Claire Read

What experienced staff say they value most at work, and how employers can retain them

Long shifts without toilet breaks increase risk of urinary incontinence, but there is hope

Essential Q&A to help build confidence and skills in cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Eligible NHS nursing staff in England will soon be able to claim back more money for the miles they drive in their own car for work. A new mehanism will mean nurses can claim at a higher rate, and claim a greater amount of miles per year at the higher rate – find out what the changes will mean for you

More nurses than ever are being offered voluntary redundancy as NHS employers reconfigure. Knowing whether to negotiate for and accept voluntary redundancy is a complex decision affecting your finances and tax status, career ambitions and self-image. Find out how to decide what’s best for you, and where to get expert support.

Nurses share their experiences of weight-based stigma in the workplace – including hurtful comments about appearance. We look at how this widespread issue fuels distress, isolation and inequality across healthcare, particularly because weight is not a protected characteristic

According to a 2023 RCN survey, financial pressures, not exams, are the biggest challenge when it comes to nursing students’ success at university. Paying for clinical placements is one suggestion to improve retention and future nursing workforce numbers. Here, a student and four nurse professionals outline arguments for and against paid placements.

Nursing staff may find themselves involved in legal proceedings – or in very rare cases even be accused of crimes at work. Find out when a healthcare incident would be considered criminality, when an organisation or its staff would be viewed as at fault, and the approach to take if police want to question you.

Almost ten years after its pilot, the nursing associate (NA) role in England has grown to include more than 13,000 professionals on the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register, positioned between healthcare support workers and registered nurses. We look at the opportunities and challenges of the role so far, and ask NAs and lecturers how it could be developed further.

Resuscitation Council UK (RCUK) has updated its guidelines on caring for individuals who need cardiopulmonary resuscitation or who are at risk of deterioration and cardiac arrest. The guideline changes reflect latest best practice in the care of adults, children and neonates. This article describes five changes nurses need to be aware of, and explains how clinical education and RCUK tools and resources will support nurses to update their practice safely and with confidence

Nursing staff face complex challenges when it comes to getting good quality sleep. Insomnia increases with middle age, is a common and debilitating symptom of perimenopause, and working shifts disrupts sleep patterns – all significant factors given the demographics of the profession. Experts offer advice and share experience of how to give yourself the best chance of better sleep, including consistent sleep hygiene and addressing perimenopause symptoms

There are many ways nurses can use their clinical expertise in the film and television world – from advising on the portrayal of certain conditions or healthcare services, to providing care for actors, crew and production staff on set, both in the UK and around the world. We speak to nurses who use their nursing skills and experience in film and TV production, and they share their tips for shifting from working on wards to sets

Specialist nurses have reduced hospital stays for frail patients by 86% – from around 18 days to two-and-a-half days – in just six months. Working in a new eight-bed acute frailty unit, the nurses manage admissions, rapid holistic assessments and discharges independently, even at the weekend. Their specialist model promotes early, safe discharge and keeps frail patients out of hospital whenever possible.

The Department of Health and Social Care in England has told the NHS Pay Review Body it cannot afford an Agenda for Change pay award of more than 2.5% in 2026-27. The below-inflation figure is condemned as derisory by a nursing union. But the government says a higher pay rise for staff on Agenda for Change contracts would risk planned health service improvements and put staffing expansions out of reach. Unions say the government’s submission shows why the pay review system should be scrapped in

Nursing staff are not alone in reporting unexplained or paranormal experiences – but some believe these reports may be more common among healthcare staff due to their workplace environments and experiences with death. For some nurses these encounters shape their understanding of life and death, beyond what science explains. In this article, nurses recall their own unexplained or paranormal experiences, and a professor who specialises in parapsychology discusses how phenomena such as near-death e