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Nursing at the helm
This report highlights the essential, strategic impact of nursing staff working in commissioning and oversight bodies in England, to protect against any risk to nursing functions within the context of cost-saving measures and reforms.
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Menopause: RCN guidance
Menopause impacts on most peoples’ lives, men and women, and it is important that all nursing teams have a good understanding of how different menopause can be for individuals, and their families. This updated publication aims to support best evidence-based practice for health care professionals to renew and update their understanding of the potential physical and psychological impact on daily living and work/life of the menopause. It includes guidance on advice and care recommended to best support women through the menopause, where required.
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RCN Research Strategy
The RCN Research Strategy sets out our vision to champion nursing research, and to empower all of our members to lead, engage with, and apply research findings, that not only benefits patient care and outcomes, but also helps to raise the profile of nursing research for generations to come.
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Ethical issues arising from the assisted dying debate
The assisted dying debate is complex, with confusion over definitions and the stance taken by professional bodies. It can also be challenging to make sense of the claims made by those who support changes in the law regarding assisted dying. End of life care is an important aspect of a nurse’s role and therefore understanding the ethical issues arising from the debate is useful for nurses in clinical practice. This article outlines the legal position in the UK and the bills currently before the Westminster and Scottish parliaments proposing changes in the law. It also considers major ethical issues arising from the debate, along with the nurse’s role in caring for patients requesting assisted dying.
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Focus on asthma 2: air pollution and its effects on children and young people
This article is the second in a series on asthma. The first article identified that the UK is experiencing an ‘epidemic’ of childhood asthma and one of the major culprits is air pollution. This article examines the main causes of air pollution and how they affect the lung health of children from before birth and onwards. It considers the contribution of indoor and outdoor air pollution, how these have changed over time and the unequal effect they may have on vulnerable populations. The nurse’s role is discussed, not only in terms of clinical care, but also as adviser to families and schools on what actions to take to limit their exposure and reduce their own emissions of pollutants.
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Biological basis of child health 7: growth, development and the reproductive system
This article is the seventh in a series on the biological basis of child health. It describes early developmental milestones, stages of growth, puberty and the development of the reproductive system. It also outlines the methods used to assess growth and development, and describes conditions that affect growth and development in infants, children and young people. Understanding childhood growth and development is crucial for children’s nurses, who need to be able to identify potential deviations from the norm, since these often reveal underlying conditions that require treatment.
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Focus on asthma 1: the state of care for children and young people in the UK and globally
This is the first in a series of articles on asthma, the most prevalent long-term condition in children with a significant burden of disease. This first article presents an overview of the state of asthma and asthma care in the UK and globally, especially as it relates to children and young people. It considers prevalence, age and sex comparisons, causation, morbidity and mortality rates, cost and the quality of care. It also outlines what children and young people wish for their asthma care.
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Biological basis of child health 6: development of the skeletal system and orthopaedic conditions
This article is the sixth in a series on the biological basis of child health. It provides an overview of the development of the skeletal system before and after birth, and outlines the potential congenital anomalies that may occur.The article explains the structure and function of the bones before describing the role of the joints, tendons and ligaments. It also outlines the presentation and management of some of the common orthopaedic conditions seen in infants and children, including fractures, osteogenesis imperfecta, scoliosis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, developmental dysplasia of the hip and achondroplasia.
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Biological basis of child health 5: development of the respiratory system and elements of respiratory assessment
This article is the fifth in a series on the biological basis of child health. It describes the development of the respiratory system, which starts relatively late in the embryo and continues after birth until the age of seven to eight years. It explains what the developing anatomy of the respiratory system in infants and children means in terms of the conditions that may occur and the precautions required when assessing them. The article provides an overview of the elements of respiratory assessment in infants and children and describes some respiratory conditions seen in these patient groups. It also discusses some of the changes in the care of children with respiratory conditions, which has increasingly moved from hospital into the community and become nurse-led, multidisciplinary and holistic.
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Equipping children’s nurses to de-escalate conflict and communicate challenging information
This article considers some of the challenging situations that children’s nurses may encounter when there are tensions and disagreements between the family of the child or young person in their care and the wider professional team. The focus is on disagreements about what some might consider futile critical care. It aims to equip children’s nurses with strategies for dealing with conflict and tensions, and support them to be proactive in identifying situations that might need de-escalation. The options available to support the healthcare team and therefore avoid litigation are explored, while avenues of support available to nursing staff are considered. Suggestions and examples of effective and skilful communication with families receiving challenging news are provided. The legal position designed to safeguard children’s nurses is reviewed and practical strategies are offered to support nurses to protect themselves from physical violence if the situation escalates.
