Peripheral intravenous cannulation: reducing pain and local complications.

Caring for patients with peripheral intravenous cannulas/catheters (PIVCs) is an important part of the nurse's role and insertion of PIVCs has traditionally been a post-registration nursing skill. With the introduction of the Nursing and Midwifery Council Standards of Proficiency for Registered Nurses in 2018, insertion of PIVCs is to be incorporated in pre-registration nursing programmes for all four fields of nursing practice. Although IV cannulation is a commonly performed clinical procedure, it is associated with significant risks and complications, which can cause pain for patients. This article outlines the factors that can cause pain for adult patients requiring a PIVC and recommends that the use of local anaesthetics be more widely considered when inserting a cannula. The identification, prevention and clinical management of commonly occurring painful local complications that can arise post-PIVC insertion are also discussed.

Development of a tool to support managers in planning and evaluating staff training.

AIM: To explore decision-making and evaluation strategies used by healthcare managers in relation to staff training and education, and to develop a tool to support managers with these tasks. METHOD: Using snowball sampling, 30 healthcare managers in a variety of healthcare settings were recruited and interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Data were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. FINDINGS: Four overarching themes were identified in relation to decision-making regarding staff training: the nature and characteristics of courses relevant to practice; the effect of practice requirements for education and training; staff motivation and interest; and the process of staff selection for training. Managers did not use formal, structured processes to make decisions about staff selection for training, nor to evaluate the outcomes of the training. Instead, they largely relied on their personal experience, knowledge and professional judgements. Based on these findings, the study team developed the Assessment, Planning and Evaluation of Training (APET) tool to support the planning and evaluation of training, and they invited feedback from healthcare managers. Positive feedback suggests that this tool could support managers' decision-making in relation to planning and evaluating staff training. CONCLUSION: Healthcare managers' decision-making in relation to the planning and evaluation of staff training relied on judgements based on their personal experience and knowledge. The APET tool developed by the study team has the potential to ensure vital resources such as time and money are used optimally, which would improve outcomes for staff, patients and healthcare organisations.

The role of universities in attracting male students on to pre-registration nursing programmes: An electronic survey of UK higher education institutions.

The UK nursing workforce is facing a crisis. More nurses are leaving than entering the profession, and there are tens of thousands of unfilled vacancies. Political factors are having a significant impact on numbers, in particular the decision to withdraw bursaries for nursing undergraduates, and a steep decline in EU nurses registering to work in the UK post-Brexit. Against this backdrop, there is a stark gender imbalance in the workforce, with only around 11% of registered nurses being male. We surveyed UK higher education institutions to try to identify whether the gendered nature of nursing was considered a concern and whether steps were being taken to address it. We sent an electronic survey to every UK university offering undergraduate nurse training validated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). With a response rate of 42%, the majority of respondents felt that nursing departments should take much more responsibility to increase the proportion of male nurses entering the nursing profession. More needs to be done to diversify the workforce and make nursing an appealing career choice for men and women.

Implementing simulated practice learning for nursing students.

The learning and teaching of clinical skills for pre-registration nurses are currently high profile in the nursing arena, with clinical skills a central component of new curricula development. This article explores the development and implementation of a simulated practice learning exercise in the pre-registration nursing curriculum, and expounds the advantages and disadvantages of this approach. Authors