Nursing Standard Podcast

At the end of a shift, many nurses find it a challenge to leave the day behind. 

You may find yourself constantly going over events that happened at work, or wondering how a patient is faring. 

This episode of the Nursing Standard podcast will provide the tips and tricks you need to switch off after your shift. 

Our guest is RCN Nurse of the Year Ana Waddington, who is a paediatric critical care outreach nurse. 

Ms Waddington speaks to RCNi editorial assistant Serafina Basciano about the importance of having a moment to unwind before leaving work. In her case, it’s reminding herself of three positive things that happened that day. 

She also discusses an incident with a young patient that tipped her over the edge and tells listeners that there is no shame in reaching out for help. 

Ms Waddington speaks about activities that she does to help her decompress and reminds nurses to set aside some time every week to practise self-care.

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

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Using Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and other social media platforms are part of many nurses’ day-to-day lives.

Getting the most out of social media accounts as a nurse, while avoiding the potential pitfalls, is the topic of this episode.

We explore the positives of these online tools that can bring members of the profession together.

Our guest is Teresa Chinn, a nurse, social media expert and honorary assistant professor at the University of Nottingham, and founder of the #WeNurses Twitter group.

She shares her experience and the many ways that social media has helped her improve her practice and tackle the isolation she felt when working as an agency nurse.

The podcast hears about valuable guidance from the NMC, drawing on the Code, which can help nurses use social media safely and responsibly. https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/nmc-publications/social-media-guidance.pdf

She also emphasises the importance of not letting social media take more time than desired from already busy lives. 

Ms Chinn also shares her three tips for getting the most out of social media.

https://rcni.com/nursing-standard/features/how-to-use-social-media-to-get-health-messages-to-patients-and-public-170766

https://rcni.com/nursing-standard/students/nursing-studies/social-media-teaching-nursing-students-how-to-engage-and-be-professional-online-173076

https://rcni.com/nursing-standard/features/when-social-media-becomes-a-minefield-nurses-161401

https://rcni.com/nursing-standard/students/nursing-studies/how-to-stay-out-of-trouble-when-using-social-media-175686

https://rcni.com/nursing-standard/newsroom/news/would-you-share-your-unique-nurse-pin-on-social-media-193386

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

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How does kindness – and also unkindness – affect working relationships and patient care?

Kindness is fundamental to nursing practice and the quality patients most value in their experience of care. Whereas unkind behaviour can impact on a nursing professional’s ability to respond effectively and learn – and, also, affects patient outcomes.

This episode of the podcast explores what it means to be kind, how these behaviours influence person-centred care and inter-staff relationships.

Our guest is William Gage, lecturer in adult nursing at King’s College London, who has written a popular CPD article on kindness for Nursing Standard.

Mr Gage also explains the meaning of purposeful behaviour and how kindness is about offering practical support to one another.He also delves into compassionate leadership and speaks about how ‘resilience’ is as an unhelpful term in nursing.

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

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What does it mean to be a ‘silent companion’ and how does this help to build trust at the end of a patient’s life?

Find out more in this episode of the Nursing Standard podcast, which explores the challenges that nurses face when providing person-centred end of life care.

Other topics addressed include effective communication, building authentic and trusting relationships, and the importance of nurses in this role being able to care for themselves.

Joining podcast host RCNi CPD editor Nick Lipley are RCNi authors Tracy Smith and Kasia Patynowska, who both work for UK end of life care charity Marie Curie.

Tracy is currently Marie Curie clinical educator for Scotland and Kasia is a Marie Curie research nurse in Northern Ireland.

Supporting person-centred end of life care is the focus of a CPD article, co-authored by Tracy and Kasia with Marie Curie colleagues and published by Primary Health Care.

Publication of the article has been supported by Marie Curie so that it is open access.

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

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In January thousands of nurses in the NHS staged a two-day strike across England over pay, as members of the RCN continue their historic walkouts.

But what were the real reasons for nursing staff voting for industrial action?

In the latest episode of the Nursing Standard podcast we hear from nurses on the picket lines in South Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Brighton and London about their personal reasons for taking part in the strikes on 18 and 19 of January 2023.

Speaking to reporters nurses from all aspects of nursing, staff told us their chief concern was patient safety and the future of the NHS. 

While some nurses spoke of struggling to pay their bills, some student nurses explained that completing their placement proficiencies was almost impossible, as the staff shortages meant learning and university paperwork is being side-lined.

