Nursing Standard Podcast

A rolling of the eyes, talking over you, or plain rudeness- we might all have a colleague who behaves in an uncivil way. But should you do anything about it, or just ignore it?

Incivility at work can take many different guises and can leave people feeling dejected, unmotivated and unfairly treated. This episode of the Nursing Standard podcast looks at how to deal with incivility in the workplace, and why in a healthcare setting its impact can mean life or death. 

Our guest is consultant in emergency medicine Dr Chris Turner who founded Civility Saves Lives, a group that works to raise awareness about the importance of being civil when working in healthcare. 

Dr Turner tells senior reporter Alison Stacey how to recognise incivility - both in yourself and others. He also explains the best time to approach a conversation about incivility, how to have the conversation and who should be doing it. 

For more episodes of the Nursing Standard podcast, visit rcni.com/podcast

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How do you use early warning scores to optimum effect when assessing the deteriorating patient?

When should you refer a person in your care to a more senior member of the team, and in what circumstances must you immediately escalate a case?

The latest episode of the Nursing Standard podcast discusses these issues as we explore early warning scores. Tools such as the National Early Warning Score (NEWS2) help nurses and other healthcare professionals to assess when a patient’s condition is worsening following a structured and prioritised approach, such as airway, breathing, circulation, disability and exposure (ABCDE) and whose scores indicate what action to take.

This episode hears from Cardiff University senior lecturer in adult nursing Andy Parry, who has a background in critical care and anaesthetics and regularly teaches early warning scores.

Mr Parry talks to interviewer RCNi senior nurse editor Richard Hatchett about what the different scales of the early warning scores mean and the importance of a thorough assessment. The pair also discuss why respiratory rate is a sensitive indicator of deterioration, and how it can pick up signs of possible impending cardiac arrest sooner than alterations in blood pressure.

https://rcni.com/rcniplus/topics/early-warning-scores

https://journals.rcni.com/nursing-standard/evidence-and-practice/effective-handovers-on-escalation-of-care-for-the-deteriorating-patient-ns.2023.e12078/print/abs

https://rcni.com/nursing-standard/features/what-abcde-and-why-it-important-162311

https://rcni.com/nursing-standard/students/nursing-studies/what-news2-and-how-can-it-help-prevent-cardiac-arrest-195531

For more episodes of the Nursing Standard podcast, visit rcni.com/podcast

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Irritability teetering on unexpected rage, feeling physically and mentally exhausted and down - and like the only option is to flee work?

Is this the consequence of workplace pressures … or could it (or also) be the perimenopause?

The perimenopause - the phase when women are experiencing menopausal symptoms but are still having periods – is the subject of this episode of the podcast.

Our guest is Katharine Gale, consultant nurse in women’s health and menopause and director of Fluxstate, which provides care for women going through the menopause and training for workplaces.

Nine out of 10 nurses are women and more than a third are aged 41 to 55, which means a significant proportion of the workforce are likely to be going through the perimenopause right now.

Ms Gale talks about the impact that the perimenopause can have on nurses and their mental health, the lack of support many find, and how this is causing nurses to leave their jobs. ‘I hear from nurses who are quitting because they feel they have made a mistake or are not good at their job,’ she says.

She tells journalist and podcast host Erin Dean where nurses can get support and offers advice to nursing managers on supporting their staff through this phase.

‘They do not need to be an expert,’ says Ms Gale about managers. ‘Come from a place of empathy and compassion. Come from a place of trying to understand someone’s experience.’

https://rcni.com/keywords/menopause

For more episodes of the Nursing Standard podcast, visit rcni.com/podcast

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Have you considered working at one of the UK’s summer festivals? 

Festival season is back again and there are plenty of opportunities to use your nursing skills and enjoy festival life. 

If you are looking for a role but don’t know where to start the latest episode of the Nursing Standard podcast answers all of your questions. 

Podcast guest Vicky Lennon, intensive care sister in Bath, talks about her experience of working at Glastonbury and provides tips on how to find a role that is right for you. 

She tells RCNi editorial assistant Serafina Basciano about the importance of speaking to different companies to understand what is expected of you and if your skill sets match. 

Ms Lennon also discusses what essentials nurses should bring and how to pack for any weather.

For more episodes of the Nursing Standard podcast, visit rcni.com/podcast

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Nurses have been in dispute with the government over poor pay, working conditions and patient safety concerns months.

In this special edition of the Nursing Standard podcast, RCN general secretary Pat Cullen talks about the ‘unfinished business’ nurses have with the government and why they deserve more than the current pay awards.

She calls for the government to come back to the negotiation table to avoid further strikes, detailing what ministers can do to nurture home-grown talent, instead of relying heavily on international recruits to plug staffing gaps.

The episode comes as the RCN nears the end of a ballot for a further six months of industrial action over both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 pay awards. 

Ms Cullen urged nurses to have their say before the ballot closes on 23 June.

For more episodes of the Nursing Standard podcast, visit rcni.com/podcast

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Are you missing out on money that you could reclaim from the tax office?

Employed nurses and other members of the nursing team can claim a refund from HM Revenue and Customs on many work-related expenses.

