Nurses have been in dispute with the government over poor pay, working conditions and patient safety concerns months. In this special edition of the Nursing Standard podcast, RCN general secretary Pat Cullen talks about the ‘unfinished business’ nurses have with the government and why they deserve more than the current pay awards. She calls for the government to come back to the negotiation table to avoid further strikes, detailing what ministers can do to nurture home-grown talent, instead of r...
Jun 14, 2023•23 min•Season 9Ep. 3
Are you missing out on money that you could reclaim from the tax office? Employed nurses and other members of the nursing team can claim a refund from HM Revenue and Customs on many work-related expenses. This includes for costs around washing uniforms if employers don’t offer this service, for professional fees, union subscriptions and for journals such as Nursing Standard, and also for mileage if not covered by employers. In this episode, Clare Merrills, a spokesperson for the HMRC, explains w...
Jun 07, 2023•20 min•Season 9Ep. 2
What do nurses need to know about tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), which has recently arrived in the UK? Spread by the bite of an infected tick, TBEV can lead to a spectrum of illness including meningitis and encephalitis (swelling of the brain) and is potentially lethal. This episode hears from Sylviane Defres, a consultant in infectious diseases at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and a senior clinical lecturer at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Dr Defres tel...
May 25, 2023•19 min•Season 9Ep. 1
What are the signs and symptoms of dementia and how can nursing staff best support people with the condition and their loved ones? By 2025, over one million people in the UK will likely have a diagnosis of dementia, making it even more likely that nurses in all settings will encounter someone with the condition and or their family. This episode of the Nursing Standard podcast explores the different types of dementia (there are over 200 subtypes of the condition) and the varying symptoms. Our gue...
May 03, 2023•16 min•Season 8Ep. 9
How do you recognise the signs of sepsis? And how should you respond when you suspect the patient in front of you is at risk? The latest episode of the podcast examines what nursing staff need to know about this life-threatening condition. Our guest, Sian Annakin, is deteriorating patient lead at the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, and a sepsis practitioner. She tells Emergency Nurse editor Sophie Blakemore what to watch out for in adults and what the guidelines say about how and when to trea...
Apr 19, 2023•37 min•Season 8Ep. 8
How can you make your money stretch a bit further, plan for retirement and feel in control of your finances? Times are tough financially for many nurses at the moment, with pay not rising as fast as the rocketing cost of living. This episode hears from money mentor for women and NHS GP Nikki Ramskill who shares information on how nurses can get to grips with their money and make it work for them better. Known as the Female Money Doctor, Dr Ramskill is on a mission to improve women’s money manage...
Apr 05, 2023•25 min•Season 8Ep. 7
At the end of a shift, many nurses find it a challenge to leave the day behind. You may find yourself constantly going over events that happened at work, or wondering how a patient is faring. This episode of the Nursing Standard podcast will provide the tips and tricks you need to switch off after your shift. Our guest is RCN Nurse of the Year Ana Waddington, who is a paediatric critical care outreach nurse. Ms Waddington speaks to RCNi editorial assistant Serafina Basciano about the importance ...
Mar 22, 2023•27 min•Season 8Ep. 6
Using Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and other social media platforms are part of many nurses’ day-to-day lives. Getting the most out of social media accounts as a nurse, while avoiding the potential pitfalls, is the topic of this episode. We explore the positives of these online tools that can bring members of the profession together. Our guest is Teresa Chinn , a nurse, social media expert and honorary assistant professor at the University of Nottingham, and founder of the #WeNurses Twit...
Mar 08, 2023•21 min•Season 8Ep. 5
How does kindness – and also unkindness – affect working relationships and patient care? Kindness is fundamental to nursing practice and the quality patients most value in their experience of care. Whereas unkind behaviour can impact on a nursing professional’s ability to respond effectively and learn – and, also, affects patient outcomes. This episode of the podcast explores what it means to be kind, how these behaviours influence person-centred care and inter-staff relationships. Our guest is ...
Feb 22, 2023•11 min•Season 8Ep. 4
What does it mean to be a ‘silent companion’ and how does this help to build trust at the end of a patient’s life? Find out more in this episode of the Nursing Standard podcast, which explores the challenges that nurses face when providing person-centred end of life care. Other topics addressed include effective communication, building authentic and trusting relationships, and the importance of nurses in this role being able to care for themselves. Joining podcast host RCNi CPD editor Nick Liple...
