Cancer nurses will need to support each other through a difficult winter
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Cancer nurses will need to support each other through a difficult winter

Jennifer Sprinks Editor, Cancer Nursing Practice

It’s the time of year when we talk about winter pressures, and question how the NHS and its staff will cope with the challenges with limited resources. As if the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t enough, nurses will have to grapple with the additional demands winter places on their services, particularly those owing to seasonal illnesses and the cold weather.

Cancer Nursing Practice. 20, 6, 5-5. doi: 10.7748/cnp.20.6.5.s1

Published: 01 November 2021

These pressures will affect all nurses, including those in specialist care, and it is vital that nurses get the right resources and support to help them get through the winter.

To this end the RCN has launched a winter well-being campaign to encourage staff to prioritise their own physical and mental health (news, page 6). This comes after the college’s analysis of NHS statistics revealed that nurses are experiencing more sickness absence for anxiety and depression, as well as chest, respiratory issues and headaches, than before the pandemic.

In this issue, Lear and Andrewes (evidence & practice, page 21) explore whether mindfulness interventions can improve the well-being of oncology nurses and reduce burnout.

Cancer nurses can often be at greater risk of compassion fatigue and burnout due to the high levels of emotional engagement.

Another positive step to support colleagues is recognition. If they have done well, tell them. Praise can help people feel valued and promote mental health.

We recently celebrated nursing excellence through the RCN Nursing Awards. The winner of the Excellence in Cancer Research Award can be seen on our news page and all the winners on our website.

But really, you’re all winners. Celebrate your successes, no matter how small they seem, and no matter how busy the next few months get, take time out for yourself.

See this year’s RCN Awards winners at rcni.com/nurse-awards

‘A positive step to support colleagues is recognition. Praise can promote mental health’

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