Speaking on the picket line alongside nurses, the RCN’s general secretary Pat Cullen told the podcast that nurses had been ‘pushed onto picket lines by this government’ and while the stalemate remained, the biggest NHS strike would go ahead in February with all mandated members of the union in England, Wales and Northern Ireland striking at the same time. 

She said: ‘We need to get round a table and start to work together to resolve the 2022/23 pay dispute, and we need to do that very quickly before we move into another set of strikes.’

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

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How do you reduce imposter syndrome and make changes at work?

This episode’s guest is no stranger to change, having revolutionised sexual health care in Northern Ireland by setting up an early medical abortion service.

Sexual and reproductive healthcare nurse Nicola Bailey established the Rose Clinic providing terminations up to the tenth week of pregnancy to women in Belfast, overcoming protests and political resistance – all during a Covid-19 lockdown.

Despite her achievements, which saw her named RCN Nurse of the Year in 2021, Nicola still experiences imposter syndrome. She explains in the podcast how she seeks to reduce this feeling of inadequacy, ask for help when needed, and influence and lead change.

Nicola also speaks publicly for the first time about how her personal experience of travelling to England for a termination – prior to the law change in Northern Ireland – led her to set up the Rose Clinic.

Her work at the clinic has also driven her to further seek to improve women’s healthcare.

Nicola also explains what makes a good nursing leader – at any level of seniority – and how having a ‘growth mindset’ has boosted her confidence.

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

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Christmas may be a time for giving but accepting a gift from a patient could land you in hot water. While patient’s have the best intentions of thanking nurses at Christmas, or any other time of the year, accepting a gift could be in breach of the Nursing and Midwifery Council code.

The Code clearly states that nurses must refuse ‘all but the most trivial gifts, favours or hospitalities, as accepting them could be interpreted as an attempt to gain preferential treatment’.

So, what is a trivial gift? And what should you do if you are given a gift from a patient?

This episode of the podcast answers all those questions and more. Paul Jebb, a senior nurse in the northwest of England and member of the RCNi editorial board, talks Nursing Standard news editor Andrea Downey through what the Code means and how to declare a gift.

His handy advice for nurses: if in doubt, declare.

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

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Preparing for your first night shift can be a daunting experience.

So many questions cross your mind. Will I be able to stay awake? What should I eat? And what should I bring with me? 

This episode of the Nursing Standard podcast answers all those questions and more. 

Podcast guests Molly Kiltie, senior mental health practitioner at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, and Danielle Robinson, a third-year adult nursing student University of Lincoln, give listeners tips on how to survive a first night shift. 

They tell RCNi editorial assistant Serafina Basciano about the importance of finding a routine that works for you and giving yourself time to wind down after a shift. 

Our guests also discuss what essential items they have in their bags to help them get through the night.

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

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How are nursing students preparing for the health challenges of climate change?

This episode of the Nursing Standard podcast explores how students and universities are ensuring their courses cover this vital topic.

Nursing student Leonie Harrison and lecturer Alison Taylor discuss the proactive approach they are involved with to make their course at the University of Brighton more sustainable. This matters to nursing students as the climate emergency is a health emergency, listeners hear. Ms Harrison talks about Brighton students’ work with three other universities around the world to adapt and introduce the Planetary Health Report Card to nursing courses. This is a student-led approach to assess how planetary health is considered in all aspects of a nursing course.

Ms Harrison tells journalist Erin Dean about the experience of using this at the University of Brighton, and how it is leading to practical changes to make their learning greener. The importance and power of nursing students in this area, both now and as the future nursing workforce, is emphasised in the episode.

The pair also talk about how other universities can take a similar approach, and about the hope their work gives them for the future.

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

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What is it with nurses and ghost stories? Why does every hospital seem to be ‘haunted’ by a past patient or long-dead matron? This Halloween episode of the Nursing Standard podcast explores why so many nurses have a spooky story to tell.

Our podcast guest Ciaran O’Keeffe is head of the School of Human and Social Sciences and associate professor of education and research at Buckinghamshire New University. Fans of the supernatural may be familiar with the work of Dr O’Keeffe, who studies haunting experiences and was a long-time regular on Living TV’s Most Haunted show.

He talks to Stephanie Jones-Berry, Nursing Standard head of features, about his work with the paranormal and why he thinks nurses have so many ghostly interactions. 

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

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