Feb 08, 2023•32 min•Season 8Ep. 3
In January thousands of nurses in the NHS staged a two-day strike across England over pay, as members of the RCN continue their historic walkouts. But what were the real reasons for nursing staff voting for industrial action? In the latest episode of the Nursing Standard podcast we hear from nurses on the picket lines in South Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Brighton and London about their personal reasons for taking part in the strikes on 18 and 19 of January 2023. Speaking to reporters nurses from all ...
Jan 25, 2023•29 min•Season 8Ep. 2
How do you reduce imposter syndrome and make changes at work? This episode’s guest is no stranger to change, having revolutionised sexual health care in Northern Ireland by setting up an early medical abortion service. Sexual and reproductive healthcare nurse Nicola Bailey established the Rose Clinic providing terminations up to the tenth week of pregnancy to women in Belfast, overcoming protests and political resistance – all during a Covid-19 lockdown. Despite her achievements, which saw her n...
Jan 11, 2023•52 min•Season 8Ep. 1
Christmas may be a time for giving but accepting a gift from a patient could land you in hot water. While patient’s have the best intentions of thanking nurses at Christmas, or any other time of the year, accepting a gift could be in breach of the Nursing and Midwifery Council code. The Code clearly states that nurses must refuse ‘all but the most trivial gifts, favours or hospitalities, as accepting them could be interpreted as an attempt to gain preferential treatment’. So, what is a trivial g...
Dec 07, 2022•23 min•Season 7Ep. 7
Preparing for your first night shift can be a daunting experience. So many questions cross your mind. Will I be able to stay awake? What should I eat? And what should I bring with me? This episode of the Nursing Standard podcast answers all those questions and more. Podcast guests Molly Kiltie, senior mental health practitioner at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, and Danielle Robinson, a third-year adult nursing student University of Lincoln, give listeners tips on how to survive a first ni...
Nov 23, 2022•24 min•Season 7Ep. 6
How are nursing students preparing for the health challenges of climate change? This episode of the Nursing Standard podcast explores how students and universities are ensuring their courses cover this vital topic. Nursing student Leonie Harrison and lecturer Alison Taylor discuss the proactive approach they are involved with to make their course at the University of Brighton more sustainable. This matters to nursing students as the climate emergency is a health emergency, listeners hear. Ms Har...
Nov 09, 2022•25 min•Season 7Ep. 5
What is it with nurses and ghost stories? Why does every hospital seem to be ‘haunted’ by a past patient or long-dead matron? This Halloween episode of the Nursing Standard podcast explores why so many nurses have a spooky story to tell. Our podcast guest Ciaran O’Keeffe is head of the School of Human and Social Sciences and associate professor of education and research at Buckinghamshire New University. Fans of the supernatural may be familiar with the work of Dr O’Keeffe, who studies haunting ...
Oct 26, 2022•21 min•Season 7Ep. 4
What is it like to be a newly registered nurse? Making the transition from nursing student to newly registered nurse is exciting, but it can also be nerve-wracking. Securing a role that is the right fit for you – with the right support at the right time – is crucial if you are to thrive in your new career. But how do you go about getting your first job and what should you be looking for in a good employer? Support and development in the workplace is vital, so what does a good preceptorship progr...
Oct 12, 2022•16 min•Season 7Ep. 3
The emotional distress of caring for seriously ill and dying patients can take its toll on nurses who may struggle with feelings of unresolved grief. If it is not recognised and dealt with issues can build up that can lead to burn out, compassion fatigue, inadequate care for patients and nurses leaving the profession. So, what can nurses do to protect themselves and maintain healthy and happy careers? This episode explores the findings of research conducted with children’s nurses and what it rev...
Sep 28, 2022•24 min•Season 7Ep. 2
Major changes are afoot to advanced community nursing qualifications. So, what do they mean for nurses’ careers? And what do employers, universities and other providers delivering education and training need to do? This episode explores the new standards for specialist community public health nursing (SCPHN) and specialist practice qualifications (SPQs) introduced by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Guests NMC executive director of professional practice Geraldine Walters and NMC assistan...
Sep 14, 2022•31 min•Season 7Ep. 1
Starting a nursing degree is exciting … but can also be overwhelming. So, where do you start? How can you prepare for academic study? What books should you buy (if any … yet) - and what are the best shoes to walk the wards in? This episode of the Nursing Standard podcast answers all these questions and more on how to navigate those first weeks, months and year of a nursing course. Our guests Lin Fidgin, a third year adult nursing student at Teeside University, and Louise Hyett-Collins, who is in...
