Initiating change to improve practice: tips for nursing students

Advice on sharing ideas and proposals with nursing colleagues, and gaining support and evidence, from a fellow nursing student who highlighted a gap in patient care

At the end of the first year of my adult nursing degree at Staffordshire University, I undertook a community placement with the homeless healthcare team.

During the six-week placement, which started in July 2023, I quickly learned that many of our homeless patients had issues with drugs and alcohol. As well as using illicit substances such as heroin, patients were also misusing prescribed opioid medications, including fentanyl, morphine and codeine.

Opioids account for many deaths caused by overdosing

Misusing opioids significantly increases the risk of overdose and death, with l atest