In Issue 10 we featured some highlights from the 2015 Ig noble Awards for Improbable research. We liked it so much, we decided to do it again!
As the committee says:
The 26th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony will introduce ten new Ig Nobel Prize winners. Each has done something that makes people laugh then think.Winners travel to the ceremony, at their own expense, from around the world to receive their prize from a group of genuine, genuinely bemused Nobel Laureates
Picture Credit: Roman Victory. Thanks to Liam Quin for kind permission to reproduce: http://www.fromoldbooks.org
The NHS is going through what some say is a most diffficult time. That may be putting it mildly!
We may have to learn a lesson or two from the Dakota Indians…
As many variations of these pearls of wisdom are available, I cannot credit this particular version to anyone. But I am eternally grateful for the laughs it produced.
In the last issue, Frank submitted what he (and perhaps us here at PCNR Towers) thought may be his last piece (https://pcnr.co.uk/articles/333/the-expected-is-always-unexpected). He was v.v. poorly.
However, Frank is a Northerner (hailing from my old home town), and therefore by definition, a hard nut to crack. Dead but won't lie down. Proving that you can live (albeit a little shakily!) with deranged bloods, electrolytes and organs.
Here is his thank you to the staff that cared for him.
Given the shortage of nurses in the UK, you'd think that getting a new job would be easy. But often, recruitment processes can be lengthy and bewildering. Using a recruitment agency can offer help and support for both recrtuiter and job seeker.
In this article, Guy Watson explains what an agency can do for you.
In the last issue, we presented the 2016 Molnlycke Wound Academy Scholarship and Award Winners. Here, we take a look at Lauren Thorpe's Scholarship winning entry in more detail.
In the last issue, we presented the 2016 Molnlycke Wound Academy Scholarship and Award Winners. Here, we take a look at the winning entry in the Innovations in care: Pressure Ulcer Care Award. The UHCW NHS Trust Tissue Viability Team, Amy Verdon, Viola Sidambe and Rachel Reece are using a dolll, Sally Sore as an innovative way of teaching and demonstrating pressure ulcer prevention srategies.
October 19th is FabChangeDay (FCD) It is the brainchild of the team at the Academy of Fabulous NHS Staff, facilitating and supporting staff to brag about, implement or just 'do' big, things that will make a difference to their patients or ways of working.
What will you be doing?
Many of shy away from public exercise - after all, gym's are full of tall and toned people in tight lycra who still look impossibly glamorous even while 'glowing' gently. What could possibly be the problem?
So what is different about taking your exercise regimen to the park? Well, lots apparently. Here, George Winter explains.
Mid-May, the King's Road. A restaurant that used to be a garage. A bevvy of short-listed candidates and a posse of guests all on tenterhooks. Who would win?
Yes, it was the Mölnylcke Health Care Wound Academy Scholarship and Awards luncheon. This article, adapted from the Molnlycke Health Care Wound Academy Bulletin (June 2016), outlines the winning entries.
As ever, PCNR will feature the winning entries in more depth in forthcoming issues.
Here at PCNR we know an innovation when we see one! There are those that are ground-breaking and make headline news, there are those that make a difference to a few. And there are those that are so simple, yet so reproducible across the entire NHS, you wonder why no-one has thought of it before.
This is one such innovation…
Sometimes you look at the titles of nursing research articles and lose the will to live: for example, 'Instantiating informatics in nursing practice for inegrated patient centred holistic models of care: a discussion', or 'A meta-ethnography of the acculturation and socialization experiences of migrant care workers'. That's not to say they aren't interesting once you start reading them of course, but such titles sometimes make you wonder if the journals only accept articles with titles that are at least as long as the research report.
The Ig Nobel Prizes for Improbable Research is a parody of the Nobel Prizes and is given out each year for ten unusual or trivial achievements in scientific research. The stated aim of the prizes is to "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think". Here are a couple of examples.
Picture Credit: Roman Victory. Thanks to Liam Quin for kind permission to reproduce: http://www.fromoldbooks.org
David's blogs are usually found in our Comment and Opinion section. However, as this blog focuses on his role as a Patient Director - a new and innovative role - we feel it sits well in Out of the Ordinary.
Remember back in Issue 6 when we featured the Academy of Fabulous NHS Stuff? Well, there's more...
On 26th November, there was a gathering in Shoreditch (no vaccinations required apparently, although a team from 'oop north were heard to say "£45... for a haircut...???...ee that would never do with us..."). NHS staff (yes, those actually doing some work), voted for their favourite project posted on the Academy wall, and accordingly, the Academy of Fabulous NHS Stuff gave an awards lunch.
And it was fabulous.
Our Editor, Deborah, was an accessory....
Something magical happened this Christmas. A wave of pride in the NHS swept the nation, taking the NHS Choir all the way to the prestigious Christmas number 1 slot. This was something few of us, even in our wildest dreams, thought woud be possible!
For once we made the news headlines for the right reasons, and the front pages of the newspapers where splashed with a simple message: Our love for our NHS!
Joan Pons-Laplana shares how it happened.
