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Respiratory assessment: undertaking a physical examination of the chest in adults
Nurses frequently encounter patients in respiratory distress or with respiratory complications, whether from acute disease or a long-term condition. A physical examination of the chest should be conducted as part of a comprehensive respiratory assessment of the patient, and should follow a systemati...
Updated: 22 November 2023 -
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Differentiating between dementia, delirium and depression in older people
Older people can find hospital stays challenging and distressing. When their presenting symptoms make it challenging for healthcare professionals to differentiate between dementia, delirium and depression, their experience may be increasingly distressing, and can result in delays in diagnosis and tr...
Updated: 1 November 2023 -
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Assessment and management of chronic pain
Chronic pain can have significant physical, psychological and social effects on a person’s life, as well as on their families and friends. However, it is often not well-recognised or understood, which can lead to further harm. Therefore, an individualised, person-centred approach to chronic pain is ...
Updated: 1 November 2023 -
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Identifying and managing patients with disease-related malnutrition in primary care
Disease-related malnutrition can be challenging to treat. A disease, its treatment or the consequences of treatment can cause patients to experience a reduction in appetite and the desire to eat, resulting in an inability to consume sufficient food and drink to maintain or improve nutritional status...
Updated: 22 November 2023 -
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Understanding nurses’ responsibilities in promoting equality and diversity
Nurses have a duty to promote the values of equality and diversity during their interactions with patients and their families and carers, as well as peers and colleagues. This article defines the terms equality, diversity and inclusion, and explains the importance of the Equality Act 2010 and the Hu...
Updated: 22 November 2023 -
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Focus on asthma 2: air pollution and its effects on children and young people
This article is the second in a series on asthma. The first article identified that the UK is experiencing an ‘epidemic’ of childhood asthma and one of the major culprits is air pollution. This article examines the main causes of air pollution and how they affect the lung health of children from bef...
Updated: 16 November 2023 -
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Improving safety by developing trust with a just culture
This article presents a simple conceptual road map for implementing a just culture in healthcare settings. The concept of just culture was developed as one of five fundamental elements of a safety culture by psychology professor James Reason in 1997. A just culture requires an unbiased method of jud...
Updated: 22 November 2023 -
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Demonstrating empathy when communicating with older people
Empathy is an integral aspect of communication with older people and is central to person-centred care. As part of the provision of person-centred care, empathy supports effective communication, producing positive effects such as increased emotional well-being, increased adherence to treatment plans...
Updated: 22 November 2023 -
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Understanding the health risks of varicella zoster virus in pregnancy
Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is a common illness that causes varicella (chickenpox) and shingles. It is prevalent mostly during childhood but there are additional co-morbidities from this disease for a woman and her fetus, if she contracts it during pregnancy. Many developed countries vaccinate chil...
Updated: 19 January 2023 -
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Sexuality and sexual intimacy in later life
Sexuality is as important in older age as it is throughout life, and its expression can be positive, empowering, joyful and life-affirming. The concept of sexuality has many dimensions including identity, need and desire, relationships and behaviour, all of which develop through ageing and life expe...
Updated: 1 November 2023
