Medio-legal issues apply to each and every patient interaction that we have as registered nurses and healthcare professionals. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Code of Conduct (2018) is concise on how we should keep up to date, document carefully, and work within our scope of practice — just to name a few pointers. Here, Kirsty Armstrong, advanced nurse practitioner in out-of-hours and urgent care, provides a crossword containing some further items that nurses need to consider when working with patients, with explanation provided with the answers. The list does not encompass everything that nurses need to be mindful of, but hopefully is a starting point for further reading, for which a list of resources is provided at the end of the article. This crossword has a focus on immunisation practice.
Welcome to this latest issue of GPN. We are delighted to share the latest news in the world of Education for Health, and present opportunities for you to get involved with us as a student or partner. We have dedicated this issue to just four stories dealing with the future, the past, and stories from recent education and training, and as always, we hope that you
In each issue of the Journal of General Practice Nursing, we investigate a topic currently affecting our readers. Here, Ellen Nicholson, course director/ lecturer, General Practice Nurse Programme, School of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University, looks at whether...
Understanding vitamin D, its function and when supplementation may be necessary.
With current pressures in the NHS, it is becoming even more important for general practice nurses (GPNs) to ensure that they deliver the most cost and clinically effective care within GP practices. However, they can feel that they are working in isolation, without the support that might be found from working in a larger organisation, as is demonstrated by the lack of training and professional/ personal development. However, HARTMANN UKI are committed to working with key stakeholders in the NHS, including GPNs, both to improve the standards of wound care and to offer professional and personal development support.
General practice nurses (GPNs) play an important role in prevention and must make every contact count to educate patients. When it comes to melanoma skin cancer, 86% of cases are preventable, but over the last decade, mortality rates have increased by around 14% in the UK (Cancer Research UK melanoma skin cancer statistics).
Wound assessment is a vital skill for general practice nurses (GPNs); however, time pressures can sometimes impede the effective assessment of wounds in primary care. This article aims to provide GPNs with a rapid wound assessment approach that is evidence-based and person-centred. The author details the main points of wound assessment and outlines a holistic approach that considers biological, psychological and social factors, with the aim of improving GPNs’ assessment skills. An approach to wound assessment known as TIMES (tissue, infection, moisture, edge and surrounding skin) will be discussed. This will enable GPNs to understand the key factors that influence wound healing. The investigations used to identify any underlying disease processes that may affect wound healing are also considered. The author aims to assist GPNs to improve their wound assessment skills, which will, in turn, help them to exercise their best clinical judgement at all times.
Wounds impact a patient’s quality of life, but research shows that this is often overlooked. Lifestyle concerns are haphazardly disclosed by patients, and not always recorded and addressed by nurses. Research (Green et al, 2013a; 2013b) led to the development of a leg ulcer consultation template (LUCT), which, in turn, raised the need for a generic tool to produce an overall, self-assessed ‘quality of life’ score for any patient with a wound. The principles of the LUCT were reviewed and a new ‘wound checklist’ developed, supported by an advocacy service, to ensure utility for all patient groups. Images, simplified questions and use of a ‘pain’ and ‘quality of life’ score improved the checklist’s accessibility, and aimed to show which areas of the patient’s life were affected by the wound. Results of an evaluation have been positive, and the new checklist is available as a paper version and is being developed as a digital resource.
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) occurs when there is a narrowing or occlusion of the peripheral arteries, resulting in reduced blood flow to the leg (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 2015). This can lead to limb ischaemia and thrombosis. Patients with PAD have a reduced quality of life and are at risk of lower limb amputation and even death. This article addresses the need for early diagnosis of PAD to reduce the burden of the condition to patients and the NHS, and to try and reduce the number of lower limb amputations that occur in the UK every day. Promoting healthy arteries will raise awareness of the risk factors associated with PAD and encourage the population in the risk categories to be proactive in receiving ankle-brachial pressure index (ABPI) assessment. Healthcare professionals with improved knowledge of PAD will be better able to identify patients in the early stages of the disease and to advise them about lifestyle changes to improve their prognosis.
