CARE: a new approach to change in primary care

CARE (Connected, Authentic, Resilient & Empowered) was developed in order to address these three issues. A practical, person-centred and locally owned change management, leadership and resilience...

The power of practice nursing to galvanise the system

The value of primary care nursing

The value of primary care nursing has never been recognised or valued more than it has over the last year. Recognition, credit and appreciation from the public is at an all-time high. Applications to...

Understanding personal asthma action plans

The National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) (Royal College of Physicians, 2014) investigated the clinical records of 195 adults and children who died of asthma between February 2012 and January 2013....

Understanding the pathogenesis of heart failure

Normally, cardiac physiology is able to meet the body's metabolic demand through sufficient cardiac output (CO) defined as stroke volume (ml) eg 70 ml, x heart rate (beats per minute) e.g. 70b pm,...

Managing otalgia in general practice

A thorough history is needed to guide clinicians towards making an accurate diagnosis. A detailed history of the degree and severity of pain, any discharge from the ear (otorrhea), hearing loss,...

Supporting people with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic

‘Dementia is a syndrome – usually of a chronic or progressive nature – in which there is deterioration in cognitive function (ie the ability to process thought) beyond what might be expected from...

Health coaching: the role of the practice nurse

The emphasis being on the coachee to take personal responsibility for creating sustainable change (Whitmore, 2017). Furthermore, coaching is considered a journey; one through which people are able to...

The integral role of BAME nurses in primary care

I knew I wanted to become a practice nurse from my first year of nursing studies. I loved the idea of building therapeutic relationships with patients and their families, as I know familiarity...

Reviewing general practice nurse pay, terms and conditions

Anecdotal evidence from students wanting to work in general practice points to GPNs being viewed as lower skilled, with nurses making the move to have a quieter job role, with more social hours..

Fear: an unrecognised symptom of COVID-19

Remote asthma consultations in primary care

In a speech on the future of healthcare delivered in July 2020, Matt Hancock, the secretary of state for health and social care, said that ‘Coronavirus has catalysed deep structural shifts in...