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Sepsis, if not identified and treated early, can be fatal, particularly in older people. A lack of knowledge and understanding of sepsis among nursing staff can result in a missed or delayed diagnosis, leading to delayed treatment and potentially to patient death. A quality improvement project was conducted in nine hospitals and 200 nursing homes in the Lower and Upper Rio Grande Valley regions of Texas, in the US, to improve the identification and treatment of sepsis by nursing staff. Interventions included educational webinars for hospital staff and train-the-trainer sessions for nurse leaders in nursing homes. All participating hospitals had implemented a sepsis screening tool and sepsis care bundles by the end of the project, and an overall decline in sepsis mortality rates was seen in these hospitals. Among participating nurse leaders in nursing homes, a dramatic improvement in sepsis knowledge was seen. The outcomes of the project support the use of comprehensive nursing staff education on sepsis identification and treatment. Sepsis education needs to be ongoing to maintain optimal levels of knowledge among nursing staff.

The menopause is a normal biological stage in a woman's life that is often accompanied by physical and psychological symptoms, such as hot flushes and low mood. Symptoms vary widely between women, and can be unpleasant, burdensome and distressing. Many women going through the menopause remain in employment and some will experience symptoms that adversely affect them in their working lives. Menopausal symptoms can also be exacerbated by work and working conditions. This article describes the common symptoms of the menopause and how they may affect women at work, including nurses, as well as discussing what nurse leaders, employers and managers can do to support staff and enable them to continue to work comfortably and productively.

Few nursing staff from band 6 and above receive formal training on how to chair and manage formal business meetings, which can be a challenging experience for novices and when participants fail to engage with the discussion. This article gives an overview of how to lead and manage effective meetings, focusing on process, content, managing conflict and how to engage participants fully. This will give meetings more purpose and ensure participants feel their time is being used efficiently. Learning how to conduct effective meetings will enhance the quality of team working and team effectiveness.

This is the last in a series of six articles that aim to encourage nurse leaders to explore how to use research findings to improve practice and services where they work. The series focuses on research that has been funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and included in NIHR Dissemination Centre publications. The authors seek to relate the content directly to the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s code of professional standards of practice and behaviour, specifically the themes of practising safely and promoting professionalism and trust

Social network analysis examines the way individuals are connected within groups or networks, and the role they play in these groups. In terms of its application to issues related to nurse leaders, much of the research focuses on the structure of their networks, the roles they play, and whether the networks can be changed to improve communication flows. This article reports results of a study that aimed to deepen understanding of how a particular trait - communication apprehension - can affect the roles that nurse leaders play within network structures. It also shows how the research expands understanding of the factors that influence connections between senior nurse leaders internationally, and describes the communication apprehension instrument used, which provides a practical tool to assist aspirant nurse leaders to identify areas for personal development.

From April 2016 nurses must meet the requirements of the new Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) revalidation process to maintain their registration. It is their responsibility to ensure they meet all revalidation requirements, but organisations and nurse leaders can support them to do so. Reflection is an important part of revalidation, and nurses are required to submit written reflective accounts and engage in reflective discussion. This article discusses how revalidation encourages a more conscious and active form of reflection. It also describes how leaders can help nurses to reflect on practice to identify improvements and become more familiar with the NMC Code.

Revalidation can seem challenging for some nurses and managers, but with the support of their organisations they can engage confidently with the process. This article describes Bupa's approach to creating an infrastructure that embeds revalidation in its services. This includes letting nurse leaders know so that they can help nurses through the process, and developing a pathway that supports nurses' ongoing learning and development.

Aim To determine whether communication networks exist in a diverse and competitively selected cohort of nurse leaders, and to identify variables that explain any patterns of connection. Method Twenty seven nurse leaders completed a form to ascertain the presence and strength of communication between participants. Data were analysed using social network analysis, generating a visualisation of the network and associated quantitative measures. Results Participants were poorly connected. Those connections that did exist centred on geographic proximity and participation in regional and global bodies. Conclusion These results help improve understanding of how nurse leaders are connected internationally, and prompt inquiry in to how connections might be strengthened.

The enabling compassionate care in practice programme was an innovative development programme for bands 6 and 7 nurses working with older people in all settings. It was commissioned by the Department of Health from the Florence Nightingale Foundation. A total of 117 nurses participated. They included experienced and newly appointed clinical leaders from medicine, surgery, acute specialties, community services, mental health, emergency departments, hospices and care homes. All participants reported increases in their knowledge, understanding and practical application of the 6Cs; courage and confidence to lead; and ability to change practice. Participants also reported feeling reinvigorated and being brought back in touch with why they entered nursing. At the close of the programme most participants had already made small but significant changes in their areas for the benefit of frail older people.

