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How obvious has been the here and now of nursing this year, as we have been enveloped by a historic pandemic for most of 2020, the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife. So, while we have been resolutely required to practise social distancing, wear personal protective equipment, quarantine, live in lockdowns and border closures, we at least have an understanding of how the previous experience with Spanish influenza resonates with today. A century later, however, we have the added advantage of more knowledge, technology, and experience that has confirmed or changed the way contagion, and people affected by it, are managed. It is timely then that this special issue of Collegian on nursing and health care history, (available in ClinicalKey) has been published, for what it does is provide a focus on the role of history in shaping professional practices and identity, contributions to health care, as well as the advances in nursing history scholarship.

Concern is growing about the spread of false information about vaccines, especially when driven by high profile celebrities and, in some cases, elected politicians. But should we consider criminalising people who deliberately spread false information - or could this do more harm than good? Two experts debate the issue in The BMJ. 

Uterine fibroids are a common cause of heavy menstrual bleeding and pain in women of reproductive age, and according to the RACGP, affect 40–80% of women by age 50 years. Now a University of Chicago Medicine researcher working with an international team of scientists has developed a daily oral combination therapy that is reliable, safe and effective for long-term treatment of uterine fibroids. 

The Junior Doctor Survival Guide is a companion to the new students, interns and residents beginning their journeys as clinicians. Written by residents, for residents (and interns!), the Junior Doctor Survival Guide is a thorough summary of everything you need to know to get through your internship and residency, relatively intact.

It may be possible to have two completely separate bouts of COVID-19, researchers have warned in the journal BMJ Case Reports after treating a man whose infections were separated by 4 months of no symptoms and serial negative tests for the virus. Waning immunity might heighten the risk of reinfection, but severe infection first time around may be followed by milder symptoms second time around.

A new study by Monash University provides evidence that a simple ventilated headboard hood can stop the spread of coronavirus between patients and health care workers in hospital wards.

Increased time at home during the Coronavirus pandemic may inspire budding scientists to search for a cure, but researchers in the Christmas issue of The BMJ warn of the potential toxicity of homemade potions. 

QIMR Berghofer researchers have developed a way of testing whether or not COVID-19 patients' immune systems are gearing up to fight the virus that causes the deadly disease.

Although real life role models have influenced many medical careers, some doctors have taken their lead from medics in books, television, and film. Have you ever read a depiction of a doctor in a novel, or seen one on screen, and thought, “I want to be like them,” or perhaps you thought, “That’s the kind of doctor I don’t want to be”?  The BMJ asked doctors, students, and patients to think about the fictional doctors who have inspired and influenced them. We hope these light hearted reflections conjure thoughts of your own favourites.

It can be difficult to know how to approach asking for a shift swap over the festive season. The BMJ gets advice from the experts.