Mr Davidson.
The podcast takes a light-hearted and conversational approach to a wide variety of subjects such as person-centred care, global nursing and supporting people with learning disabilities, making for an easy and relatable listen.
Mr Davidson is now working in the area of infectious diseases and Ms Manley is a community mental health nurse.
Although the podcast is new, it has already attracted positive reviews.
‘This provides inspiration for newly qualified nurses. It’s so great to have our voice heard,’ says one listener.
Listen to the Retaining the Passion podcasts
This new podcast series from independent charity the Health Foundation looks at the most important issues affecting the future of health and care for people in the UK.
In each episode, chief executive Jennifer Dixon interviews leading minds in health and healthcare, and high-profile guests from politics and beyond, to get their views on the most topical issues and their implications for health.
The most recent episode asks do we care enough?
Along with RCN president Anne Marie Rafferty and author and former Guardian journalist Madeleine Bunting, Dr Dixon asks why care is so often undervalued, skimped on, commoditised or ignored?
One reviewer writes: ‘This podcast is incredible. The quality of guests, questions and production is beyond good.’
Browse the Health Foundation podcasts
This podcast from independent charity The King’s Fund looks at all the latest big ideas in health and care, discussing issues with its own experts and beyond about the NHS, social care and all things health policy and leadership.
Every month, important questions are addressed and picked apart, such as:
Can the NHS be a truly flexible workspace? What factors are driving the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on the health of ethnic minority populations? How should nurses remain positive in the face of adversity?
Listeners find the podcast informative and eye-opening, attracting high starred ratings on the Apple podcast review page.
‘You have enlightened my knowledge on race inequality and researches currently being carried out to counteract this within the NHS,’ writes one reviewer.
New episodes are released monthly.
Browse the King’s Fund’s podcast collectionRelated articles