While nursing handovers are predominantly used in ward settings, this essential form of communication is also used by community mental health teams to promote continuity of care. A community mental health nursing handover form was developed to overcome poor communication of patient information. It is expected that the form will increase efficiency and reduce handover time by focusing on pertinent and current patient information. Implementation of a community mental health nursing handover form requires the willingness of staff to be proactive and embrace change. The involvement of nurse leaders is essential to implement successful change, overcome barriers and motivate staff.

In 2009, the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, established a nine-bed, short-stay unit in its emergency department. This article explains the rationale for the model of care delivery adopted, and the importance of developing and working with integrated care pathways. It also discusses four areas essential to the effective running of the unit: interdisciplinary collaboration, training for clinical nurse leaders, management of change and leadership.

An ongoing survey tool, the Person Centred Nursing Index (PCNI), measures factors that affect nurses' job satisfaction. Results can be used to improve work environment and patient-centred care. This article describes how establishing the survey requires co-operation between managers overseeing the project and ward-based nurse leaders. It explores two examples of how nurse leaders have used the information to gain insight into how staff perceive their work and to address concerns raised.

The aim of the national Image of Nursing programme is to attract high calibre recruits to nursing. This article describes research into the role of careers advisers and how they perceive the image of 'nurses' and 'nursing'. It explores their professional profiles, perceptions and attitudes to nursing as a career, knowledge about the requirements and opportunities for entering nursing, and the resources used. The findings identify a number of systemic influences, in six themes, from which are derived 16 recommendations. Nurse leaders across healthcare services and universities are ideally placed to review, revise and develop the recommendations to optimise high calibre nurse recruitment and provide a more positive image of nursing.

The NHS is at risk of further decay unless the new government heeds warnings by healthcare staff, say nursing leaders.

Applications are open for a new programme that will bring together nurse leaders from around the world to improve their policy-making and influencing skills.

This article examines NHS Education South Central's innovative approach to the development of future consultant practitioners through its mental health consultant practitioner trainee programme. The programme's background, development and implementation are explored. The programme lead and a trainee reflect on their experiences of the initiative.

NURSING STANDARD SU M M AR Y Promoting support for nurse leaders is one of the ten priorities for action identified by Nursing Standard’s Care campaign. All nurse leaders need local and national role models and mentorship. In this article we outline the qualities of effective nurse leaders. Effective, hands-on role models are crucial to the delivery of quality care, writes Clare Lomas Leading by example CARE CAMPAIGN

Family-centred care philosophies are promoted by policy makers and nurse leaders, although how this ideal is put in practice often remains unclear. Checklists or guidelines may be useful tools to assist nurses in determining a parent's desire for involvement in their child's care. AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness of a documentary tool designed to formalise role negotiation and improve communication between parents and nurses. METHODS: A quasi-experimental pre/post-intervention study design was used to determine nurses' perceptions of the effectiveness of a documentary tool in facilitating nurse-parent discussion about parental desire for involvement in the daily care activities of their child while in hospital. Nurses in randomly selected wards were assigned to usual practice (control group) or the implementation of a Negotiated Care Tool (intervention group) during a three-month period. RESULTS: Pre- and post-intervention surveys were completed by 69 nurses. The tool was associated with attitudinal changes in the desired direction for 12 of the 24 nurse responses: nurses in the intervention group were significantly more likely to include parents in decision making (p = 0.007); encourage parents to ask questions during their child's hospital stay (p = 0.005); and invite extended family members to participate in care with parental permission (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: The Negotiated Care Tool raised staff awareness of the importance of effective communication and negotiation of care with parents in busy clinical practice areas. Transparent communication and negotiation of roles between nurses and parents are integral to family-centred care provision.

This pilot study explored the appropriateness and suitability of a questionnaire for discovering who the clinical nurse leaders are in a paediatric unit of a large NHS trust and what the qualities and characteristics of clinical leaders might be. Thirteen respondents made 24 separate nominations for clinical leaders, 20 of whom were 'F' grade junior sisters who were seen as having the clinical leadership qualities of: coping well with change; integrity; being supportive; considering relationships valuable; being flexible; and clinical competence. These results highlight aspects of clinical leadership in paediatrics and the value of conducting a pilot study.

There are plans to drop Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale from the curriculum taught in schools, according to leaked reports. Here, nurse leaders protest that this would rob young people of valuable role models and undermine the image of the profession. It is also suggested that a person's contribution to society is more important than their personality.

