Previous caring experience was not associated with higher emotional intelligence. Mindfulness training was associated with higher 'ability' emotional intelligence. Implications for recruitment, retention and further research are explored.

The Distress Thermometer (DT) is a well validated screening tool, demonstrably sensitive and reasonably specific to the construct of distress in cancer. Its brevity makes it ideal to incorporate into a system of distress management. To ascertain how far this idea has been developed in practice, and to support future research, a literature review was undertaken. Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, ASSIA, British Nursing Index, AMED, CCTR, and HMIC were systematically searched. Forty studies were reviewed that examined the function of the DT alone, together with the problem list (PL), and/or other validated measures. The majority of studies validated the DT against other robust measures of distress in order to establish 'caseness' in these populations, and establish factors associated with distress. Many of the studies recommended that further research should test their findings in clinical practice. A small section of the literature focused on the clinical utility of the DT as a facilitator of consultations, and found it to have potential in this regard. It is concluded that there is enough validation research, and in line with the majority of these studies' recommendations, future research should focus on the utility of DT as part of a structured distress management programme.

Background and aim: Measuring women's satisfaction with their birth experience has been problematic. Recently, an attempt has been made to capture birth satisfaction's generalised meaning and incorporate it into an evidenced-based tool. Standard procedures for validation have limitations. Qualitative techniques such as domain analysis offer an alternative and assist in better understanding the importance of each item. This article examines the parsimony of the Birth Satisfaction Scale (BSS), which is a 30-item questionnaire designed to measure satisfaction with childbirth, with women's actual experience of childbirth. Methods: Primary free text data collected from 207 women who originally tested the BSS was concurrently analysed with first-hand accounts of birth satisfaction collected from 19 qualitative papers. Results: The domain analysis confirmed three explanatory items within the BSS: 'being in control', 'things going as planned', and 'being supported'. Conclusions: The BSS accounts for all the analysed data, suggesting it is a robust measure of satisfaction in childbirth. Strengths and limitations of the method are discussed, as are implications for practice. With further development, the instrument could be used to establish correlates with other psychometric measures, i.e. self-efficacy, anxiety, depression, locus of control and bonding; and evaluate models or care systems as a standalone instrument, or as a screening test prior to detailed qualitative work.

Aims and objectives To explore how newly qualified nurses’ work experiences are constructed through the interplay between self, workplace and home‐life influencing their retention. Background Nurses are critical to achieving the goal of universal health coverage. However, shortages of nursing staff are endemic. Of particular concern, newly qualified nurses are more likely to leave the nursing workforce. The point of transition to working as a newly qualified nurse is a time of vulnerability. Most studies attempt to discover why nurses leave. This study uses the concept of job embeddedness to examine the experience of this transition and first two years of practice to understand what might help newly qualified nurses stay. Design Qualitative approach using semi‐structured telephone interviews. Methods Self‐selecting sample of nurses (n = 23) who participated 1‐year (n = 12) and 2 years (n = 11) post‐qualification. Participants were part of a larger longitudinal cohort (n = 867) study which has followed them since September 2013 when they entered nurse education in two Scottish universities. Thematic analysis was used to understand the interplay between organisation/workplace and the individual. Results Three themes were developed: transition shock; workplace factors and work/life balance. Two further subthemes were developed: experience of support and belonging; and feeling unsupported and alienated. Eight participants had changed job or left, and two were looking to leave nursing. Conclusion This study highlights how the experience of transition shock can be positively or negatively impacted by the workplace environment, and how in turn this impacts the home environment. Ultimately, this impacts retention of newly qualified nurses. Relevance to clinical practice Having adequate support resources, such as staffing, supportive team morale, professional development and family‐friendly work environment, can create a work environment where they feel the purpose and meaningfulness of working as a nurse. This ‘job embeddedness’ can potentially enhance nurse retention. Reporting follows the COREQ checklist.

Chaplains’ unique contribution is to healthcare is to respond to the spiritual, religious and pastoral needs of patients and staff. This is their sole purpose, to provide a presence and space to meet individual need and promote healing, even when cure isn’t possible. Their value is priceless to families in desperate times. However, despite growing evidence for their impact, chaplains are commonly undervalued and misunderstood by their organisations, and the global pandemic revealed the consequences of this confusion. Whilst some chaplains were applauded as heroes along with their fellow health colleagues, others were seen as little more than an infection risk. A survey was designed to capture and learn from the full range of chaplain experiences of the impact of the pandemic across the globe. In June 2020, 1657 chaplains responded from 36 countries. They all experienced considerable disruption to their usual practice, with enforced social distancing having the biggest impact. Out of necessity they embraced technology to maintain contact with patients and families, and shifted focus of their support to staff. Whilst some chaplains were viewed as essential employees by their organisations, most were not. Despite the majority thinking that their organisations understood what they did, chaplains themselves were neither clear or unclear about their role during and post pandemic. More surprisingly, they felt similarly unclear about their role before the pandemic. This paper concludes that in general chaplains lack leadership skills, and confusion about their role will persist until this changes.