This includes for costs around washing uniforms if employers don’t offer this service, for professional fees, union subscriptions and for journals such as Nursing Standard, and also for mileage if not covered by employers.

In this episode, Clare Merrills, a spokesperson for the HMRC, explains what nurses can claim and how to go about getting it back.

With the average claim for work-related expenses coming to £125 per tax year, it is well worth doing, she says. 

But too many people use an agent to make their claim who can take big cuts from payments awarded.

These companies can take 50% or more from the sum that nurses are entitled too, HMRC says. 

Ms Merrills tells journalist and podcast host Erin Dean it is simple for nurses to claim themselves and explains how individuals can go about doing it.

‘It’s highly likely you are entitled to a claim this extra allowance and it is really straightforward to do it,’ she says. ‘If you’re entitled to it, get it in your pocket.’

For more episodes of the Nursing Standard podcast, visit rcni.com/podcast

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What do nurses need to know about tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), which has recently arrived in the UK?

Spread by the bite of an infected tick, TBEV can lead to a spectrum of illness including meningitis and encephalitis (swelling of the brain) and is potentially lethal.

This episode hears from Sylviane Defres, a consultant in infectious diseases at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and a senior clinical lecturer at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

Dr Defres tells interviewer journalist Erin Dean about the signs and symptoms nurses should be looking out for and how the illness presents and develops.

They discuss the areas that are higher risk in the UK with more infected ticks and what is known about the spread of the virus in the UK.

The importance of public health advice from nurses to protect people from getting bitten by ticks and the availability of a vaccine is also covered.

Dr Defres also shares her top three tips for nurses on TBEV:

• Be aware of the importance of advice on avoiding tick bites as this can protect from TBEV and other tick-borne illness.

• Be vigilant and consider the possibility of TBEV if seeing a patient with relevant symptoms. Ask them if they have been outside in grassy areas working or enjoying the countryside. 

• Refer on and seek specialist advice when a patient has possible symptoms which cause concern, especially neurological ones. Patients with neurological signs should be referred to hospital as an emergency.

For more episodes of the Nursing Standard podcast, visit rcni.com/podcast

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What are the signs and symptoms of dementia and how can nursing staff best support people with the condition and their loved ones?

By 2025, over one million people in the UK will likely have a diagnosis of dementia, making it even more likely that nurses in all settings will encounter someone with the condition and or their family.

This episode of the Nursing Standard podcast explores the different types of dementia (there are over 200 subtypes of the condition) and the varying symptoms.

Our guests are Helen Green, an admiral nurse with Dementia UK, which is a specialist dementia nursing charity supporting all the family, and Fred, whose wife Lynne has vascular dementia.

They talk about gaining a diagnosis, signposting for support and helping someone with dementia to be stimulated via hobbies and activities.

For more episodes of the Nursing Standard podcast, visit rcni.com/podcast

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How do you recognise the signs of sepsis? And how should you respond when you suspect the patient in front of you is at risk?

The latest episode of the podcast examines what nursing staff need to know about this life-threatening condition.

Our guest, Sian Annakin, is deteriorating patient lead at the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, and a sepsis practitioner.

She tells Emergency Nurse editor Sophie Blakemore what to watch out for in adults and what the guidelines say about how and when to treat a patient with suspected sepsis.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence sepsis guidance is currently under review with an update expected in late June.

Ms Annakin, who is also communications officer for the UK Sepsis Practitioner Forum, discusses why the review is taking place and what it means for nurses and hospital trusts in the interim, as well as when the update is published, whatever the outcome. 

Listeners will also hear what tools are available to help them screen for sepsis and how to supplement these using their own clinical experience.

For more episodes of the Nursing Standard podcast, visit rcni.com/podcast

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How can you make your money stretch a bit further, plan for retirement and feel in control of your finances?

Times are tough financially for many nurses at the moment, with pay not rising as fast as the rocketing cost of living.

This episode hears from money mentor for women and NHS GP Nikki Ramskill who shares information on how nurses can get to grips with their money and make it work for them better.

Known as the Female Money Doctor, Dr Ramskill is on a mission to improve women’s money management skills.

She advises knowing exactly what money is coming in and out, how to reduce unnecessary costs and check pension statements to fully understand the current financial situation.

She tells podcast host health journalist Erin Dean that nurses should consider expanding their horizons outside of the NHS to earn more, and consider ‘side-hustles’ that can bring in extra money.

Nurses need to try as hard as possible not to come out of the NHS pension as it is such a good plan, she says.  

‘Unfortunately, what you are doing is robbing your future self,’ she says. ‘Women have already got a massive gap in their pensions.’

Dr Ramskill shares her four top tips with nurses:

• Know your numbers. Get clarity on where your money is going and look at your NHS and state pension statements
• Review your expenses regularly to get rid of unnecessary costs
• Don’t assume that someone else will do a better job than you on your finances
• Know your worth – think about making more money, potentially outside the NHS. 

Find out more about Dr Ramskill: https://thefemalemoneydoctor.com

For more episodes of the Nursing Standard podcast, visit rcni.com/podcast

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