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Three nurses at a very busy hospital workstation

Groundbreaking safe staffing law now in force for nurses in Scotland

All Scottish health and care settings must have enough qualified nurses to provide safe care

A nurse holds a pen and document as she talks to a patient sitting up in a hospital bed, both of them wearing protective masks

NMC closes temporary register set up during COVID-19 crisis

Temporary register saw thousands return to nursing to aid vulnerable at peak of pandemic

Photo of nurse associate students in training, illustrating story about their introduction in Wales

NMC agrees to regulate nursing associate role in Wales

First nursing associates expected to begin training in autumn 2025

Picture of filing cabinet tabs with FRAUD in red letters and INVESTIGATIONS and LAW in black letters

Two nurses removed from NMC register for test fraud

Regulator found evidence of fraudulent computer-based tests at a centre in Nigeria

Nursing and Midwifery nameplate outside its HQ

Nurse suspended after trying to get selfie with footballer

NMC gives nurse four-month suspension for breaching code and patient privacy

Striking nurses at Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry

Nurses reject pay offer as it falls short of giving them parity

Nurses in Northern Ireland refuse deal that fails to bring them in line with England

Analysis

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

Taking part in riskier activities: an older woman prepares to go on a zip line in the woods

Are care homes too risk averse and curtailing residents’ freedoms?

How you can help people in care homes take part in everyday and more risky activities

A young woman with Down’s syndrome makes the shape of a heart

How to promote cardiovascular health in people with learning disabilities

Nurses can manage risks with regular check-ups, lifestyle support and monitoring medicine

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

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
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

Free
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

Free
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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