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Illustration of sex-based inequality in NHS nurse career progression shows a male nurse standing on top of a structure with his arms folded while a female nurse lags behind, with ladders still to climb

Career progression … or lack of it: how being a man in nursing is a distinct advantage

Report reveals sex and race inequality in the NHS, with male nurses enjoying faster promotion

A smiling nurse offers a cup of tea and a biscuit to an older patient

Nurse-led work to cut caffeine helps reduce care home falls

Decaf drinks reduced urgency in those with overactive bladder or incontinence

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

Analysis

Image of a figure representing a nurse holding out her hands in alarm as she slides down a red arrow above a series of boxes labelled from bands 7 to 4

Why flexible working could mean dropping a pay band

Despite legal changes, nurses say employers are not doing enough to allow requests

A general practice nurse holding her notes talks to a woman and child

General practice nurses: get the lowdown on pay and pensions

How to boost pay, terms and conditions by knowing your worth and negotiating

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

A sad-looking young man sits on a park bench alone smoking a cigarette

Physical health and well-being: how you can help service users

People living with severe mental illness often experience poor physical health

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

Chronic kidney disease assessment and management: updated guidance

How to predict risk, ensure timely treatment and advise patients on its management

Bronchiolitis: how to recognise red flag symptoms requiring emergency care

Updated NICE guidance focuses on diagnosis, red flag symptoms and when to seek emergency care

Wound care: what the framework for standardised treatment means for your patients

Guidance focuses on individualised care for pressure ulcers, lower limbs and surgical wounds

Nutrition-related sarcopenia: how to advise patients on improving diet

Sarcopenia is marked by a loss of muscle mass and often seen in older people

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

Resuscitation UK advice affirms role of advance care planning

Atrial fibrillation risk, treatment and self-care: updated guidance

How to recognise and manage the symptoms of AF and advise patients on lifestyle adjustments

Policy briefing

ReSPECT form update: a more patient-centred focus for advance care planning

How nurses can implement changes to the RCUK process for end of life decision-making

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

Managing recovery from COVID-19

A service to aid long-term recovery will offer personalised, online-based aftercare

Boy texting

Guidance on school nursing during the pandemic

Advice on how school nursing services in England can operate during imposed restrictions

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

Image shows school teacher interacting with young people in a classroom lesson

Interventions to improve the mental health and well-being of children and young people

Public Health England focuses on promoting critical importance of mental health

Research news

Woman holding up a new-born baby. Picture: iStock

How cost-effective is the Family Nurse Partnership?

A study to see if the programme for first-time parents is good value for money for the NHS

Mother with crying baby. Picture: iStock

An intervention package helps parents of excessively crying babies

Parents and healthcare professionals endorse use of selected support materials

School children running in a park. Picture: Alamy

The Daily Mile: is this initiative fit to get children moving?

School trial of a 15-minute jog shows positive outcomes but concerns over implementation

Pictures shows a GP talking to a young man. People with cancer who skip urgent referral appointments for their symptoms are more likely to die within a year of diagnosis, researchers say

Skipping urgent referral linked to mortality risk

People with cancer who skip referrals are more likely to die within a year of diagnosis

Picture shows a 3D illustration of herpes viruses and antibodies. Nurses and GPs play a pivotal role in shingles vaccine uptake, according to researchers investigating why people have the vaccination.

Vital role for nurses in shingles vaccination uptake

Nurses play a pivotal role in uptake of the shingles vaccine targeting people over 70

Picture show model depicting depressed young mother holding a baby. Support such as listening visits by health visitors to new mothers with mental health problems could be improved.

Better mental health support needed for new mums

Support from health visitors to new mothers with mental health problems could be improved

Journal scan

Assessing patients for intermittent self-catheterisation

Study looked at types of catheter available for intermittent use

Clinical presentation of scabies in older care home residents differs from classic...

Prospective study of scabies outbreaks in ten care homes for older people

Anticoagulant

Study advocates continued use of anticoagulants in patients with resolved atrial...

Treatment with anticoagulants reduces risk of stroke by two thirds

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

Vitamin D

Higher vitamin D level associated with lower risk of total cancer

Japanese study suggests beneficial effects for prevention of cancer in all sites

Podcast

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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

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Nurses holding placards and dressed for the cold weather, picket Northern General Hospital in Sheffield

NHS strikes one year on: how nursing staff took a historic stand with public’s support

Look back at what nurses told us on the picket lines, and why the campaign isn’t over

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Michael Rosen at the Nursing Live event

Author’s tale of pandemic journey – and what he owes to nurses

Michael Rosen reflects in our podcast on intensive care and his admiration for nurses

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Jayne Chidgey-Clark

Raising concerns: helping you to speak up without fear of repercussions

Our podcast guest tells us how she's striving to help nurses speak up with confidence

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Photo of exhausted nurse at work, illustrating podcast about burnout

Is work causing you to burn out? How to spot the warning signs

Our podcast explores causes of burnout, including long shifts, and what to do about it

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How to call out rudeness (politely) at work

How to call out rudeness (politely) at work

Taking appropriate action can protect yourself, your team’s and your patients’ well-being

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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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Sponsored: High ‘face fit test’ pass rate on smaller face shapes with FFP3 respirator

UK-made respiratory protection for healthcare helps reduce environmental impact

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Skin infections webinar

Sponsored: Ask the experts webinar: serious skin infections

This webinar explores the nursing management of serious skin infections and how they can be effectively managed and treated. Richard Hatchett, a nurse tutor and senior editor at RCNi, discusses nursing innovations with Sharon Falconer, a specialist outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) nurse from Aberdeen, and Malcolm Bain from the medical department at Correvio.

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Luke Pybus

Sponsored: Wales offers a great quality of life for the newly qualified nurse

Newly qualified Mental Health Nurse Luke Pybus, from Somerset, is delighted he made the career move to work in Wales.

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