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Chief nursing officer for England Ruth May, who has announced her retirement

What next – and who next – for nursing?

As England’s CNO prepares to step down, what should her successor’s priorities be?

Illustration of steps showing different pay bands as nurse steps down onto band 5 step

Nurses forced into lower pay bands after requesting flexible hours

RCN chief brands practice ‘shameful’ and vows to get college’s lawyers to review issue

Striking nurses in Plymouth, Devon, in May 2023

NHS employers reject suggested separate pay spine for nurses

RCN’s proposed nursing pay scale would harm morale, employers tell government consultation

Older woman stands facing younger woman, possibly her daughter who has a supportive hand on her shoulder. Carer's leave is now a right, which will support the nurse workforce

Your employment rights: changes to carer’s leave, pregnancy rules and flexible working

Time off to support dependants becomes a legal right and redundancy protection is extended

Photo of nursing students in a lecture, illustrating story about declining student numbers

Nursing student numbers: degree places ‘getting harder to fill’

University says it cannot meet national targets and had to scrap mental health intake

A tribunal panel looks as documents, with witness facing them across a table. A nurse with Chron’s disease won a tribunal after NHS employer reneged on reasonable adjustments

Compensation for charge nurse told she had to stop solely working night shifts

Managers rowed back on reasonable adjustments that helped her manage a chronic condition

Analysis

Illustration showing two nurses in uniform sheltering under a double umbrella, as arrows rain down on them, suggesting the nurses are under attack

Advanced nursing practice: is it under attack and why?

The role is often misunderstood – as highlighted in the debate over physician associates

Five arms out-stretched from all sides into centre of the frame. Each hand holds a cog that fit together to illustrate teamwork in nursing

Teamwork: how it can boost your confidence, reduce errors, and make you a better nurse

Positive culture and leadership helps you and your colleagues strive for a shared purpose

A nurse sitting at a table and making notes while using a calculator that is on top of a pile of documents, as if checking a payslip

Common payroll issues: how to keep track and resolve errors

Pay can fluctuate and it is important to report discrepancies – including overpayments

Some £1 coins spread on a document with the word pension printed under the heading payments

What every nurse in the NHS needs to know about the pension scheme overhaul

How you might be affected – plus a warning to anyone thinking of opting out

A nurse holding a clipboard makes notes while in the background a patient lies in a hospital bed

The (quiet) steps you can take to help inpatients get a good night’s sleep

Find out about measures that minimise disturbance at night – but don’t mean extra workload

Image of four students turning their backs on a beckoning figure standing at a doorway labelled ‘Nursing Careers’

Why are students turning away from nursing courses?

Promises of a rewarding career fail to halt a decline in applicants for nursing courses

Clinical update

Cardiac arrest and CPR: guidance update aims to improve survival and patient outcomes

Resuscitation UK advice affirms role of advance care planning

Asthma management during COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 and severe asthma: what to advise patients

NICE guidance on managing severe asthma in adults and children during the pandemic

Home nutrition

COVID-19 nutritional advice

Nutritional advice to help patients during and after COVID-19 has been published

Free
Nurse using a Clinical Frailty Scale

COVID-19: guidance on when to admit patients to critical care

NICE advises on assessing for frailty and including patients and carers in decision-making

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Infection control and the coronavirus

COVID-19: infection prevention and control advice for all healthcare settings

The government has issued advice for all healthcare workers

Picture shows a woman wearing household gloves and holding a cleaning sponge looking at patches of mould. Poor air quality in the home is linked to a range of health problems, and guidance from NICE suggests how to achieve improvements.

Improving air quality at home: what to advise patients

NICE guidance on risks for those with allergies or respiratory or cadiovascular conditions

Policy briefing

Obesity strategy: steps for tackling a public health crisis

The government’s plan to get the nation fit, protect against COVID-19 and ease strain on the NHS

Rheumatology nursing: your guide to the new RCN competency framework

Skills and career framework aims to support the development of rheumatology nurse roles

Picture shows two medics in discussion. Lack of personal protective equipment allows nurses to take a decision to protect themselves, RCN guidance says.

COVID-19: when you can refuse to treat a patient due to inadequate PPE

The implications for nurses of RCN guidance on care provision and inadequate PPE

Bowel cancer

Essential bowel care advice for nurses

RCN guidance advocates a proactive approach to bowel care

Nurses meeting to discuss and reflect following a difficult situation

Helping nurses to ‘defuse’ after difficult situations

The RCN has issued guidance on how to discuss and reflect on challenging incidents at work

nurse prepares a catheter for insertion

Improving care for patients who have catheters

RCN updates its guidance on using catheters and how to minimise associated risks

Journal scan

Exercising older man

COPD: patients in need of reassurance say they value input from clinicians

Healthcare professionals' support prevents people with COPD feeling overwhelmed by symptoms

Diet study offers hope for people with epilepsy

Bacteria may help limit seizures, study of high-fat, low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet finds

Sharing surveillance of infectious diseases could reduce use of antibiotics

International study found diagnoses improved through shared use of surveillance systems

Sham operation casts doubt on back treatment

Surgery to repair spinal fractures was no more effective than a sham procedure

Documenting and treatment of pain falls as cognitive impairment increases

Pain management drugs less prevalent in nursing home residents with severe impairment

Podcast

Free
Photo of Dr Dame Claire Bertschinger working in Africa in the 1980s, and the Band Aid single Do They Know It's Christmas?

Band Aid remembered: how one nurse inspired a phenomenon

Dr Dame Claire Bertschinger's work in Ethiopia in 1984 helped kickstart the charity song

Free
Photo of woman giving a presentation, illustrating a story about building confidence with public speaking

Public speaking: how nurses can excel at presentations

Cast off your fears and learn how to become a more confident speaker

Free
Three nurses walking through a hospital ward, chatting and smiling

How nurses can build their confidence at work

We discuss what is meant by confidence and steps that nurses can take to improve it

Free
A nurses stands holding the phone at a hospital nurses' station while others are busy in the backgroundv

Joy in nursing, and how the Code can support staff and managers amid workplace pressures

NMC leaders on incivility and promoting joy in nursing, and how the Code acts as an anchor

Free
A medic examines a patient lying in a hospital bed

Why nurses must support patients' right to a second opinion

We talk to the lead nurse of a service for raising concerns about patient care

Free
Cross-section of a skin tear

Not ‘just a skin tear’: why they matter and how they should be managed

What you need to know about this often overlooked type of wound

Sponsored

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Sponsored: Launch of Mölnlycke’s clinical consensus statement: ‘Healthy skin, safe patients: the value of patient hygiene

Sponsored: Mölnlycke’s clinical consensus statement ‘Healthy skin, safe patients'

This article explores Mölnlycke’s clinical consensus statement and the fight against healthcare-associated infections

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Sponsored: When is a swelling not an allergy?

This sponsored article describes emergency care for people with hereditary angioedema

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Sponsored: How to improve leg ulcer practice and patient outcomes

This webinar, sponsored by HARTMANN, seeks to address variation in practice and outcomes for lower limb wounds

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UK-made respiratory protection for healthcare helps reduce environmental impact

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Sponsored: Menopause at work

Find out what healthcare employers are doing to meet the needs of staff during menopause

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Get talking about your mental health and well-being with the help of an online resource

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