Julie Smith

Negative pressure wound therapy

Table of

2017: nursing in the New Year

n December 2016, the historic Governors’ Hall of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust played host to the Florence Nightingale Foundation’s (FNF’s) Presentation of Certificates of Completion to Scholars 2016. The FNF supports nurses and other health professionals through scholarships that take them all over the UK and abroad to develop their knowledge, learn from others and consider positive changes to practice. Baroness Watkins of Tavistock opened the ceremony with a very interesting fact: a recent survey showed that 93% of people trust nurses the most of all professionals (McVeigh, 2016). This, she said, is both a huge responsibility and a compliment. As the ceremony focused on the Leadership awards, Baroness Watkins spoke about the importance of leadership with integrity, and broke the word ‘integrity’ down to demonstrate this. She referred to Innovation, Nightingale, Tenacity, Evidence, ‘Gobbing’, Responsibility, Inspecting, Teamwork and Youth support. While we don’t have room to elaborate on each concept, ‘gobbing’ is one that was of particualar interest. Baroness Watkins asked the audience to promise to ‘gob’; that is, to share their brilliant work every day. She pointed out that the profession is stuck in a cycle of only reporting the bad—the errors, the limitations, the damage. While these absolutely must not be overlooked, it is also important to celebrate the innovation, improvements and growth within the profession. By sharing these positive developments, patient care will be improved, potentially reducing those problems and creating a better, more efficient service. A handful of scholars were invited to take to the podium and share their experience of receiving and undertaking an FNF scholarship. One of these scholars was Dorcas Gwata, a UK-trained Zimbabwean nurse working in London with communities that are often divided by culture, race and income. Dorcas visited healthcare centres abroad to learn more about cultural differences, and how to tackle these when working with such a diverse patient group back in the UK. She spoke passionately about the community she serves; the challenges they face and how she and her colleagues have looked for ways to overcome these. Dorcas, and other scholars, will be writing about their experiences in upcoming issues of BJN. Looking ahead to 2017, now is the time to start planning your calendar of events, if you haven’t already! There are still some free places available at the BJN London Nurse Show, which takes places on 14 March at Alexandra Palace. The 1-day conference is CPD-accredited and is made up of interactive workshops on a variety of topics, including wound care, oncology, infection prevention and revalidation. The sessions are facilitated by specialist nursing societies and present a great opportunity to learn more about their work and perhaps even sign up for membership. This is the third London Nurse Show and promises to be our biggest yet, so make sure you register soon. Something else that you might want to think about for 2017 is writing for publication. Though it may seem intimidating now, the hardest part is getting started and, once you do, it’s easier than you think. If you have an essay or assignment you would like to submit for publication, our columnist John Fowler has written an excellent article on doing just that (Fowler, 2016), and if you have any questions, our editorial team is happy to help. You can also read our author instructions, which can be found on page 63. We consider all unsolicited submissions, including case studies, clinical reviews, literature reviews, original research and opinion pieces. Many BJN articles now include reflective continuing professional development (CPD) questions to help you prepare for revalidation. We have also launched CPD Launchpad, a free portfolio builder and CPD resource. To register or to find out more, visit www.cpd-launchpad.co.uk. BJN

WoCoVA 2014: sharing best practice

The Berlin Congress Centre filled up from 18-20 June 2014 with IV professionals from around the world for the 3rd World Congress on Vascular Access. The theme of the Congress this year was about how to achieve safe and cost-effective venous access in every patient. Julie Smith, Editor of BJN, reports the highlights of the Congress below and emphasises the importance of sharing best practice in IV therapy.

Pioneers of Care awards shines a light on excellence

The Pioneers of Care awards recognises nurses who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to affect patient care in a positive, efficient and empathetic way, and have helped to tackle problems in frontline care and improve the lives of patients by introducing new techniques or innovations.