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This paper reports the findings from an evaluation of a pilot interprofessional training ward project for pre-qualification medical, nursing, occupational therapy and physiotherapy students. This initiative required sustained collaboration from staff based in two National Health Service (NHS) trusts and four schools in three universities. The ward was based on a model of interprofessional education developed in Sweden, but adapted in the light of this experience and also to meet the needs and aspirations of the training ward stakeholders in London. The training ward was evaluated using a multi-method design. Data were collected from all participants involved in this pilot: students, facilitators and patients. The findings from the evaluation are presented and discussed. This paper pays particular attention to the collaborative experiences of the students, staff and institutions involved in this initiative. In addition, 1-year follow-up data collected from the students who had, by then, qualified as clinical practitioners are reported. The paper presents conclusions from the evaluation, and comments on the training ward's strengths, limitations and future development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a comparative historiographical framework within which to reconsider the history of nursing. It asks why nursing has remained largely sidelined within the history of medicine, while the latter has gained mainstream respectability in the wider field of historical research. Gender historians are challenged to look at the under-explored aspects of nursing's history such as pre-Nightingale nurses and nursing, and the multiple and international meanings of race, class and gender as experienced by this unique cohort of women and men. The paper draws upon key texts in the history of nursing and of medicine and includes a discussion about use of imagery within significant publications and what this says about intended readerships. It concludes that, unlike medicine, nursing professionals have to some extent hijacked the history of nursing, while the subject has been further hampered by Florence Nightingale's legacy and the subsequent emphasis on the professionalisation of nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The United Kingdom has led the world in the development of children's palliative care. Over the past two decades, the illness trajectories of children with life-limiting conditions have extended with new treatments and better home-based care. Future planning is a critically under-researched aspect of children's palliative care globally. This paper describes the development, implementation and evaluation of innovative child and parent-held palliative care planning resources. The resources were designed to facilitate parent and child thinking and engagement in future planning, and to determine care preferences and preferred locations of care for children with life-limiting conditions from diagnosis onwards. These resources fill a significant gap in palliative care planning before the end-of-life phase. Methods: Drawing on contemporaneous research on producing evidence-based children's health information, we collaborated with leading children's not-for-profit organisations, parents, children, and professionals. A set of resources (My Choices booklets) were developed for parents and children and evaluated using interviews (parents, children, professionals) and questionnaires (professionals) and an open web-based consultation. Results: Parents and children responded in three ways: Some used the booklets to produce detailed written plans with clear outcomes and ideas about how best to achieve desired outcomes. Others preferred to use the booklet to help them think about potential options. Remaining parents found it difficult to think about the future and felt there was no point because they perceived there to be no suitable local services. Professionals varied in confidence in their ability to engage with families to plan ahead and identified many challenges that prevented them from doing so. Few families shared their plans with professionals. Parents and children have far stronger preferences for home-care than professionals. Conclusion: The My Choices booklets were revised in light of findings, have been endorsed by Together for Short Lives, and are free to download in English and Welsh for use by parents and young people globally. More work needs to be done to support families who are not yet receptive to planning ahead. Professionals would benefit from more training in person-centred approaches to future planning and additional communications skills to increase confidence and ability to engage with families to deliver sensitive palliative care planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The terms practice development (PD) and health care governance (HG) have become synonymous with quality and modernization. However, limited activity has been devoted to deciphering why this is the case and what the potential benefits of PD and HG are in supporting the National Health Service modernization agenda. The paper attempts to demystify this issue by providing an insight into the drivers for modernization and through outlining the emerging debates associated with how and why PD and HG may provide the recipe for modernization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to calls to improve the efficacy of health care services, there is an increasing focus on the processes of achieving a continuous improvement of services and practices. One specific response is that of the NHS Modernization Agency and National Health Service University in relation to the Discipline of Improvement in Health and Social Care. This paper draws on a study that explored the underpinning knowledge base of the Discipline of Improvement and focuses on describing the framework that was developed. The two-dimensional framework is composed of five primary categories, which cross-link to 11 competencies. The study concludes that the Discipline of Improvement draws together a group of ideas that together cohere to form a distinctive model to aid the improvement of health care. While some of these ideas are well-established, the way in which the Discipline of Improvement makes connections between them offers something new to our understanding of change in the complex world of health care provision, and to nursing management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

