The diagnosis and management of acute childhood illness: is there a role for health visitors?

Much of the published literature on nurse practitioners relates to nurses with backgrounds, training and nursing experience other than health visiting. Health visitors however may be ideally placed to develop their role in the identification and management of acute childhood illness, and such a development may benefit patients, the health service and health visitors themselves. This study examines the current practice and attitudes of heath visitors in identifying and managing acute childhood illness using a postal questionnaire survey in one community National Health Service (NHS) Trust. The majority of responding health visitors reported that they were already identifying and advising on a range of acute childhood illnesses. Their confidence in undertaking these activities varied by condition. They were less confident in identifying and advising on conditions requiring the use of diagnostic equipment, viral illnesses which are becoming increasingly rare, and those with potentially serious outcomes. More knowledge and more training were seen as methods for increasing confidence. Most health visitors could see advantages in taking on this role; almost two thirds felt it would become part of the role of the health visitor in the future and a high level of interest was expressed in developing such a role.     

What is political leadership?

This article is about political leadership in nursing. It reports on the RCN's Political Leadership programme and outlines how nurses can develop and influence public policy. The author attempts to increase understanding of how nurses can improve public policy and outlines the role of the political leader in nursing. She concludes that nurses need to gain appropriate knowledge to enable them to influence policy and practise effectively.     

What is the role of health promotion in nursing?

There is much confusion about the philosophical assumptions underlying nursing and health promotion. Effective health promotion strategies are based on the concepts of patient empowerment and the need for equal working relationships. The cultural climate of nursing may have to change if these principles are to be successfully adopted.     

What is the process of a comprehensive mental health nursing assessment? Results from a qualitative study

COOMBS T., CURTIS J. & CROOKES P. (2013) What is the process of a comprehensive mental health nursing assessment? Results from a qualitative study. International Nursing Review 60 , 96–102 Background: It is a truism that nursing care must be informed by assessment, otherwise how can one know what care is required or that it has been successfully delivered? Yet, little is known about the process of comprehensive mental health nursing assessment in practice. If the education of mental health nurses is to be effective, it is essential that the key content of, and the processes involved in carrying out a mental health nursing assessment in practice are able to be articulated to learners. Aim: To identify the processes of assessment that occur in mental health nursing practice based on interviews with mental health nurses working in clinical and management roles in clinical areas. Method: Interviews were undertaken with 18 nurses who worked in inpatient and community mental health settings either as clinicians or managers. The nurses ranged from new graduates to those with more than 20 years of experience. Findings and discussion: Clear processes were reported to be involved in undertaking a comprehensive mental health nursing assessment in practice, with three main themes emerging during analysis. First is the importance of engaging the patient; second is tell me what the problem is? with one subtheme reconcile inconsistencies; and finally, the ongoing nature of the assessment process. Conclusion: Common processes emerged when the nurses described their individual approaches to undertaking comprehensive mental health assessment. The results have important policy implications for the educational preparation of mental health nurses, their ongoing supervision and further research into contemporary mental health nursing practice.     

What is the future of the lecturer practitioner role—a decade on?

Collaboration between the Greater Manchester Workforce Development Confederation, the University of Salford and nine NHS Trusts, in the implementation of the Fitness for Practice and Making a Difference recommendations, identified the need for a wider co nsultation on the future of education and practice links. Lessons learned from this initiative included a realization of the importance of partnering arrangements between higher education and practice. To achieve a collaborative model for the future a wo rking party was established to determine how effective partnership and collaboration between the NHS Trusts, Confederation and Higher Education could be developed, maintained and disseminated for the future. Five sub groups were formed from the main work ing party all charged with examining education and practice links. Each sub group reported back and presented evidence to the main working party. It was recognized that a whole repertoire of roles spanning education and practice would be required, includ ing the role of lecturer practitioner and joint appointments. The aim of this paper is to report on the work of the lecturer practitioner and joint appointment roles sub group, its evaluation of the evidence to support the role within the collaborative m odel and offer proposed actions for future practice.