Global Research Nurses competition: win attendance to UK research nursing conference

The Global Research Nurses’ network is pleased to announce the second competition for nurses working in clinical research …

THE WINNER WILL BE INVITED TO ATTEND THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING INTERNATIONAL NURSING RESEARCH CONFERENCE IN NOTTINGHAM, UK, 20th – 22nd APRIL 2015, ALL EXPENSES PAID.

SECOND PRIZE – ONE YEAR’S SUBSCRIPTION TO 2 ONLINE JOURNALS:

THE JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING & THE JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING

To enter, research nurses should write a 1,000-1,500 word article to discuss the role of the research nurse: “Using examples from research projects that you have worked on discuss what skills nurses contribute to a clinical research team.”

Full information and criteria, as well as information on how to upload your entry, can be found at https://globalresearchnurses.tghn.org/extra/competition-2015/

Entries must be received by 31st October 2014. Please share this opportunity widely!

Thanks and kind regards
Tamzin

Tamzin Furtado
Project Manager
The Global Health Network

HIFA profile (and source): Tamzin Furtado is Project Manager of Global Health Trials, UK. Professional interests: Global health, clinical trials. tamzin.furtado AT ndm.ox.ac.uk

Positioning Nursing in a Digital World. RCN eHealth Survey 2012 Report

Abstract:

Commissioned by the RCN, this eHealth survey explores the knowledge and experiences of nursing staff in relation to current eHealth developments, together with their attitudes to new and emerging uses of technology in health and social care. The aims of the 2012 survey were to identify the readiness of nursing staff to participate in eHealth, to understand the barriers that prevent nursing staff from benefiting from information and communications technology, and to ascertain what progress has been made since the previous RCN eHealth survey in 2010. 

Image source: http://www.gerrybolger.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/image1.jpg

High quality nursing care: Staff numbers + Management + Complexity = Goat (Rabbit or Duck)?

When did someone last get your goat?

For me I owe a vote of thanks to Mr Harry Cayton in the (print) Health Service Journal, 2012

 The wrong answer to the wrong question. 

I know it's hard to believe, but I've been simmering for a year and a half; especially watching, listening and reading about the NHS and the state of nursing in the media.

The subtitle of this short opinion piece (p. 16-17) reads:  

"There is no direct link between staff numbers and care quality, 

so a minimum staff ratio is a fig leaf performance measure." 

Online it is: 15 March 2012 'Mandating staffing levels is not the answer to reducing poor care'
 - so you get the gist...?

As a nurse, the subtitle did its trick, it rubbed against the whole tree of experience, not just a branch or two.

It is a long time since I was a deputy charge nurse on what was then 'psychogeriatrics'. Relatives would arrive on the ward for the first time and start to weep. We had to reassure and demonstrate that we cared not just in words, but actions: nursing care. We got things wrong: teeth, clothing. ... A variety of 'lists' and books signified institutional care. That Victorian institution is no more, this is progress. The change has been amazing. It is also a long time since I was a charge nurse on acute female admission. The thing is numbers always counted. How many times did we, the team, wonder what we could have done with another two, or four hands? Within mental health care risk is a positive and negative companion to all our patient contacts. There may be confusion in numbers, but there is safety too.

You know that numbers do count.

As Mr Cayton points out - poor management is a primary factor in poor care. He quite rightly refers to the complexity that arises. As I have posted here several times, staff attitudes and skills are central to the quality of care that follows. Mr Cayton highlights the same.

If evidence based health care is so powerful why are we still deliberating upon this?

This isn't just complex, it's complex as in complexity science. In the late 70s - 80s and even today there is discussion of dependency and workload measures. There is a real illusion at work.

As a nurse in this context you recognised the limitations of know thyself. You have to know yourself, especially: can I delegate effectively? Am I a manager's manager? How can I balance the office and the ward?

The limitation is: do I know my team? Since the 1980s I wonder how well ward managers know their team. What is the impact of agency workers - nursing and medical? How has this workforce development influenced the work and performance of the FY1s (foundation - first year doctors)?

We ensured we had covered the 'basics' as comprehensively as we could. Everyone was safe, warm, clean, skin clean and intact, dressings completed, fed, watered, given a smile, (if possible) gave a smile and as much reassurance as could be provided. Any care outstanding was reported to the next shift to ensure it was completed as a priority.

