Children's nurses are faced with unique challenges when undertaking clinical skills, adapting their knowledge and practice for the physical and developmental age of their patients. The Oxford Handbook of Clinical Skills for Children's and Young People's Nursing is a practical guide to both the most basic and the increasingly complex elements of caring for the health needs of children and young people. Focusing on the key principles underpinning all elements of care, it provides a solid, evidence-based framework which practitioners can use to develop their clinical knowledge, skills, and attitudes. It systematically covers the body systems and the clinical skills relating to them, and includes additional tips and suggested courses of action when encountering difficulties with a procedure, with practical advice from current practitioners. Written by experienced children's nurses working either within clinical paediatric settings or as educators in the field, this handbook is an essential, quick, and reliable practice reference tool for any clinical setting.
Paula Dawson trained as a general nurse at the Nightingale School, St. Thomas' Hospital in London, and as a children's nurse at the Nottingham School of Nursing. She has held a range of clinical, managerial, practice development, and educational roles both in the UK and overseas in a career spanning over 25 years. She is committed to the pursuit of excellent, person-centred, and evidence-based care with a focus on the unique and essential role of the nurse in the multi-disciplinary team.
In 1996 Louise Cook attained her first degree in Psychology and Sociology (BA Honours) from the University of Leeds before going on to train as a children's nurse at the University of Nottingham. Having qualified as a Registered Nurse (RN - Child) in 2000 she worked for 7 years within acute hospital trusts in Nottingham. For approximately 5 years she ran the only post-registration course for the care of children with cleft lip and/ or palate in the country. In February 2007 Louise joined the University of Nottingham as a full time lecturer in Child Health. She lectures on a wide range of topics including her specialist interest topics of cleft and wound care. In addition to this she is heavily involved in the teaching of evidence-based clinical skills to undergraduate students on both the BSC degree programme and the undergraduate Masters in Nursing Science (MNurSci) programme - currently the only course of its kind in the country.
Laura-Jane Holliday is a Practitioner Health Lecturer in children's nursing at the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Physiotherapy, University of Nottingham. She is also a preceptorship development nurse, working within the practice development team for the Children's Hospital, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. Additionally she continues to work clinically on a children's medical ward, specializing in respiratory care. Her previous clinical experience includes children's medical, neuro-medicine, and cardiology. Her practice and academic interests encompass reducing the theory-practice gap, progressing and teaching of clinical skills, and practice and staff development.
Qualifying as a children's nurse in 1998, Helen Saxelby has benefited greatly from her experiences at Leicester Royal Infirmary NHS Trust, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, and Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust, working in both general and intensive areas. Helen's chosen area of speciality, children's neurosciences, has provided her with a fascinating mix of neurological, neurosurgical, and neuro-oncological expertise. In more recent years as a Practitioner Health Lecturer she has developed her teaching and academic skills, focusing on clinical skills teaching in particular.
