This weeks’ blog is by Jennifer Shepherd (DNP, MHA, RN, NEA-BC, NPD-BC, CHPN), Director, Nursing Education and Project Management and Interim Innovation Strategist at ANA Enterprise  www.nursingworld.org In the fast-paced world of healthcare, nursing professional development (NPD) specialists and educators play a crucial role. They are responsible for preparing nurses to meet the changing demands of patient care, regulatory standards, and technological advancements. As the healthcare landscape becomes more complex, innovative technologies such as Generative AI, Advanced Language Models ..read more

In this latest blog, Hazel Cowls, Lecturer in Adult Nursing at the University of Plymouth explores the issue of numeracy in nursing education from the perspective of the teacher and the learner. The safe administration of medicines is a key nursing activity, accounting for approximately 40% of registered nurses time (1) and according to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2) registered nurses need to be able to demonstrate competence in drug calculation skills to provide safe patient care. Teaching numeracy and drug calculations is a compulsory component of the pre-registration nursing degree p ..read more

In this week’s blog Nadine Dougall (Professor at Edinburgh Napier University) and Jan Savinc (Research Fellow at Edinburgh Napier University) share their work looking at childhood adversity and mental health admissions to hospital prior to suicide (The CHASE study).   Suicide is a major cause of death for young people worldwide, with wide-ranging impacts relevant to public health and devastating consequences to families and communities. Suicide rates have been increasing pre-pandemic, with notable increases in adolescents and young people, and there is an urgent need for more suicid ..read more

The last blog in our series to focus on maternal inequalities comes from Kaat De Backer1 & Dr Nicola Vousden2 and provides an overview of some of the evident social drivers of maternal inequality within the UK and how this might begin to be addressed with personalised care. For more than two decades, the UK Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths has consistently shown that women of Black and Asian ethnicity have a significantly increased risk of dying during pregnancy or within six weeks of the end of pregnancy, when compared with women of White ethnicity. These findings were echoed in ..read more

  This is the third blog in our series on maternity inequalities and comes from midwifery educators Olamide Solanke and Joanna Andrews. This week considers how we might realise equity in care through Education. Joanna Andrews is a Senior Instructor of Midwifery at Fatima College of Health Science in UAE, and Oalmide Solanke is a Senior Lecturer in Midwifery at the University of Derby. What is Cultural Competence? Culturally appropriate care is a crucial component in providing effective healthcare services to diverse populations (1). Culture encompasses shared patterns of behaviour, inter ..read more

The next blog in our series which focuses on maternal inequalities comes from Nafiza Anwar, one of the founders of the Association of South Asian Midwives and highlights how the group are actively working to drive change. In the vibrant tapestry of South Asian cultures, traditional practices, and deeply rooted taboos, a powerful force is emerging to reshape maternity care and advocate for the rights of women and birthing individuals from the global majority. The Association of South Asian Midwives (ASAM) actively engages in dispelling stereotypes associated with South Asian communities. Stereo ..read more

This week’s blog is our first in a series that will look at different aspects of maternity inequalities and comes from Dalvir Kandola, Consultant Midwife- Lead for Inclusivity, University Hospitals of Leicester. This blog looks at the issue of maternity inequality through the lens of a professional role with a remit for driving equality and inclusivity. Maternity services in England have been under scrutiny for not providing equitable care to all women and birthing people (Birthrights 2022, FiveXMore 2020, MBRRACE 2023). As a Consultant Midwife- Lead for Inclusivity, I lead and support the loc ..read more

Dr Hye Ri Choi is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Hong Kong. She earned her PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 2021. Dr Choi’s research focuses on qualitative approaches in the fields of palliative care and critical care One of my clinical experiences in a South Korean intensive care unit (ICU) that prompted me to pursue doctoral study in Edinburgh was witnessing the undignified dying and subsequent death of a patient. One evening, at the beginning of my overnight shift, I received a call that a patient, who had been resuscitated from cardiac arrest at the cancer care unit, wa ..read more

The focus of this years’ International Nurses Day (ICN) is Our Nurses. Our Future. The economic power of care. The International Council of Nurses (ICN) states that: “Despite being the backbone of health care, nursing often faces financial constraints and societal undervaluation. IND 2024 aims to reshape perceptions, demonstrating how strategic investment in nursing can bring considerable economic and societal benefits.” This week Editor in Chief, Alison Twycross (a.m.twycross@bham.ac.uk) and Deputy Editor Jane Wray (J.Wray@hull.ac.uk) highlight journal content to demonstrate the difference a ..read more

By Elizabeth Bailey, EBN’s Associate Editor for Midwifery and Women’s Health The 5th May marks International Day of the Midwife. This is an opportunity to reflect on the contribution the profession of midwifery makes to the global community. For midwives, it is an opportunity to celebrate the work of colleagues and contemporaries around the world and reflect on ongoing challenges and opportunities for the impacts of midwifery. Each year International Day of the Midwife has a theme to provide a focus for awareness and debate and this theme is set by the International Confederation of Midwives ..read more