Nurse leaders internationally have lobbied relentlessly for many years to get nurse training transferred from the hospital-based apprenticeship model to nurse education in the higher education sector. Publication Details Moxham, L. (2016). Nursing researchers forge careers in a highly competitive environment. Nurse Researcher, 23 (6), 6-7. This journal article is available at Research Online: http://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/3964

In the first three articles in this series, we looked at the various components of good governance and how nurse leaders can create cultures and systems to promote and measure good governance. We used the quality governance framework of foundation trust regulator Monitor to explore how an NHS organisation's strategy, systems and process and the measurement of performance are designed to ensure delivery of high quality care.

One of the International Council of Nurses' main remits, on behalf of its member organisations, is to prepare nurses for management and leadership roles. Its Leadership for Change (LFC) programme aims to complement a country's own educational and development schemes, to give nurses confidence in facing the challenges of health reforms in response to demand for services. This article describes the structure of LFC and illustrates how it helps nurses to emerge as effective leaders.

Promoting support for nurse leaders is one of the ten priorities for action identified by Nursing Standard's Care campaign. All nurse leaders need local and national role models and mentorship. In this article we outline the qualities of effective nurse leaders.

As part of the Care campaign, nurse leaders and patients' representatives drew up ten 'priorities for action' that should be implemented by all healthcare providers. Top of the list is to ensure that every organisation makes patient care its core focus. This article looks at how some hospitals are already seeking to achieve this objective and what is being done to make patient care the top priority everywhere.

An ambitious global campaign to raise the profile of nursing across every continent has been announced at the International Council of Nurses (ICN) congress.

Aim To identify the attributes of effective clinical nurse leaders. Method A grounded theory research approach was adopted, using two research techniques: observation and interview. Results The literature review revealed that the role of the clinical nurse leader was ill-defined and addressed only in sparse, opinion-based literature. Novel outcomes of the research included: � Identifying five attributes of effective clinical nurse leaders ‐ highlighting, respecting, influencing, creativity and supporting. � Distinguishing five typologies of effective clinical nurse leaders ‐ discoverer, valuer, enabler, shaper and modifier. � Elucidating factors that constrain and facilitate the development of effective clinical nurse leadership. Conclusion The results imply that to enhance clinical nursing, leadership factors that enable and constrain clinical nursing leadership have to be identified and acted upon by individuals and those who they report to professionally.

England's future chief nurses are being buddied with more senior nursing counterparts, as part of a new programme of succession planning from NHS Improvement (NHSI).

Earlier this month, NHS England announced major changes to how congenital heart disease surgery is provided. Under the proposal, three trusts will lose their specialist heart surgery services due to the need to comply with NHS England's new minimum standards for congenital heart disease treatment.

What should the nursing workforce of the future look like? It is a question all nurse leaders should ask themselves.

Legislation has been passed in Scotland that requires health boards and local authorities to integrate health and social care services. However, the Scottish Government has so far refused to guarantee nurse directors a place on the board of the new partnerships. Nurse leaders are pressing for a place at the top table.

Florence Nightingale, who died more than 100 years ago, set a shining example of what good leadership can achieve.

Practice development resources are vital for nurse leaders wishing to bring changes in attitudes, practice and workplace culture to improve the patient experience. The Foundation of Nursing Studies (FoNS) provides nurse leaders with the support and resources to make such changes and this article sets out the main points of its new strategy for 2011/14.

OLDER PATIENTS will need extra support if new standards for hospital food in England are to be achieved, nurse leaders are warning.

I often hear about the concerns of nurse leaders who work at ward manager level or equivalent in the NHS and independent sectors. They report feeling threatened and having difficulty meeting the diverse challenges of their roles.

Proposals to prosecute nurses who wilfully neglect patients could discourage staff from raising concerns about poor care, nurse leaders in Wales were warned.

This article examines the positive effect that ward managers and directors of nursing with strong leadership skills can have on practice and patient care across an organisation, and argues that competent nurse leaders can prevent systemic failures in care.

Nursing is a stressful and challenging profession that requires good leadership. This article, the first in a series of six, highlights some of the basic principles of personal development that nurse leaders can follow.

The NHS is perceived to be slower than other healthcare systems in adopting innovative technologies that can deliver patient benefits. This article summarises what is known about the role of nurses in assimilating such innovations into clinical care, and outlines the challenges facing nurse leaders.

Nurse leaders have issued a fresh warning that patient care is unsafe on wards where there is just one registered nurse to every eight patients. Safe and Sound – the Safe Staffing Alliance, made up of senior expert nurses brought together by Nursing Standard, said the 1:8 figure is based on hard evidence and claimed that breaches occur about 40 per cent of the time in hospitals in England. The alliance is recommending that ‘under no circumstances’ should staffing levels be allowed to fall to below 1:8 during the daytime.