Aim: to investigate emotional intelligence (EI) and its relationship to nursing leadership. Background: strong, effective leadership is core to organisational competency and significantly influences care quality. EI is the ability to understand one's own feelings and to assess and respond to the feelings of others. It is linked to self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and social skills, all of which are vital in leadership roles. However, insufficient research explores EI in nursing leadership from the perspective of nurse leaders. Design: a qualitative study employed interpretive phenomenological analysis methods, using a purposive sample of band 7 sisters/charge nurses/team managers (n=5) from one Welsh health board. Semistructured interviews were recorded and analysed in four stages. Findings: four clusters of themes were identified, each with two to three subthemes. These were: sensing others—the empathetic leader; experiencing the affected sense of self; strategies employed to build the team; and reading the flux of the organisation. Conclusion: although the nurse leaders were unfamiliar with the concept of EI, their narratives reflected some core values of EI. However, significant barriers around time, pressure and staffing levels impeded their potential to use EI to become more effective leaders. Nurse leaders should harness the power of emotions to influence others to achieve excellent care.

Physiological and hormonal changes in pregnancy can contribute towards sleep disordered breathing in pregnant women (SDBP). When present, SDBP increases the risk of several adverse maternal and fetal outcomes independent of factors such as age, weight and pre-existing maternal comorbidities. SDBP is underdiagnosed and may be hard to recognise because the presentation can be difficult to differentiate from normal pregnancy and the severity may change over the course of gestation. Timely intervention seems likely to help reduce adverse outcomes, but the relative benefits of intervention are still unclear. The definition of what constitutes a sleep-related breathing “disorder” in pregnancy may be different to the general population and so traditional thresholds for intervention may not be relevant in pregnancy. Any modifications to the disease definition in this group, or implementation of more intensive screening, may result in overdiagnosis. Further research is needed to help clinicians evaluate the balance of benefits and harms in this process. Until this is clearer there is a strong imperative for shared decision making in screening and treatment decisions, and screening programmes should be monitored to assess whether improved outcomes can be achieved at the healthcare system level.Key pointsUntreated sleep disordered breathing in pregnancy poses risks to maternal and fetal wellbeing, but it is underdiagnosed.Careful approaches to screening could improve rates of diagnosis, but thresholds for and benefits of intervention are unclear.Clinical guidelines and screening programmes for sleep disordered breathing in pregnancy need to consider the potential harms of overdiagnosis and should involve shared decision making and careful monitoring of outcomes relevant to the individual.Educational aimsExplore current knowledge of the prevalence of sleep disordered breathing in the pregnant population.Explore the relationship between sleep disordered breathing and adverse outcomes.Understand the approaches to diagnosis and management of sleep disordered breathing in pregnancy.Explore issues around screening, underdiagnosis and overdiagnosis in the context of sleep disordered breathing in pregnancy.

Background: In 2015, NHS Wales introduced a national standardised approach to aseptic non-touch technique protected by copyright as ANTT. This approach aims to standardise practice and promote better clinical outcomes. Aim of the study:To provide insight into the challenges faced by clinical staff adopting aseptic non-touch technique during intravenous therapy. Methods: Focused ethnography across two paediatric NHS Wales wards. Data collection included participant observation, audit questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Data was analysed according to Wolcott (1994) process and emerging themes were reflected upon against theoretical framework of Kirkpatrick's (1967) model of training evaluation. Findings: Absence of feedback following training, individual preference, lack of opportunity to practice ANTT technique, lack of clarity and standardisation and expectations of parents/ medical staff are all challenges faced by registered nurses. Implications of the study:Study findings may be used by NHS managers to support national initiatives within staff training and development programmes and to improve infection prevention initiatives.Organisational culture is a modifier of healthcare worker behaviour and requires further 3 attention locally and nationally. Quality assurance in the adoption of standardised best practice must take into account staff training and development needs and workplace culture.

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