This article discusses the applicability of a narrative framework to support student nurses’ learning when on placement with a team of community matrons.
A narrative framework involves gathering, evaluating and discussing information and the rationale for using one here was that it helped the students think critically about what they had experienced while on placement and provided a specific language for them to make sense of their surroundings, which would in turn influence their subsequent decisions and actions.
In each issue we investigate a hot topic currently affecting you and your community practice. Here, Jason Beckford-Ball looks at the UK’s decision to leave the European Union and asks 'What will Brexit mean for community nurses?
he days immediately following the Brexit vote felt a bit like the day after a wedding reception — the balloons had all been popped; the drunken uncles and aunts had been put into taxis; and the cake crumbs and smashed glasses had being swept from the dancefloor. Now it was time to forget the speeches and the promises and get on with the rest of our lives.
Primary care has been thrust centre stage recently with services moving closer to home. Jason Beckford-Ball speaks to Kathryn Evans of NHS England about what the future holds for community nurses...
In the UK, 330 million tons of domestic waste is produced every year, most of which is either burned or sent to landfill sites. This seems to be a trait common to wealthy societies and in the fast-paced world in which we live time is at a premium — we want products to serve their purpose and, once used, they are thrown away. Mobile phones for example, a must-have commodity in our society, are only designed to work for approximately three years, forcing the user to upgrade on a regular basis, both to drive sales and improve the user experience.
As many of you will know, especially those working at an advanced level, the future of advanced practice is changing. I believe this is for the better.
The role of the advanced nurse practitioner has been recognised for many years and there have been many requests to register the title with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
Myeloma UK is the only organisation in the UK focused solely on myeloma, a rare and incurable cancer arising from plasma cells, which are made in the bone marrow. There are currently 17,500 people living with myeloma in the UK, and Myeloma UK is helping patients to live longer and with a better quality of life.
While nutrition is important throughout life, it is particularly vital that infants get off to a good start. Here, JCN looks at the knowledge community nurses need to provide best practice...
With all the things community nurses need to think about when visiting patients — continence status; support from friends and family; wound care; smoking cessation, to name but a few — it is easy to see how nutritional status might come some way down the list. After all, it’s pretty easy to tell if a patient is dangerously underweight or drifting into obesity isn’t it? All you have to do is look at them...
When trying to prevent the recurrence of leg ulcers, many community nurses find it hard to get patients to concord with compression devices and techniques, particulary over the long term.
This article looks at a new adjustable Velcro compression device, juxtalite (part of the juxta® range; medi UK), which is designed to be simple to apply. It has built-in pressure system (BPSTM) that allows the nurse to accurately monitor the level of compression being applied to the limb, ensuring a therapeutic level of compression is maintained. Here, the author relates her own expreience of using the juxta system (in particular the juxalite version) through a series of case studies that show how the system aids patient concordance with treatment over an extended period of time.
Pressure ulcers result in pain and poor quality of life for patients as well as being regarded as an indicator of poor practice for nurses and healthcare organisations. Similarly, prevention of pressure ulcers is preferable to treatment, which can be expensive. This article considers the latest guidance on the prevention of pressure ulcers and looks at some of the innovations such as pressure relieving devices and the use of dressing products, which nurses can use to provide holistic care. Finally, the author reiterates that despite the use of guidelines and innovative products, the nurse must also rely on their clinical judgement.
