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Background: Redeployment in health care can have a negative impact on the mental wellbeing of staff. Advanced planning and provisions for wellbeing support for health professionals has been recommended following previous pandemics. At the authors' institution nurses were redeployed overnight from a specialist cystic fibrosis ward to a COVID-19 high-dependency unit. Aim: To evaluate nurses' wellbeing following this redeployment during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: A mixed online survey, consisting of both open and closed questions, based on literature, preliminary results of the Impact of COVID-19 on the Nursing and Midwifery Workforce (ICON) study and staff feedback. This was sent to 28 nurses to explore their feelings and experiences of redeployment to a COVID-19 environment. Purposive sampling was used to select study participants while thematic analysis and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Findings: The survey had an 86% response rate. Using thematic analysis three key themes emerged: redeployment anxiety, lack of organisational preparedness and newfound teamworking. More than half (57%) of respondents expressed anxiety and concern when told of their redeployment; 52% reported that they did not receive adequate support from senior staff and management. However, 74% reported that they felt their nursing was positively influenced by support and teamwork from those in patient-facing roles. Twenty-five percent reported that they were looking for a new job or leaving their current role. Conclusion: This study examines the effects that redeployment to a COVID-19 environment has had on nurses. It highlights the need for further improvement to ensure redeployed staff are supported to safeguard their mental wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial commemorates International Nurses Day, acknowledging the profound contributions of nurses globally. It celebrates their unwavering dedication, resilience, and compassion, drawing inspiration from the legacies of nursing pioneers like Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale. It emphasizes the importance of supporting nurses and prioritizing their wellbeing within healthcare systems to ensure the continuation of exceptional patient-centered care.

The article argues on the devaluation of the contribution of restorative nurse assistants (RNA) in the definition of nursing by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). It views that the nursing associate role is conflated with the role of the healthcare support worker. It calls for the acknowledgment of nursing associates, rather than put them in a limited or marginal relevance, if the expectation is for them to deliver high-quality care.

Jennifer Arnold, Prostate Cancer Nurse, Luton and Dunstable Hospital (jennifer.arnold2@nhs.net), runner-up in the Urology Nurse of the Year category of the BJN Awards 2023 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on advanced clinical practitioners in haematology and oncology. Topics include the team complete several clinical procedures including bone marrow biopsies, central venous access device (CVAD) insertion, ultrasoundguided lumbar punctures and skin biopsies for patients with suspected graft versus host disease, and the competency documents were devised for all clinical procedures alongside clinical guidelines and standard operational procedures.

Sam Foster, Executive Director of Professional Practice, Nursing and Midwifery Council, considers how World Health Organization documents can point the way to improving nursing and midwifery education [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the importance of addressing the nursing shortage in Europe to improve the provision of care to patients with non-communicable diseases (NCD). It describes a think piece on overcoming the crisis developed based on a literature review and with insights from the European Federation of Nurses Associations and the Royal College of Nursing. It outlines recommendations from policymakers, such as improving nurses' pay and working conditions.

The authors offer observation on the second National Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) awareness day on March 15, 2023, created by the Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance. Topics discussed include role of CNS in the United Kingdom (UK), reason the CNS role is often misunderstood and undervalued in many healthcare services, and key emerging theme among specialist nursing teams.

The author comments on shortage in male nurses in the United Kingdom (UK). Topics discussed include proportion of men working in nursing in 2002, views attributed to low male numbers in nursing, and discriminatory behaviors and practices that contribute to effectively excluding men. He also offers suggestion for nursing to reflect the improvements achieved in gender accessibility and diversity by other public service professions.

In this article he author, who is a runners-up in the Gastrointestinal/IBD Nurse of the Year category of the British Journal of Nursing Awards 2021, talks about work of her team. She tells that with acute hospital sector facing intense pressures from COVID-19, her team started to pave ways to continue to provide essential services. Her team provided innovative solutions to challenges COVID-19 has brought when trying to offer proactive therapeutic drug monitoring and disease assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents the discussion on enhancing the cancer workforce response to domestic violence and abuse. Topics include qualitative research participants reporting about DVA not abating and often intensified after a cancer diagnosis; and experiencing cancer specific abuse such as being prevented from recovering, talking to others about the cancer or accessing treatment.