Developments in both the sophistication and affordability of mobile technologies using custom-designed hardware and software are changing how healthcare is delivered, received and researched. Healthcare workers and pioneers alike are embracing mobile technology, including social media educational tools, mobile apps, wearables and other digital tools.
Here, Dr Aisling Koning outlines potential applications in care.
This article was first published on the Health-Care Arena website and has been produced by kind permission of Pentland Medical.
When you watch Countdown, are you better at the word games or does the maths game make you sqeal with excitement? Ever wondered what happens to all those stats you send to 'the beast'?
Well, Jon Hannah of NHSIQ, reveals all. Jon or a member of his team, will be a regular contributor to PCNR, keeping us up to date with developments and news.
How difficult is it to understand 'foreigners'? Not just the ones from countries where English if not the first language, but those from areas outside of your own - what does the phrase 'Well I'll go to the foot of our stairs mean?
Does it matter if you don't quite get it? Well yes, if you are trying to communicate with your patient.
Here, Joan Pons-Laplana shares his experiences.
Against a backdrop of a lifetime career as a health care professional working with children and families, Kate H-N has produced six Relax ‘n Learn Teaching Tales, designed to raise and tackle some common issues that affect children’s happiness and which, if left unspoken about and not addressed, can lead to unnecessary unhappiness with mental health problems and behavioural disturbance, which typically attract unhelpful, stigmatising labelling. In this article, Kate outlines how Eric the Oracle can help develop the emotional health of children.
At the end of May, the winners of the Mölnylcke Health Care Wound Academy Scholarship were announced at a luncheon held at the Royal Opera House on the 28th May.
This article, adapted from the Molnlycke Health Care Wound Academy Bulletin (July 2015), outlines the winning entries.
The Spark is an inspiring three hour event hosted by local catalysts for change hosted in a community space for up to 100 people who are passionate about the future of health and social care services.
Joan-Pons Laplana explains more and outlines how you can get involved
Whistle-blowing is the act of reporting a concern about a risk, wrongdoing or illegality at work, in the public interest.
Raising concerns about such poor practice should be the norm, accepted as an important part of people’s day-to-day work, as they reflect on their professional practice and work to improve their service.
With all the negative press about the NHS, you'd be forgiven for thinking that you work in an untenable system that has lost its ability to innovate or care. But actually, you'd be wrong in your assumption. Innovation and teamwork are alive and well! The Academy of Fabulous Stuff, the brainchild of Roy Lilley, Dr Terri Porrett and Jon Wilkes is a repository for, errm..., fabulous NHS stuff!
The @ProudToNurse Twitter camapign and the #mynameis... and the 6Cs are gaining traction in the nursing and clincian community, with jolly good reason. Here at PCNR we support the philosophy of these actions and are planning to feature updates in each isssue. But behind these are passionate people who generally are unsung. In this article, Maria Davison explains why she is @ProudToNurse
The 6Csy day held at Leicester racecourse last month was an unexpected 7 hours of pure enthusiasm, passion and pride about nursing from nurses. Joan sought to re-ignite the spirit of caring, and succeeded beyond expectation. Here both he and Deborah share their thoughts on the day.
Are you keen to help children develop their resilience, self-esteem and confidence so they can improve their emotional health and well-being and learn some key skills for creating their own happiness? In this article, Kate H-N the author of the Brockley Bank tales, outlines how the adventures of Eric the Oracle can help develop the emotional health of children.
Having come from a background in art (I was a Deputy Director at Sotheby's auction house), I definitely never thought I’d end up becoming an undertaker! Poppy Mardall, founder of Poppy's Funerals believes that the nursing profession has such an important role to play in allowing people to talk openly about dying and what happens after death. In this article, she explains why she moved into the business and how a colourful, personalised funeral can make all the difference to grieving family and friends.
According to the 2011 Census there are 200,000 young carers (under 18) in the UK; however, a BBC survey in 2010, estimated that there could be as many as 700,000.
This is Lauren's story
In issue 2, we featured Helen Mountford’s winning entry in the Mölnylcke Scholarship programme. Helen is a staff nurse at Acorns Children's Hospice. This article talks about the Acorns philosophy and approaches to care.
Dermatology & wound care clinical trials. If you are interested in becoming involved in this type of research we would like to make contact with you.
Mölnlycke Health Care is committed to supporting practitioners’ professional development through both formal and informal methods. One of the main tenets of this delivery framework is the Wound Academy, which supports the Scholarship and Awards programme.
The Scholarship and Awards Programme (SAAP) has been running for 12 years. During this time, the programme has supported and enabled wound care teams, experienced practitioners and novice practitoners to realise projects within their organisation, and facilitated professional development through the support framework provided in the year following the Scholarship.
No, we’re not being sexist! Just that even today most nurses are female, so it’s easier than writing he/she, him/her etc…
An introduction to Lipoedema Ladies by Michelle Ellis
I found out I had Lipoedema when it was too late. I was 30 and had already developed Lipo-Lymphoedema. I am lucky I was diagnosed at all: there are 3.2 million women in the UK with undiagnosed Lipoedema.
This series takes an educated guess as to what a nurse would do in any given circumstance.
Your contributions are welcome! Send to deborah@pcnr.co.uk
