Nursing Standard

21/12/2025

NURSE PAY around the world: how do UK salaries compare?

We look at the latest pay offers in countries with comparable healthcare systems to the UK.

Nursing Standard looks at the pay-setting process in the four UK nations and in other countries with comparable healthcare systems. How does nurse pay in the UK rate against salaries for nursing staff overseas, what pay rises have colleagues in other countries secured for 2024-25 and beyond, which n...

20/12/2025

Using the STAR technique in interviews: a guide for nurses

Find out more about the types of questions asked in a nursing job interview and how to use the STAR technique to highlight your skills and experience.

Nursing job interviews questions tend to be grouped into three categories – open-ended, competency-based and scenario-based. The STAR technique – which stands for Situation, Task, Action and Result – can help you plan for and respond to competency-based questions, by offering a clear structure...

19/12/2025

Whether you are newly registered or working at senior level, leadership in nursing is about driving innovation and improving patient care.

Get advice on how to develop your clinical leadership skills.

Any nurse, regardless of their experience or role, can demonstrate clinical leadership by inspiring change, driving innovation and improving patient care. Leadership does not require qualifications or training – being a leader in your clinical area might mean advocating for patients, prioritising ...

19/12/2025

A nurse-led project allowing nurses from care homes to shadow frailty specialists at a hospital, and vice versa, has been hailed as a great success in helping to improve care and communication.

The project, believed to be the first of its kind in the country, is being rolled out to more care homes and hospices in the area following its successful pilot.

Nurse-led initiative sees care home staff from Folkestone Care Centre in Kent shadowing frailty specialists at Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, and vice versa. The project ‘achieved a much closer working relationship that will help frail older people receive joined-up care

18/12/2025

Are you thinking of stepping up to a band 8 position in the new year?

These senior posts require significant experience and proven leadership.

Read our guide to find out what’s involved, what you’ll be paid, and how preparation can begin at band 5.

These senior posts require significant experience and proven leadership. Find out what’s involved, what you’ll be paid and how preparation can begin at band 5

18/12/2025

A nursing home manager has been struck off after she was found to have racially discriminated against an overseas nurse who raised concerns about her working conditions.

She repeatedly threatened to cancel the nurse's visa, and told her she could be ‘sent back to India’ if she did not comply with instructions.

A nursing home manager has been struck off by a Nursing and Midwifery Council fitness to practise panel for racially discriminating against an overseas nurse, threatening to cancel her visa and making derogatory comments. She was found to be a poor leader, creating a hostile environment where staff....

17/12/2025

An NHS trust that has adopted the new standardised health service uniform has revealed that around 90% of its staff are opting for scrubs rather than dresses.

We asked our panel of nurse readers if the dress is still fit for purpose in modern nursing.

Here’s what they said >

After a health trust revealed the vast majority of its nursing staff are opting to wear scrubs rather than dresses, four nurses discuss whether what was once the staple item in the nurse uniform is suitable for modern practice. They consider factors such as comfort, cultural needs, professional imag...

17/12/2025

A trust has been told it must make urgent improvements to care after directors ignored warnings about a consultant from a senior nurse before a patient death.

As well as taking no action over her concerns, an inquest also found other failings had possibly contributed to the patient's death.

They included poor observations, falsified records, bad staff attitudes and a broken door-locking system.

https://rcni.com/nursing-standard/newsroom/news/patient-death-trust-rebuked-for-ignoring-warnings-of-senior-nurse-219751

16/12/2025

What does it take to be a nurse leader?

Three senior nurse leaders share their journeys and the qualities that have supported their careers, plus the advice they would give their younger selves.

Three inspirational senior nurse leaders share their professional journeys and the traits or attributes they feel helped them get to the leadership positions they are in today, plus the advice they would give their younger selves on developing leadership skills and shaping the profession

16/12/2025

With the festive season well underway and Christmas fast approaching, many of us will be looking to save money wherever possible.

Find out about the Blue Light Card and other discount schemes that offer savings on shopping, eating out, travel, days out and gifts, to help your budget stretch that little bit further.

The Blue Light Card offers savings on shopping, eating out, travel, days out and gifts for NHS and other healthcare staff and nursing students. Find out who is eligible, and more about this and other savings schemes, including RCN member discounts, NHS Staff Benefits and Health Service Discounts, as...

15/12/2025

Intensive care nurses in the East Midlands are taking to picket lines again as they protest against plans to send them to another hospital 20 miles away multiple times a year to maintain their full range of skills.

Intensive care unit nurses at Bassetlaw Hospital, Nottinghamshire, are taking five-day strike action from 15-19 December, over plans to rotate between Bassetlaw and Doncaster Royal Infirmary. Unite union accuses the hospital trust of ‘fire and rehire’ tactics.

15/12/2025

With Christmas approaching, many nurses may receive gifts from their patients.

Let us know what are some gifts you've received over the years.