English nursing and medical students’ attitudes towards organ donation The purpose of the study reported in this paper was to examine nursing and medical students’ attitudes towards organ and corneal donation. A sample of 72 nursing and medical degree students from a British University, completed a 61-item self-administered quantitative questionnaire, adapted by) from an original tool devised by). The findings revealed that all but one of the respondents had an overall positive attitude towards organ donation; a significant relationship was found to exist between the extent of this positive attitude held by each student and their personal willingness to donate organs. In total, 74% of the student nurses had already signed a donor card, compared to only 43% of the medical students, and the difference in the two groups’ personal commitment towards donation was significant (P=0·005). However, this disparity between the nursing and medical students was not evident when students were questioned about personally accepting organs, for survival. Most respondents agreed that they would take some form of transplanted organ or tissue into their body, if it was needed to maintain life. Overall, the study revealed that although this group of student nurses seem to be in favour of organ donation, with many willing to sign a donor card, doubts still exist in the medical student group. Further work is required to understand this phenomena. A comparison of the data with an earlier study completed by) indicate that student nurses may have a more positive orientation to donation than qualified staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on the Nursing Lecture 1977, delivered on the occasion of the Annual General Meeting of the Royal College of Nursing in London on November 23, 1977. The author traces the history and discusses the implications of the EEC Nursing Directives, put into the perspective of the nursing histories of the nine countries within the European Economic Community. She focuses, in particular, on the strengths of the nursing profession in the United Kingdom and argues that the Nursing Directives can lead to enhancement of nursing services and nursing education, better cooperation between health care professions and a stronger voice for the nursing profession, throughout the EEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In June 2008 the UK government, supported by the Royal College of Nursing, stated that nursing care would be measured for compassion. This paper considers the implications of this statement by critically examining the relationship of compassion to care from a variety of perspectives. It is argued that the current market-driven approaches to healthcare involve redefining care as a pale imitation, even parody, of the traditional approach of the nurse as "my brother's keeper". Attempts to measure such parody can only measure artificial techniques and give rise to a McDonald's-type nursing care rather than heartfelt care. The arguments of this paper, although applied to nursing, also apply to medicine and healthcare generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through an analysis of several high‐profile scandals in health‐care in the UK, this article discusses the nature of scandal and its impact on policy reform. The nursing profession is compared to social work and medicine, which have also undergone considerable examination and change as a result of scandals. The author draws on reports from public inquiries from 1945 to 2013 to form the basis of the discussion about policy responses following scandals in health‐care. In each case, the nature of the scandal, the public and government discourses generated by events and the policy response to those failings are explored. These scandals are compared to the recent scandal at Mid Staffordshire Hospital. Conclusions are drawn about the impact of these events on the future of the profession and on health policy directions. Recent events have raised public anxieties about caring practices in nursing. Health policy reform driven by scandal may obscure the effect of under resourcing in health services and poses a very real threat to the continued support for state‐run services. Understanding the socially constructed nature of scandal enables the nurse to develop a greater critical awareness of policy contexts in order that they can influence health service reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a phenomenological study of patients’ experiences The purpose of this study is to explore the experience of living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by investigating the subjective phenomenon as described by the patient. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is now recognized as one of the most common chronic respiratory diseases in the United Kingdom, with a high prevalence of morbidity and mortality. As the disease progresses, symptoms increase which gradually influence all aspects of the lives of those affected by it. A phenomenological approach was identified as the most appropriate method to gain an understanding of living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The data were obtained from 10 participants using unstructured interviews to capture detailed experiences verbatim. Analysis, based on the framework of Diekelmann et al. ( The NLN Criteria for Appraisal of Baccalaureate Programs: A Critical Hermeneutic Analysis, NLN Press, New York, 1989), was employed to interpret the data and determine shared themes that evolved during the course of the research. The data revealed valuable insights, from a patient's perspective, into the impact chronic obstructive pulmonary disease had on their daily lives. The accounts obtained from participants, many of who had severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, illustrate the detrimental effects of this debilitating disease. Breathlessness was identified as the most troublesome symptom leading to anxiety, panic and fear. Participants also described feeling frustrated and tired because of their breathlessness, which led to loss of social activity. This also resulted in a loss of their role within the family including loss of intimacy in personal relationships. Despite this, half of the participants felt they had a fairly good quality of life. The use of phenomenology as a research methodology fulfilled the aim of gaining a greater understanding of the experiences of living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It provided valuable insights into how patients view the overall impact and their subsequent degree of coping with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from day to day. Whilst there is no cure for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and medical interventions have limited effect, health professionals can do much to improve patient's symptoms and experiences of living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by listening to how their symptoms affect them and adapting coping strategies. It is hoped that the themes revealed in this study generate additional understanding and insight for future innovative practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Editorial. Comments on the contents of a document which informs nursing and midwifery practitioners of what standards need to be achieved and maintained during the course of their professional practice in Great Britain. Need for practitioners to review their work against the clauses and self-assess whether their totality of practice meets these standards; Implications for specialist practice.

Argues that the diversity of job titles used in the field of nursing creates confusion within the profession. Developments in the medical profession introduced in Great Britain; Impact on patients; Importance of job titles.

This article presents information related to professional developments. Using the information in section 1 to guide one can write a practice profile of between 750 and 1,000 words, ensuring that you have related it to the article that one has studied. Practice profile at the top of your entry followed by your name, the title of the article, which is The evidence base for gerontological nursing practice. After reading a CPD article on' Wound care', Amajit, a senior staff nurse on a surgical ward, approached the nurse manager about her concerns about wound infections on the ward.

Highlights the Tenth Anniversary of the International Academy of Nursing Editors which was held at the Royal College of Nursing in Great Britain in August 1991. Organizers of activities; Focus of the meetings on critical marketing and editorial issues; Speakers; Participants.