Opinion

Board’s eye view Gift of intuition THE WRITER Bob Samples (1976), paraphrasing Albert Einstein, said: ‘The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.’ Looking at the profession of nursing, especially emergency nursing, I think this is true. The RCN Emergency Care Association has highlighted some of the problems with specialty-specific training and accreditation in emergency nursing (Youd 2014), in particular the prevalence in continuing professional development of short, resuscitation-orientated courses. As a junior staff nurse in an emergency department, I was constantly aware of two things: the presence of ‘sister’ observing and guiding me as I found my feet, and the fact that many of my more experienced colleagues’ skills could not be taught on short courses. In the modern NHS, we focus too closely on training that is, or that appears to be, rational and evidence based, and too little on the essential qualities of intuition and experience. Responsibility for this lack of balance lies partly with nurses, and our failure to demonstrate the value of our intuition, experience and knowledge, and partly with the culture of the NHS, in which too often ‘the servant’ is honoured but ‘the gift’ has been forgotten. As we plan the future of emergency nurse education and development, I hope we place more value in the non-technical skills and expertise that are acquired through role modelling, mentorship and experience. Andrew Rideout is an advanced nurse practitioner in the emergency department at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary and a member of the Emergency Nurse editorial advisory board

References Samples B (1976) The Metaphoric Mind: A Celebration of Creative Consciousness. Addison-Wesley, Reading MA. Youd J (2014) Learning opportunities. Emergency Nurse. 21, 10, 13.

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April 2014 | Volume 22 | Number 1

Book review Clinical Examination Skills for Healthcare Professionals Hannah Abbott, Wendy Braithwaite and Mark Ranson M&K Publishing £29 | 200pp ISBN: 9781905539710 THIS BOOK offers a good account of the clinical skills needed by entry-level emergency nurses and those who are new to specific skills, but would also be useful for practitioners in minor injury units and urgent care settings.

Based on the standard seven-step medical approach while incorporating a nursing perspective, it provides an introduction to mnemonics and examples of assessment tools. Elementary case histories demonstrate how the seven-step approach works and the use of tables allow for a concise, well informed system of learning. Overall, this is a well written book that avoids using medical jargon. However, the topic of ear, nose and throat is missing and it would have been agreeable to have had a section on assessing children. Amanda Robinson is a sister and emergency nurse practitioner at University Hospital of North Durham

The bigger picture

How to give a statement PATIENT COMPLAINTS are a permanent feature of the NHS. Some highlight genuine shortcomings in care, while others reflect unrealistic expectations of services. Trusts are responsible for investigating formal complaints, no matter how large or small, and the initial step in such investigations is obtaining statements from all staff identified in the complaint. If, as a nurse, you are asked to make such a statement, you may think you are in trouble or that your professional competence is being questioned. Neither is the case, however. Requests for statements are made simply to gather information about the patient and events concerned. Complaints can be made several weeks or months after events occurred so, before writing a statement, you should read the complaint and any notes made during the patient’s visit to refresh your memory of events. It is also important that you follow the record-keeping principles set out by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2010), which state that records should exclude unnecessary abbreviations, jargon, meaningless phrases or irrelevant speculation. The point here is that your

statement should stick to the facts. It is meant to be an account of your actions, not your intentions. You should also be specific about your communication with others, and anything you, the patient concerned and colleagues said during the event should be recorded as direct quotations, as accurately as you can recall them. Record details of assessments and reviews you undertook for the patient, and provide clear evidence of the arrangements you made for his or her care. This information is not always included in nurses’ original documentation, yet it provides a context for the events that gave rise to the complaint. Answering a complaint can be unpleasant but offers a valuable learning experience. It may prompt you to change your communication style with patients, for example, or to be more diligent in record keeping. Or it may reassure you that you provide excellent nursing care. Sara Morgan is a committee member of the RCN Emergency Care Association

Reference Nursing and Midwifery Council (2010) Record Keeping. tinyurl.com/9w9eqoy (Last accessed: March 17 2014.)

EMERGENCY NURSE

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Board's eye view - Gift of intuition.

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