A pre-travel consultation should be a complete health promotion exercise and not merely a matter of administering vaccines. It needs to involve a full risk assessment during which the individual, the journey and destination are examined for potential hazards. Risk management strategies then need to be discussed. Essentially, general practice nurses (GPNs) should facilitate the patient’s choice of interventions by educating them appropriately and allowing them to make informed choices. The traveller needs to leave the consultation aware of the potential risks of their trip and how to prevent or manage them. In order to do this well, GPNs should have sufficient time and access to online resources. This article looks at best practice in the pre-travel consultation.
Statistics suggest that one in four adults are obese, and up to 33% of school-aged children are overweight or obese (National Obesity Forum, 2015). Thus, on a daily basis, it is likely that general practice nurses (GPNs) will engage in consultations with patients who are overweight or obese, quite often while presenting for advice for another condition. This article explores how to broach this sensitive issue and the GPN’s role to reduce weight stigma in line with the new Nursing and Midwifery Council Code (NMC, 2015). Practical advice for GPNs to support patients in managing their weight, and identifying appropriate onward referrals, including for bariatric surgery and eating disorders, will also be discussed.
This article focuses on prevention in the Five Year Forward View (NHS England, 2014a) and the role of primary care, particularly the role of the general practice nurse (GPN). It will:
By reading the article in each issue, you can learn all about the key principles of subjects that are vital to your role as a general practice nurse.
The use of compression hosiery is commonplace in primary care. Traditionally, compression hosiery has been used to prevent leg ulceration, including prevention of the recurrence of leg ulcers and skin breakdown after ulcers have healed (Nelson and Bell-Syer, 2012).
By reading the article in each issue you can learn all about key principles of subjects that are vital to your role as a general practice nurse.
Pilonidal is an abscess, usually found in the natal cleft, most frequently caused when a ruptured hair follicle beneath the skin becomes infected forming an abscess (pilonidal cyst) filled with hair, keratin and debris which can develop into a sinus tract (sacrococcygeal fistula) (Pilonidal Support Alliance [PSA], 2011; Harris et al, 2012) (Figure 1).
In each issue of the journal we speak to a general practice nurse and hear what they have to say about their role in primary care...
Education for Health has been educating healthcare professionals since 1987, growing from a small respiratory charity into a specialist health education provider ranging across respiratory, cardiovascular, diabetes and many other long term conditions.
In each issue of the Journal of General Practice Nursing we investigate a hot topic currently affecting our readers. Here, Binkie Mais looks at nursing revalidation and asks the question...
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