This weeks’ blog is by Fiona Cowdell, Professor of Nursing and Health Research (fiona.cowdell@bcu.ac.uk) and Judith Dyson, Professor of Implementation Science (judith.dyson@bcu.ac.uk)   Preventing falls in care homes is policy and practice gold standard. But when falls happen, the protocol for many care homes in the UK is to call an ambulance. Sometimes an older person is waiting for many hours leading to complications1.  To address this problem, we evaluated a new initiative, implementation of an app’ to assess “risk to rise” and a lifting cushion. The “ISTUMBLE” app’ seeks key safe ..read more

This weeks’  blog is written by Helen Lord (H.Lord@bolton.ac.uk), Joey Weber, Joanne Smith, Katie, Bannister, Phil Downing and Hayley Carr from the University of Bolton #BoltonUni The surge in complex health and social care challenges has brought to light inefficiencies within existing systems, as noted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2013 1. In response to the UK government’s policy shift towards community care 2, there is a critical need to align practical competence with theoretical knowledge 1. Amidst these challenges, the healthcare landscape is undergoing a significant tr ..read more

This week’s blog is by Hannah Harvey, Research assistant: Collaborative Working in Health Research (Hannah.Harvey@bcu.ac.uk) The stereotype of researchers as introverted data analysts couldn’t be further from my experience. Like many in healthcare, I dreamt of being a “helper” since childhood. Yet, research initially seemed distant, a world of statistical tests and jargon. My undergraduate experience with mandatory Research Methods modules wasn’t exactly inspiring. Human Stories Behind the Data This all changed during a frustrating attempt to convince my grandma to install grab bars in her ba ..read more

This week’s blog is part of the ‘Early Career Researchers'(ECRs) theme. Dr Gearóid Brennan is the Lead Psychiatric Liaison Nurse at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. He is an early career researcher, having achieved his PhD in 2021. Gearóid reflects on his journey of being an ECR while maintaining a clinical career and offers some tips to others. It might be because I was a big fan of Barbie the movie, or that I find Billie Eilish’s talented voice piercingly haunting. But the title of her song and the sentiment expressed is one I ask myself often as I try and navigate what can feel like the ..read more

This week’s blog is part of the ‘Early Career Researchers (ECRs)’ theme. Dr Catherine Clarissa (Clarissa) is a Lecturer in Nursing (Life Sciences) and a Research Fellow (YARNS Transitions) in Nursing Studies, School of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh. She is an early career researcher having achieved her PhD in 20211. Moving from Indonesia to work in the UK, she reflects on her journey and offers tips on deciding on a career as a nurse academic. Are you currently pursuing a PhD in nursing and considering a career in academia after obtaining your doctorate in the UK? Let me a ..read more

This weeks’ blog, and the first as part of our Early Career Researcher theme, is from Zoe Dodd. Zoe is a part time PhD student, a registered Mental Health Nurse and also works full time in a leadership role in a Mental Health Trust. Since starting my PhD in 2020, there has been a significant shift in how I view myself as a ‘nurse’, a ‘researcher’ and a ‘leader’. This has impacted upon my identity and how I present myself in these three arenas. Holding these identities and the balancing demands these roles bring is not easy, and as both my career and research has progressed, this has become mo ..read more

In this month’s ‘EBN Highlight’ Deputy Editors Jane Wray and Lisa Kidd introduce our theme for March and April 2024 – Early Career researchers (ECRs). During the next few months, we will be sharing blogs and journal content related to this theme and this will include an upcoming Editorial by Dr Helen Sisson and an EBN Resources Page. Throughout March and April 2024 there will be blogs from early career researchers on their experiences including being a part-time clinician and PhD student, an international ECR and keeping a research career going whilst working in the NHS. We will also be sharin ..read more

Wednesday 21 February 2024 in the UK marked its 6th annual Mental Health Nurses’ Day. The day promotes and celebrates the unique and valuable role played by mental health nurses to health and wellbeing. There are approximately 300,000 mental health nurses worldwide and they represent the largest proportion of staff in the mental health care workforce with responsibility for patient care1. Mental health nurses work in a diverse range of settings and with increasing demands for mental health care and services worldwide there are urgent calls to grow the Mental Health Nursing workforce to respon ..read more

The NHS England pilot project at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust In this week’s blog Debra Ritsperis Head of Quality @DRitsperis, Isolde Newbury ACRT @AcuteResponse, Rebecca Wood Paediatric Matron @becky_RWood, Kaylea Roffe Data Manager @roffe_kaylea, Natalie Tomms Communications Lead, Dr Kerry Gaskin @GaskinKerry, outline how the project team including Suzie Cro Deputy Director of Quality Programme Director Nursing and Midwifery Excellence GHFT @suz_cro, Andy Foo Intensive Care and Anaesthetics @AndyFoo7, Associate Professor Kerry Gaskin @GaskinKerry (involved April-Dec 2023) i ..read more

This week’s blog is by Gilda Davis, PhD Student and Senior Lecturer in Children’s Nursing, University of Worcester @worcester_uni  @uow_TCSNM with support from her Supervisory team: Professor Kerry Gaskin @GaskinKerry, Professor Győző Molnár @GyozoMolnar and Dr Jackie Bentley. This blog provides a summary of preliminary findings regarding bereaved parents’ decision making about their child’s place of death. Research that considers the place of death of children where death is expected, varies in number depending on diagnosis. Where the child has an oncology diagnosis, there is an est ..read more