Sep 01, 2022•35 min•Season 6Ep. 10
Managing the continence care of patients with dementia in hospital can be a challenge for time-pressed staff. This episode of the Nursing Standard podcast explores this nursing practice which is little discussed yet vital to patient dignity and care outcomes. Katie Featherstone, director of the Geller Institute of Ageing and Memory at the University of West London, speaks about her research into the continence care of people with dementia during a hospital admission. She discusses ‘pad cultures’...
Aug 18, 2022•19 min•Season 6Ep. 9
Is your workplace missing some nurses? Is there a perpetual struggle to fill rota gaps? This isn’t just a UK problem but one that is reflected across the world, impacting global health in the most significant way. In this episode, International Council of Nurses chief executive Howard Catton talks about the issues with recruiting staff from overseas and how worldwide nursing shortages are impacting other major challenges such as climate change, including extreme heatwaves. Mr Catton tells interv...
Aug 03, 2022•48 min•Season 6Ep. 8
How do you spot and treat monkeypox? And how concerned should nurses be about the UK outbreak of this relatively rare virus? This episode of the Nursing Standard podcast examines what nursing staff need to know about the condition. Our guest is Belinda Loftus, a sexual health nurse and a manager at the Spectrum Community Health social enterprise, which provides enhanced primary care services across the north of England. She tells journalist Erin Dean about what can put people at higher risk of c...
Jul 20, 2022•18 min•Season 6Ep. 7
How can the nursing regulator be fair to the professionals on its register while protecting the public? The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s ability to remove a registrant’s licence to practise – their livelihood – understandably makes some nursing staff fearful of the regulator. Research has also shown inequalities for certain groups of nurses, midwives and nursing associates on the NMC register who face fitness to practise proceedings. This episode of the podcast hears from NMC chief executive ...
Jul 06, 2022•35 min•Season 6Ep. 6
Dysphagia describes eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties in an individual of any age. This episode of the Nursing Standard podcast explores this complex and potentially life-threatening problem, what nurses need to be looking out for, and how and when it should be escalated. Guest Rachael Jones, senior advanced nurse practitioner in stroke at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and chair of the National Stroke Nursing Forum, talks about which patients are at higher risk, and which signs su...
Jun 21, 2022•13 min•Season 6Ep. 5
As days get longer and people spend more time outdoors, the risk of contracting Lyme disease from infected ticks increases. The latest episode of the Nursing Standard podcast explores what nurses need to know about this condition. Podcast guest is Nick Beeching, a professor in tropical and infectious diseases from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. In the interview with Nursing Standard journalist Erin Dean, he talks about who is at highest risk, how to spot a potential Lyme disease infe...
Jun 08, 2022•15 min•Season 6Ep. 4
Nurses encounter many different wounds in their practice. These range from lower limb leg ulcers – including venous leg ulcers and diabetes-related foot ulcers - to surgical wounds, pressure ulcers and those caused by trauma. Wounds can be distressing, painful and debilitating for the person as well as affecting body image. They are also costly and take time to manage for the health service and organisation. This episode looks at what nurses need to know about this important area of practice. Ou...
May 25, 2022•26 min•Season 6Ep. 3
The link between nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes has been proven time and again – so why does the UK have a persistent shortage of nurses? Is it all financial? And do, or should, nurses have a role in calling this out and finding solutions? This episode of the Nursing Standard podcast hears from Jane Ball, professor of nursing workforce policy at University of Southampton who has spent 30 years researching safe staffing issues. She speaks about the positive impact on patient care of h...
May 11, 2022•38 min•Season 6Ep. 2
Are you being held back in your career by self-limiting beliefs? These are those nagging thoughts that you’re not quite good enough or an imposter in your nursing role. Such anxieties can hamper professional development, discouraging nurses from stepping forward for new opportunities and job promotion. So how do you overcome these doubts? Gemma Stacey, director of the Florence Nightingale Foundation’s Academy, has some answers and inspiration for us all. The academy runs a series of leadership a...
Apr 27, 2022•27 min•Season 6Ep. 1
Do you know your emotional triggers, those particular situations that cause a surge of stress or anger? Feeling overwhelmed is a common response in times of high pressure, and the pandemic has brought even more challenges for healthcare staff. Yet self-care can appear a self-indulgence practised by people with time and energy. But does it have to be that way? A free massive online open course (MOOC) is offering self-care and well-being support as something ‘learners’ can dip into when they can. ...
Mar 23, 2022•25 min•Season 5Ep. 6
