Lisa Scott

Medication errors: A CPD article improved Lisa Scott’s awareness of the causes of medication errors and how to prevent them’

Medication errors are one of the most common causes of preventable harm to patients, and result in a financial burden on the NHS.

Diabetic foot ulcers.

The RCN Learning Zone is a FREE online service to help RCN members with their continuing professional development and professional portfolio management. The RCN Learning Zone can be found at www.rcn.org.uk/members/learningzone.php This practice profile is based on NS683 Holt P (2013) Assessment and management of patients with diabetic foot ulcers. Nursing Standard. 27, 27, 49-55. I care for patients with a range of bone or soft tissue infections, which often require surgery and long courses of intravenous antibiotics. Many patients have diabetes, and are admitted with foot ulcers. A diabetic foot ulcer usually occurs as a result of trauma combined with neuropathy. Trauma can be caused by ill-fitting footwear or socks. Neuropathy is caused by poorly controlled diabetes and hyperglycaemia. Neuropathy is a long-term complication of diabetes, and it was interesting to read the learning zone article to gain an understanding of the various types of neuropathy. Motor neuropathy is damage to the nerves supplying the muscles of the body. When this occurs in the muscles of the foot, the shape can no longer be maintained and it becomes deformed. This can result in excessive pressure at various points on the foot, increasing the risk of developing a foot ulcer. Sensory neuropathy results in reduced sensation caused by sensory nerve damage, which means that the patient is less able to feel pressure, pain or temperature. Usually the feet are the first area affected, and this increases the risk of foot ulcer development. Autonomic neuropathy affects the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves, affecting various systems in the body, such as the digestive and cardiovascular systems. Charcot neuropathy involves deformity of the bones in the foot caused by increased blood flow, which washes away essential bone minerals and leads to bone thinning. This is one of the types of neuropathy that I have encountered in practice. The article prompted me to read the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on diabetes and, in particular, foot care. I had been unaware of the recommendation that patients with diabetes should have an annual foot examination. This is something that from now on I intend to check with my patients who have diabetes, as part of my health promotion role.

Celebrity cleaners tell us a thing or two about mrsa

I watched a television programme recently in which the celebrity cleaners Kim and Agie went into a hospital. I was pleased to hear Kim say that a reduction in the spread of MRSA infection is everyones responsibility, from doctors and nurses to relatives and patients. The media is too quick to point the finger at nurses as the main culprits for the spread of infection.

Scarcity of jobs means bleak future for nursing graduates

As a third-year nursing student, I have been somewhat anxious, but also excited, about qualifying. Our cohort, however, has now learnt that there will be no jobs for us at our hospital trust after we qualify. Three years of hard work and struggle now seems to be worthless. What are we to do with our qualification when there is no job available? My vision of a career in nursing now looks somewhat bleak.