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 experiences and was a long-time regular on Living TV’s Most Haunted show. He t ..read more

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 programme look like?  This episode of the Nursing Standard podcast answers all the ..read more

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 revealed about their experiences of caring for seriously ill and dying children. However ..read more

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 assistant director of professional practice Anne Trotter explain what nurses need to kn ..read more

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 her second year of her adult nursing course at University of the Highlands and Islands, give the ..read more

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’ which is the routine use of continence pads for these hospital patients regardless of their contine ..read more

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 interviewer journalist Erin Dean what needs to be done to protect the future of nursi ..read more

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 catching monkeypox.   Ms Loftus. who is also a committee member at the Brit ..read more

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 Andrea Sutcliffe who, since taking up the helm in 2019, has been striving to make the regulato ..read more

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 suggest further assessment is needed.   In the interview with journalist Erin ..read more