The latest issue of Nursing in Practice looks at the newest title on the NMC register – the nursing associate. We spoke to a variety of stakeholders, including, nursing associates, nurses, academics and policy makers. As for the impact of the role, the jury is still out, with many positive reviews so far, but also some remaining concerns around patient safety.

Nursing in Practice also examines the state of district nursing, which we discovered to be ‘undervalued’ but vital to the delivery of care. In an interview, chief executive of the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) told us that district nursing as a service is under threat because the focus for many years has been on hospital-based nursing, which has meant that district nursing ‘has not been a priority’.

In our Voices section, we play host to a debate which questions whether universities should lower the entry requirements for nursing. On the one hand, Lauren Mawson argues that yes, entry should be about assessing the potential of applicants, rather than simply focusing on their grades, while Grant Byrne insists that entry requirements must be kept high to avoid taking a step backwards resulting in the undervaluing of the profession.

Finally, the clinical section includes a case study describing a young person suffering from IBS and stress and a CPD article covering key questions on how to manage a patient with chronic kidney disease.