English language skills requirements for internationally educated nurses working in the care industry: barriers to UK registration or institutionalised discrimination?

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A global view of competency in neonatal care

Neonatal Care is one specialty within nursing as a whole where the repertoire of skills and knowledge for practice is broad. Competence in skills, an important component of today's nursing agenda, must extend to any post-basic specialty a nurse opts to work within. To become 'qualified in specialty' (QIS) is an aim of nurses who work within the neonatal area of practice following qualification, a term that pertains to the competencies required to learn to progress in their career in a chosen field. To be deemed clinically competent should apply to all neonatal nurses across the world caring for neonates and their families in any setting. This paper focuses on a global perspective in relation to what competency means in neonatal care. The neonatal discipline is discussed as one example within nursing to raise issues for further discussion on an international level.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

The productive ward: releasing time to care- what we can learn from the literature for implementation

Aim: This paper reviews the Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care� literature, identifying and discussing the key characteristics that may contribute to successful implementation. Background: It is 5 years since the official UK launch of the Productive Ward, and the Republic of Ireland commenced a phased, national implementation programme in 2011. Thus it is timely to reflect on the implementation lessons learned to date and described in the literature. Evaluation: Using taxonomic mapping, this paper evaluates the current state of the literature that pertains to Productive Ward implementation experience; success factors; reports, and assessments. Key issues: Seven common contextual characteristics were identified: robust and engaging communication; enabling and empowering roles; appropriate training; project planning and management; leadership; corporate/management engagement and support; and financial and human resource commitment. Conclusion: The key characteristics identified have a direct impact on the implementation of the Productive Ward. The interplay between these key characteristics and how this interplay influences successful implementation of the Productive Ward warrants further research. Implications for nursing management: Acknowledging and embracing the seven characteristics during implementation will positively improve the progress and success of the initiatives implementation. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd