Making a difference? Understanding the working lives of learning disability nurses; 30 years of learning disability nursing in England

The study aimed to explore the lived experience of the careers of learning disability nurses in England. The methodology was informed by Hermeneutic Phenomenology, and the study design utilised narrative interviewing techniques based on an adapted model of the Biographic Narrative Interpretive Method (Wengraf 2001) in order to explore the career choices, experiences and beliefs, and values about learning disability nursing. Twenty in-depth qualitative interviews with learning disability nurses, who had been in practice in the 30-year period between 1979 and 2009, were undertaken in 2010 across nine counties in England. The data was interpreted using a narrative analysis approach. Key findings indicated that nurses, working in a diverse range of settings with varying degrees of experience, are motivated by working with people with learning disabilities and narrate their experiences of building relationships with people articulating the meaning of this for them as nurses. The initial reasons for choosing learning disability nursing as a career formed a key theme within the findings, with complex influences on their career choice. Additionally, all participants in this study created a narrative of change, focusing on the ways in which change in policy, practice and in societal views have impacted upon their working lives and their identity. The individual narratives have also been interpreted to form a collective narrative of learning disability nursing to specifically explore the identity of learning disability nurses and nursing in a changing context of health and social care provision

Fundamental Aspects of Complementary Therapies for Health Care Professionals

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has grown substantially in popularity over recent years. A growing number of health care practitioners, particularly nurses and midwives, are delivering care where CAM therapies are part of the treatment regime. Furthermore, patient knowledge about, choice of and access to CAM has led to many patients and clients requesting complementary therapies alongside orthodox care. In the current climate it is therefore imperative that nurses understand the issues surrounding the use of CAM by patients and clients in their care. This introductory text offers an overview of a range of complementary therapies available in the UK, and will help give the practitioner an essential understanding of the nature of each therapy and the existing evidence base so that they can make informed judgements for the benefit of patients. It will also be a useful resource for patients and clients themselves

Who chooses to be a nurse, and why? A narrative study

Over the past 30 years, as the type and number of healthcare services have changed, the role of the learning disability nurse has evolved. The numbers of learning disability nurses being trained and subsequently registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council have declined during this period, and many learning disability nurses now work in the voluntary, private and social care sectors. Yet there is little evidence about why people choose learning disability nursing as a career. This article refers to the findings of a narrative study of the experiences of learning disability nurses working in and outside the NHS over the past 30 years. It illuminates how and why they chose their career, and provides an insight into how others could be encouraged to join the profession

Enabling, empowering, encouraging and ennobling associate nurses: a theoretical framework to address the challenges faced by the role

The nursing associate (NA) role is a relatively new one, with the first few registrants qualifying in 2019. This study aimed to explore where the weaknesses and threats to the role exist so that mechanisms to mediate these can be identified. Methods A realist ethnographic approach uses semi-structured interviews with NAs (n=8) and focus groups with people supporting NAs (n=8). Results Five ‘entities’ influence the NA journey: i) trainee/NA, ii) healthcare team, iii) education providers, iv) employing organisation, and v) national organisations such as the professional body. Weaknesses and threats included incivility, lack of role clarity/ambiguity, the scope of the role, curriculum, and placements, and personal motivations and career progression. Conclusions A framework, addressing the weaknesses and threats was produced. This outlines interventions and improvements to encourage, enable, empower, and ennoble NAs that the entities can make to promote better and support the implementation of the NA role into practice

Good Practice in Parenting support: A joint education and service improvement project

A growing number of people with learning disabilities are becoming parents, and many of them risk having their children removed from their care. It is difficult to establish how many parents have a learning disability because definitions are hard to apply and many people do not have this label attributed to them until they access health and social services. People with learning disabilities often find that becoming a parent exposes them to services where their disability is presumed to be an automatic barrier to parenting. This article sets out the design, delivery and results of a joint education and practice project that took place from November 2012 to November 2013 between De Montfort University and the Leicestershire Partnership Trust. The project focused on assessing and supporting parents with learning disabilities, and finding, disseminating and publishing good practice examples locally and nationally. It inspired collaboration between a number of organisations and highlighted the importance of a multidisciplinary approach Read More: http://journals.rcni.com/doi/abs/10.7748/ldp.18.7.36.e165

An exploration of the experiences of South Asian students on pre-registration nursing

A mixed methods investigation. Main findings include the importance of peer group and personal tutor support to their academic success. Understanding the student experience is important and should help institutions to develop culturally sensitive support systems

The future health worker: Regulation of health care assistants

http://www.library.nhs.uk/healthmanagement/ViewResource.aspx?resID=26508