Returning to the question of evidence and the illusory, chimeric character of this debate. There is a great post-grad student essay on the relative and normative dimensions of nursing staffing to be written. Health services must wrestle with standards, local responsiveness, person-centredness, outcomes and umpteen other requirements in care delivery. If funding (staffing!) results in nurses having an arm tied behind their back, perhaps mandated staffing levels does the same for managers?

There is undoubtedly much to consider in relation to the equations that abound in staffing numbers and quality of care. As we think of trees of knowledge,  experience and branches, let's remember the leaves; everyone unique.

Update: 24 Aug 2013
News, Health Service Journal, 23 August 2013, Minimum safe staffing work yet to begin, 123, 6364, p.7. 123

"We need tools that are relevant to the care environment; we need leadership locally that has the resources and responsibility to meet the levels the tools are demanding and we need some degree of professional responsibility and decision making at ward level."
(Prof. Jim Buchan)

Additional links:

Policy Unit. Royal College of Nursing (2010) Guidance on safe nurse staffing levels in the UK
http://www.rcn.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/353237/003860.pdf

Safe Staffing Alliance

Kay, J. (2013). Making the case for more nurses, Health Service Journal, 123, 6355, 30-31.

Donnelly L., Mulhern, M., NHS pays £1,600 a day for nurses as agency use soars, The Telegraph, 14 Jul 2012.

http://hodges-model.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/bbc-horizon-ii-processes-step-this-way.html

26/02/2014:
New [Lancet] study shows degree level nursing education cuts unnecessary hospital deaths
http://www.councilofdeans.org.uk/2014/02/new-study-shows-degree-level-nursing-education-cuts-unnecessary-hospital-deaths/#comment-28

'Nursing the Nation' poem Molly Case at RCN Congress 2013

The past fortnight has been quite intense in terms of conferences and the focus upon nursing education; plus as was pointed out to me I travelled from Jordan to Jordanstown. The conference in Jordan began with a beautiful prayer and I heard of this poem while away:

RCN 2nd live chat Friday 25th January Emergency Care on Twitter

EMERGENCY CARE is the topic of the RCN’s second live chat on Twitter, taking place this Friday.


Is the hospital model of delivering care still fit for purpose? Is the pressure on emergency care services reaching breaking point? What does the future hold?
Join @theRCN for a live discussion on Friday between 12.45 and 1.15pm, using #RCNchat


The RCN (theRCN) on Twitter
Instantly connect to what's most important to you.
Follow your friends, experts, favorite celebritie...

(My source: Stu Young; Facebook - Royal College of Nursing Students)

RCN survey on NMC fee increase: what do you think?

FROM the RCN:

BREAKING: The RCN has today launched a new survey to find out what YOU think about the proposal by the NMC to increase your annual registration fee from £76 to £120.

We oppose the move strongly, but we need to know what you think too. You answers will help shape our official response to their consultation so it's vital that you have your say.

Complete the survey now, it takes two minutes. (Alex)

http://frontlinefirst.rcn.org.uk/page/s/NMCsurvey

My comment:
No doubt like a huge majority of the population I have personal reasons for total disbelief, disrespect in the banking - finance sector. This is in addition to the bailouts that we are ALL still paying for and it isn't over yet of course.

This NMC fee increase makes me very angry too. If you're a UK nurse you should be incensed.

As the public sector cuts continue with worse to follow apparently the pressures on nurses will increase. As a result resources will be further pinched, with short-cuts in care mistakes will inevitably follow. So the increase in costs incurred in managing disciplinary matters are bound to rise as a consequence. This is a trend that must be stopped and properly addressed now.

Now you want me to contribute to an NMC bailout?

This is no way to manage professionalism, accountability and governance. ...

I appreciate that as an organisation the NMC's hands are tied - it must seek funds to maintain its work, fulfill its role. But, please don't hold me and the UK nursing workforce hostage at the same time.

Additional link:
http://www.rcm.org.uk/midwives/news/unions-rally-against-proposed-nmc-hike/

RCN nursing journals are now available through HINARI

Dear All,

I am pleased to share that, as of last month, the journals published by the Royal College of Nursing (UK) are now available through HINARI, which means that HINARI users can now access the following journals:-

- Cancer Nursing Practice
- Emergency Nurse
- Learning Disability Practice
- Mental Health Practice
- Nurse Researcher
- Nursing Children and Young People Nursing Management
- Nursing Older People
- Nursing Standard
- Primary Health Care

This brings the total number of nursing journals available via HINARI to 172, including journals from BMJ Publishing, Cambridge University Press, Elsevier, Informa Healthcare, John Wiley, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Mary Ann Liebert, Sage, SLACK, and Thieme.

Best wishes to all.

Richard Gedye
Publisher Co-ordinator
Research4Life

My source:
HIFA2015 Health Information For All by 2015 

Locating the Spiritual in Care: (very big) Plantpots vs Green Windows

Last summer, July 13 2011 to be precise, the cover of RCN bulletin #278 declared 'Prioritise spirituality'.

I am not a religious person, but quite a spiritual one (I think). This RCN news item reported Professor in Dignity of Care for Older People at Staffordshire University, Wilf McSherry's views on spirituality. It is central across health and social care, (it is also vital in terms of cultural and spiritual literacy):

The practice of spiritual and religious care is about meeting people at the point of deepest need,' Professor McSherry said. 'It's not just about religious practices but preserving dignity'.

Also in that month, the 30th in The Times (page 19):
'Sacred forests bear witness to religion's unsung role in fostering a rich variety of life'.

This news concerned the extent of religious forests, with a project by scientists in Oxford to create a global map of forests under religious ownership and control. Now under the guardianship (whether intended or not) such forests have assumed importance as examples of biodiversity. Ruth Gledhill writes: From the Garden of Eden to Avatar, sacred groves have been central to religion and myth ... between 8 and 15 per cent of the world's land is regarded as sacred or religious.

With many remaining exceptions places of care have changed remarkably over the past 30-40 years. There remain many residential and nursing homes that prove challenging for health care professionals (I know they have told me over several years), never mind the residents and their carers. Challenging in the spiritual sense of the surroundings. I posted in 2010 about the wail of call systems. Visually though we must ask: how green is that care home?

Count - plants real [3]* : artificial [13]^#
  
This isn't just the colour of walls and use of curves to soften the environment, but access to outside, to grass, to trees and flowers. The benefits of real plants in the office environment are well established.  Being able to see a green vista greatly improves employee productivity and well-being. For those people in care what is the view outside their window, the lounge(s), the dining room? How can it be improved? For those essentially bed-bound can the furniture and bed be moved around periodically to achieve a new perspective?

It is still upsetting to see that those physically less capable of reaching the outdoors are elevated to first and second floors. Even with positive spiritual acuity of staff (the outdoors matters to all) readiness to hand and soul - a sideways glance through a window, the sound of rustling leaves through an open window - can make a huge difference:

Spirituality, dignity and respect. ...

*And in need of water. ^#Five over-watered.

Image source:
http://www.fanpop.com/spots/avatar/images/9492947/title/avatar_promo-screenshot-screencap

"You're a nurse? That's cool. How much do you make?"

Somebody asked:

"You're a nurse? That's cool, I wanted to do that when I was a kid. How much do you make?"

The nurse replied: "HOW MUCH DO I MAKE?" ...

I can make holding your hand seem like the most important thing in the world when you're scared. ...
I can make your child breathe when they stop. ...
I can help your father survive a heart attack. ...
I can make myself get up at 5 a.m. to make sure your mother has the medicine she needs to live. ...
I work all day to save the lives of strangers. ...
I make my family wait for dinner until I know your family member is taken care of. ...
I make myself skip lunch so that I can make sure that everything I did for your wife today is charted. ...
I make myself work weekends and holidays because people don't just get sick Monday thru Friday. ...
Today, I might save your life. ...

How much do I make? All I know is, I make a difference.

Re-post not only if you are a nurse or you love a nurse, but most importantly, re-post this if you respect their work.


My source: Stu Young, Royal College of Nursing Students

States of mind and policy [I]: 25% of hospital beds...

The repeated things that some people say, what does that denote?

The repeated things that other people say, what does that demonstrate?

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

In which care domain does the Person living with dementia reside?	1 : 4 - 25% of occupied beds [ diagnosis? ]
... and what of their carers... with their expertise?	there is a strategy - yet more hospital champions are needed and training.

My source:
BBC Radio 4 & RCN Students mail list